University of Tennessee Athletics
SEC Indoor Championships Next Up For Vols
February 25, 2004 | Men's Track
Feb. 25, 2004
VOLS RANKED IN LATEST TRACKWIRE POLL
The SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships occupy the next spot on Tennessee's schedule. With the conference indoor meet slated for Friday through Sunday at Kentucky's Nutter Field House, the Volunteers anticipate the all-important championship portion of the schedule.
Blessed with veteran squads the last few years, head coach Bill Webb and his staff have prepared for a different prospect in this edition of the conference clash. After saying goodbye to former Vols and SEC champions Rocky Danners, Stephen Harris and Gary Kikaya, the Vols field a talented but youthful squad for the 2004 edition of the SEC indoors. Co-captains Sean Lambert and Marc Sylvester guide the Vols in one of the two most important meets of the indoor season.
"We have one of the youngest teams going to SECs that we've had in a long time," Webb said. "We have more young people on the travel roster who have never competed in an SEC meet than I can remember. However, I'm enthused about the young group. The fun thing is to take them to the line and see who will rise to the top. We have some young ones capable of scoring this weekend. We have a strong tradition of Tennessee Volunteers competing hard at SEC championship meets and finding new heroes."
After declaring his required 27 athletes most fit to don the Tennessee uniform Wednesday, Webb highlighted a few of the Volunteer contenders. The meet will be Tennessee's second team-scored affair of the season, to go along with a third-place finish two weeks ago in New York's Armory Collegiate Invitational. The top eight finishers score with a 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 breakdown.
"We have a lot of time and athletes invested in the heptathlon," Webb said. "We hope we can jump start things for us in that traditional strength. Garland Porter has stepped into contention in the weight throw for us. Sean Lambert will be in the mix in the 60m dash. Even though he's not raced much, Marc Sylvester can find his way into the top of the 800m heap. Brett Frykberg has emerged in the high jump and could land in the top three if things go right. Our motto this year is every point counts. That's the attitude we're going in to compete with."
The squad motto of every point counts goes beyond a cookie-cutter mantra. Considering the increased depth of the SEC and decreased talent differential between the top and mid-tier teams, a very few points could separate the third- from sixth-place finishers.
"Most people believe the meet will come down to a two-team battle between Arkansas and Florida, if you follow rankings, leader lists and projections," Webb said. "But, along with the Vols, LSU, Auburn and Georgia have fine teams. The SEC is as strong top to bottom as it's ever been. That says all you need to know to anyone who knows anything about the history of this conference. You can look at the schedule and find incredible matchups in almost every event."
Tennessee has won 18 SEC indoor team titles since 1964, the best all-time worksheet in the nation's toughest conference. In the last SEC indoor meet held at Kentucky in 2001, Tennessee took third in a prelude to Tennessee's SEC outdoor title later that year. Tennessee won its last SEC indoor title in 1996 in Lexington.
TRACK AND FIELD VOLS IN THE RANKINGS
Tennessee picked up a spot in this week's update of the Trackwire 25 to stand tied for 23rd with eight projected NCAA indoor points. Last week, the Vols stood tied for 24th also with eight projected NCAA points. The Trackwire 25, available at www.trackwire.com, analyzes event leader lists and other factors to arrive at a prediction for the NCAA indoor meet. The SEC dominates the list, boasting four teams in the top six. Arkansas leads the rankings update with 76 projected points. LSU holds on to second with 48 points. Auburn wraps up the top-three SEC sweep with 39 points. Florida arrives next, tied for sixth with 22 points. Georgia stands tied for 17th with 11 points. Meanwhile, Tennessee, South Carolina and Mississippi occupy the 23rd spot with eight points.
Tennessee held steady at 16th in the Feb. 25 Trackshark rankings. The Trackshark rankings combine the Trackwire 25, the USTCA Team Power Rankings and head-to-head competition to arrive at a list.
