University of Tennessee Athletics
2003 TRACK & FIELD SEASON IN REVIEW
September 22, 2003 | Women's Track
History is defined by Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary as a chronological record of significant events. While there have been many tremendous accomplishments of note in the timeline of the University of Tennessee women's track & field team, the program now appears to be on its way toward creating a new batch of memories under the leadership of second-year Head Coach J.J. Clark. That trend was evident in 2003 as several performances foreshadowed great things in store for the Lady Volunteers and their fans, who have front row seats to witness "History In The Making."
The impact of Clark and his staff was apparent in all event areas a year ago, as Big Orange athletes seemingly charted personal records on a weekly basis. From a national perspective, UT inserted itself back into the NCAA altitude to which the school is more accustomed, charting indoor and outdoor top-25 finishes for the first time since 1995. For the record, Tennessee wound up tied for 23rd at the indoor meet and knotted for 22nd at the outdoor gathering. With the bulk of the squad returning and with the coaches attracting several of the country's top recruits into the fold, things should only get better.
 |
Year one of the Clark era was definitely a move in the right direction, and the first step came at the Jan. 9 Tennessee All-Comers Invitational at Stokely Athletics Center in Knoxville. Though the meet was a low-key affair, senior Christie Elwin and junior Kelly Flowers set the tone in a positive way with victories in the pole vault and high jump, respectively. Sophomores Toyin Olupona and Dee Dee Trotter also served notice that they would be forces to be reckoned with in 2003, slating times of 7.06 and 7.29, respectively, in the 55-meter dash.
Week two offered a more full-scale season-opener, as the Lady Vols headed up I-81 to Blacksburg, Va., to take part in the Virginia Tech Kroger Invitational on Jan. 17-18. Against a field that included collegiate athletes from numerous ACC, SEC and BIG EAST schools as well as national and world-class post-collegiate competitors, UT managed one individual victory and 11 personal records. It was Elwin who was triumphant, capturing her second-straight pole vault title of the young season. Senior Sharon Dickie looked strong in the 3000 meters, winding up third in 9:42.98, the second fastest time she has run in that event.
The competition would only get tougher the next weekend, as Tennessee sized itself up at the SEC Challenge in Lexington, Ky., on Jan. 25 against seven other conference schools, including four ranked among the nation's top 10 teams. Coach Clark's thin squad tallied only enough points for sixth place, but 12 personal records; Elwin's school record and NCAA provisional clearance of 12-9.50/3.90m in the pole vault; Olupona's runner-up, 7.41 provisional in the 60 meters; and Trotter's 400m provisional of 54.48 were among several bright spots on the day. Brooke Novak's triumph in the 3000 meters, which came via a career-topping run of 9:58.77, was yet another encouraging result.
A jaunt to University Park, Pa., was next on the itinerary, as Tennessee took part in the Penn State National Meet on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1. Happy Valley turned out to be just that for the Orange and White, as sophomore Nicole Cook (800m) and Dickie (5000m) notched the fourth and fifth NCAA provisional marks of the season for the squad. In those respective second-place finishes, Cook and Dickie charted times of 2:07.54 and 16:42.11. Dickie nearly added an NCAA safety in the 3K with her 9:37.63 output, while Trotter managed a runner-up outcome in the 200m (24.19) and Olupona threw in a career-best 24.41 to take third in that event.
Gearing back the intensity level, Clark took the squad to his old stomping grounds of Gainesville, Fla., to take part in the Gator Invitational on Feb. 9. The only significant orange-tinged highlights from the O'Connell Center included Novak's victorious and career-topping run of 9:52.13 in the 3000 meters and Trotter's provisional in the 400 meters, which she achieved with a converted time of 54.46. Equally as important, however, was the fact that the athletes were treated to a preview of the facility that would host the SEC Championship meet in three weeks.
On Feb. 13 and 14, it was back to the Northeast and a return to high-profile competition, as Clark and company were on the marquee for the Armory Collegiate Invitational, a top-notch meet staged in New York City. Several Lady Vols performed like champs under the bright lights of NYC. Among them were Olupona, who lowered her NCAA provisional in the 60m dash to 7.39 in a third-place effort, and Trotter, who added a 200m provisional of 23.82 to go with her previous safety in the 400 en route to fifth-place status.
Other standouts included Dickie, who was fourth in the 5000m in 16:44.47; Cook, who was third in the 800m in 2:07.70; and the 4x400m combo of Olupona, Cook, Antoinette Gorham and Trotter, which just missed a provisional with its fifth-place, 3:40.28 navigation of the oval.
 |
To tune up prior to the SEC Championships, the Lady Vols held the small-scale Tennessee Indoor Classic at home on Feb. 21. In addition to getting a second-place and PR throw of 51-10.50/17.64m from junior Janine Tessarzik and a victorious provisional of 6.90 in the 55 meters from Olupona, UT accomplished its goals of sharpening for the league meet and keeping everyone healthy.
That said, the Lady Vols packed their bags for Gainesville and prepared to do battle within arguably the nation's most talented track & field league. Despite scraping together 25 points and beating last year's sum by four, Tennessee was only able to place ninth among the 12-team gathering. Individually, however, UT collected a trio of fourth-place performances, including a school-record and provisional clearance of 13-2.25/4.02m in the vault by Elwin, a provisional 2:07.66 in the 800m by Cook and a 16:49.72 in the 5000m by Dickie. Olupona also added a provisional and career best of 6.87 in the 55 meters to chip in points for sixth.
"We had some good developments with Christie setting the school record in the vault and Toyin improving her PR in the 55m," Clark said. "Sharon and Nicole took fourth, and Nicole was able to hit the automatic mark (2:06.11) the day before in the prelims. Those are positives.
"We have a long way to go to get the program where I want it to be. I will have to be very poised and patient in a conference that contains so many teams of a high level."
With Cook already ticketed for the NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., Clark opted to send Olupona and Trotter to the Alex Wilson Invitational in Notre Dame, Ind., to see if the sprint duo could improve its chances of a trip to nationals. While Trotter notched a lifetime best of 23.59 and finished second in the 200 meters and Olupona came through with a PR of 7.38 to take second in the 60 meters, both had to wait and see if their provisional times were good enough to merit a berth. As it turned out, the times were fast enough. Thus, Olupona and Trotter joined Cook on the trek to Northwest Arkansas for the NCAA meet on March 14 and 15.
On day one, Cook was the only Lady Vol to move on to the finals, as the sophomore checked in at 2:08.57 to place second in heat one of the 800m prelims. Olupona and Trotter, meanwhile, bowed out in the qualifying rounds, with Trotter firing off a career-best 23.42 in the 200m before seeing her indoor campaign come to a close.
The next day, Cook ripped off a career-topping 2:05.19 in the 800m finals to come maddeningly close to winning a national championship, charting a runner-up finish by 6/100ths of a second to UCLA's Lena Nilsson. Cook became the Lady Vols' first top-three finisher in the 800m at NCAA Indoors since Kathi Harris in 1985. Additionally, she was UT's first indoor 800m scorer since Jasmin Jones placed fourth in 1991 and was Tennessee's most recent top-three NCAA indoor finisher since Sue Walton was the 200m runner-up in 1995.
Furthermore, Cook picked up her fifth All-America citation and provided Team Orange with eight points, a total that would enable Tennessee to tie for 23rd place in the final team standings and mark the program's best finish since 1995.
With that blast of momentum, Clark and his troops would head into the outdoor portion of the schedule, beginning with the colossal adidas Raleigh Relays on March 28 and 29. A hint of future success was provided by Trotter on Friday, as the sophomore reeled off a time of 53.99 in the 400 meters to finish second and earn a spot in the first-ever NCAA Mideast Regional later in the season. Elwin joined her in earning a regional bid, as she placed fourth in the vault at 12-0/3.66m, while Dickie narrowly missed a similar feat with a career-best run of 4:33.07 in the 1500 meters.
 |
A week later, the Lady Vols collected victories in four individual events and added a third regional qualifier en route to a third-place finish with 102 points at the SEC Challenge in Columbia, S.C., on April 5. UT was bolstered by wins from Dickie in the 1500 meters (career-best 4:31.34), Elwin in the javelin (133-0/40.54m), freshman Felicia Guliford in the 5000 meters (17:24.89) and sophomore Elizabeth McCalley in the 3000m steeplechase (11:26.01). Tessarzik, in an eighth-place effort, uncorked a PR heave of 169-3/51.58m in the hammer throw to earn a ticket to the regional meet.
Back at home for the Sea Ray Relays on April 9-12, Trotter looked comfortable on her own track. Already a regional qualifier in the 400m, the sophomore added the 100 and 200 to that list with readouts of 11.77 and 23.91, respectively. Tessarzik, who made the regional cut in the hammer a week earlier, also did so in the discus with a flip of 150-4. To top things off, the distance medley relay unit of Cook, Trotter, Novak and Dickie set the Tom Black Track collegiate record, charted the second-fastest time in meet history in 11:19.19 and posted the program's first victory in that event at Sea Rays.
On the heels of that success, four Lady Vols packed their bags for the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif., on April 17-19. The cross-country trip proved to be a worthwhile endeavor, as Cook, Dickie, Novak and Trotter all came home with NCAA qualifiers and career bests. Cook's came in the 800m, where she was third in the invitational section at 2:04.33. Dickie, meanwhile, ran to third in the open division of the 5000m with a 16:21.12, Novak took 11th in the open 1500m at 4:26.25 and Trotter raced to second in the open 400m with a 23.40 output.
After a quick few days' stop in Knoxville upon returning from the West Coast, Tennessee was off to the East Coast and Philadelphia for the 109th running of the prestigious Penn Relays. With the UT flag flying high over historic Franklin Field, the ladies in orange let the throng of nearly 40,000 fans know the program was back in good stead. Two relays finished in the top four of the championship division, including an outstanding runner-up performance of 3:44.97 by the sprint medley quartet of Olupona, Gorham, Trotter and Cook, and a fourth-place result of 11:13.38 by the distance medley combination of Novak, Trotter, Cook and Dickie. The SMR clocking rated third in school history, while the DMR ranked fifth. Trotter also ran well individually, booking a ninth-place sprint of 11.70 in the 100m dash on the final day.
A pair of Knoxville meets separated Penn Relays and the SEC Outdoor Championships, and the Lady Vols took full advantage of those opportunities to sharpen and possibly add a regional mark. On April 27, and just back from the trip to Philly, Olupona rocketed to a victorious 11.72 in the 100m at the Knoxville Invitational to plate her first regional-worthy clocking, while Tessarzik earned a bid in her third event, the shot put, with a victorious heave of 46-6.75/14.19m. The junior also claimed the school record in the hammer with a toss of 175-9/53.57m.
At the Gatorade Classic on May 3, UT tuned up for the upcoming SEC battle in impressive fashion by accumulating 12 PRs, eight NCAA marks and a school record in the pole vault. Heading the list was Elwin, whose clearance of 12-10/3.91m toppled her two-year-old mark of 12-9.50/3.90m. Also worth noting was an improvement by Trotter to 11.66 in the 100 meters to take first, a PR by Olupona to wind up second in that race at 11.69 and UT's first 4x400m relay regional-qualifying effort, which came via a 3:40.11 output from Trotter, Cook, Gorham and Olupona.
The following weekend, May 15-18, it was time for the SEC meet, and the Lady Vols found themselves running on their home track for the third-straight meet. The familiarity proved valuable, as two orange-clads seized victories, two managed third-place finishes and the squad wound up seventh with 55 points, the highest UT tally since 2000. All of this coming during a weekend that featured almost daily delays due to severe weather, including tornado touchdowns, in the metropolitan area.
Heading the list was Trotter, who broke the school record en route to victory in the 400 meters. Her 51.65 readout was the eighth-fastest in the world up to that point in the season and erased the 51.71 Lady Vol standard of Cathy Rattray that had stood since 1982. Dickie also secured first-place points, winning the 5000 meters in 16:40.36, while Cook (800m) and Tessarzik (discus) earned bronze with career bests of 2:03.60 and 167-3/50.97m, respectively.
With those impressive individual showings, the Lady Vols debuted at No. 23 in the Trackwire Online Top 25 as their 10 qualifiers headed into the inaugural NCAA Mideast Regional meet on May 30 and 31 in Columbus, Ohio. Despite cold and windy temperatures at Jesse Owens Stadium, the performers from Rocky Top proved they were up to the task, sending four individuals on to the NCAA meet and also qualifying the 4x400m relay team.
Trotter continued her torrid pace in the 400m, winning her third and fourth races in succession to capture the school's first-ever regional title with a 51.95 effort in the finals. Dickie joined Trotter in advancing to the NCAA meet with a second-place run of 16:32.22 in the 5000 meters. Cook and Elwin followed suit, as Cook produced a 2:03.77 pace in the 800m finals to take third and Elwin elevated her school record to 13-2.25/4.02m to snag fifth and earn her first NCAA Outdoor ticket. Finally, the 4x400m relay unit of Gorham, Trotter, Cook and freshman Caitlin Ward closed the weekend with a second-place and NCAA-worthy effort of 3:37.80 to push Tennessee's total to 36 points, good for seventh in the team standings.
As the squad prepared to make the trip to Sacramento, Calif., for the NCAA extravaganza on June 11-14, Clark made the difficult decision not to declare the 4x400m relay. Because Cook and Trotter were both members of that tandem and each potentially faced three rounds in their individual events in addition to relay duties, the first-year leader decided to put the focus this time on individual events. Clark's decision proved to be the correct one.
 |
Three of the four Lady Vols who made the trip west came home as All-Americans. Trotter lowered her UT record in the 400m to 51.60 and then 50.66 en route to runner-up honors in that event and All-America citation number three; Cook secured sixth in the 800m to snare certificate number six; and Dickie wrapped up her collegiate career with an eighth-place result in the 5000m to deposit the second national citation in her account. The final tally, 12 points and a 22nd-place finish in the team standings, UT's finest NCAA Outdoor showing since 1999.
"Dee Dee stunned a lot of people with her time in the 400," Clark said. "I believe she has arrived. Nicole had a great season, charting PRs in the 400, 800 and 1500 meters and earning All-America honors. For Sharon not to make the meet before and come in and score and make All-America - it's a special way to end her career after all she's overcome during her career.
"It was a good weekend for the Lady Vols. We can all hold our heads high as we leave this meet, head home and prepare for next season."
As it turned out, the season was over for everyone but Cook and Trotter. The sophomores had qualified for the USATF Outdoor Championships and had to remain in California to participate in the meet in Palo Alto, Calif., on June 19-22.
Both Lady Vols represented their school well, as Trotter advanced through three rounds of competition to earn a spot on the Pan Am Games and IAAF World Championships teams with a bronze-medal performance of 51.78 in the 400-meter finals. Cook also earned a lane in the finals, but her very respectable 2:03.94 mark was only fast enough for eighth place, thus ending her second season at UT.
For Trotter, it was off on a summer of travel, as she represented the United States on the gold-medal-winning 4x400m relay at the Pan Am Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on Aug. 9. The Lady Vol standout brought the baton home as the unit's anchor, wrapping up a 3:26.40 clocking that rated as the fastest American collaboration in 2003 at the time.
Finally, Trotter closed out her endless summer by reaching the semifinals in the 400m at the World Championships on Aug. 24-30 in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis, France. She posted a 52.17 in the quarterfinals and then a 51.68 in the semifinals to bow out with a 15th-place showing. Five days later, she ran the second leg on the U.S. 4x4 as it chalked up the world's fastest time in the prelims at 3:24.57. While Trotter was an alternate the next day as the Red, White & Blue claimed gold, it was clear she had become part of the future of USA Track & Field and that Tennessee was back in the business of recruiting and developing top-notch talent.
"Dee Dee's accomplishments represent the type of program we want to have, where the athletes have the kinds of skills that enable them to qualify for and do well in national and international competitions," Clark said. "That indicates they are working toward earning a spot among the top U.S. athletes and, ultimately, becoming world-class caliber."
Trotter's postcards from Paris and The Dominican no doubt add to the rich Tennessee tradition. Much more than contributing snapshots and mementos to the Lady Vol scrapbook, though, her actions seem to be a harbinger of a program on the rise and a signal for Lady Vol fans to be prepared to witness even more "History In The Making."
