University of Tennessee Athletics
Harris: Tennessee's SEC Male Athlete of the Year Nominee
June 11, 2003 | Men's Track
June 11, 2003
As his senior year comes to an apex, Stephen Harris enters the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships today as the favorite in the grueling decathlon on the strength of his dominating SEC title and earlier world-leading score in the event. He is also Tennessee's Southeastern Conference Male Athlete of the Year nominee for 2002-03.
Often pronounced the greatest overall athletes because of their mastery of 10 events in a physically demanding, compressed time period, this decathlete has mastered the athletic, civic and academic realms, as well. Harris, a perfect three-for-three thus far in his career securing All-America honors in the decathlon, is closing out his senior campaign in style on all fronts.
His steady leadership led to his teammates voting him captain of the 2003 squad. Likewise, Harris was voted co-captain in Tennessee's NCAA Indoor title year of 2002.
The senior from Norcross, Ga., posted the best decathlon score in the world at the time when he captured first-place honors at the College Station Decathlon March 21-22 to kickoff the outdoor season. Although since surpassed by five international pros, Harris' 8,103-point score stood as the world leader. The mark still stands as the world's best by a collegian this year, sixth overall behind the pros and the third-best mark by an American in 2003. Harris' score stands as the second-best ever by a Vol in the regular season.
Meanwhile, Harris swept both the SEC indoor pentathlon and outdoor decathlon titles in 2003. With the SEC sweep, Harris became the first Vol to climb to the top of the victory stand in both the SEC pentathlon and decathlon in the same year since Olympian Aric Long accomplished the feat in 1992.
Harris' decathlon score of 7,871 points outdistanced the SEC runner-up by a whopping 132 points. His winning score of 4,277 points in the pentathlon, missing the school record of Olympian Tom Pappas by just eight points, was even more impressive, beating the runner-up by 199 points.
As is his custom, the captain entered extra events at both SEC indoor and outdoor championships to scrap for more points for the team despite completing the tiring pentathlon and decathlon earlier in the meet. Harris' 16 points led the Vols at the SEC Outdoor Championships. Harris also led the Tennessee attack at the SEC Indoors with 14.5 points. In true Volunteer form, Harris entered the first event of the meet in the pentathlon, the last event of the meet in the 4x400m relay and the long jump and high jump in between.
"He's the most humble athlete you'll ever meet," teammate Kevin Thompson said of Harris after his SEC decathlon win. "If he wins-and every time I've gone up against him, he's won-but he's very gracious about it. I'm just proud that he's won out here today. He deserves it."
A history major, Harris also fits the mold of the greatest Volunteers in that he is not only a world-class athlete but also a citizen of some renown. Throughout his Vol career he has been one of the most decorated community servants in the program's history.
The week before he dominated the SEC decathlon field Harris received the first-ever Marine Corps Collegiate Athlete Leadership Award. In making the presentation, Marine Corps Maj. Ted Studdard said that Harris "is the student-athlete who most exemplifies selflessness, teamwork, and leadership in the academic and athletic arenas. He also has been committed to excellence in elevating the performance of others both on and off campus. He has the heart of a leader."
In addition, Harris has attended the Muscular Dystrophy banquet to help raise money so kids can go to summer camp. He's coached Senior Olympians, served as assistant cubmaster for Maryville's Troop 865, worked in distribution with the Bibles for America organization and helped out coaching youth in the Oak Ridge Track Club.
In the University of Tennessee's presidential search last year, Harris was one of only two UT students on the entire campus to be chosen for the Presidential Search Advisory Committee. His fellow students elected Harris a senator in the Student Government Association. He also received the Peach of an Athlete Role Model Award from the Atlanta Area Chapter of the Boy Scouts of America for his athletic and civic prowess.
Peyton Manning is Tennessee's last SEC Male Athlete of the Year winner in 1997. Larry Seivers (Football, 1976-77), Todd Helton (Baseball, 1994-95) and Manning (1996-97) are the Vols' previous winners of the award. The league's athletic directors select an SEC Male and Female Athlete of the Year each summer since 1976. This year's winners are scheduled to be announced June 26 by the SEC office.
