University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Alabama Relays
Merritt Races to First in 110M Hurdles
March 20, 2004 | Men's Track
March 20, 2004
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Freshman 110m hurdler Aries Merritt sprinted to the win with a 13.69w, regional-qualifying, speedy outdoor opener on a gusty Saturday afternoon at the Alabama Relays.
Merritt's 13.69w time was barely wind aided with a 2.1 meters per second tailwind. A tailwind of 2.0 meters per second is considered wind legal. If his time had been wind legal, and it nearly was, it would have statistically surpassed Reggie Towns' hand-timed school freshman 110m hurdles record of 13.5 from 1980. Additionally, a legal 13.69 would have put Merritt one-hundredth of a second away from cracking Tennessee's all-time top-10 list in the 110m hurdles, a list that includes former Vol luminaries Willie Gault, Jabari Greer, Justin Gatlin, Karl Jennings, Dawane Wallace and Richmond Flowers.
"It was a good, low-key opening meet for this section of the track team," assistant head coach George Watts said. "We'll go with the full squad next week for the Raleigh Relays, so I expect to see a lot of improvement then. Even with the windy conditions, Aries Merritt's 13.69w was an impressive run to win the race. Tim Kelly also finished third with a career-best time. Anytime a guy can PR and be competitive in the race, I like that."
Meanwhile, sprinter Jonathan Wade also topped the regional-qualifying cutoff with a sixth-place, 21.09w in the 200m dash on Alabama's Sam Bailey Track.
Tim Kelly provided the highlight for the distance corps with his third-place, lifetime-best time of 3:54.02 in the 1,500m run.
Already a regional qualifier after his 14.01 clocking at the Snowbird Invitational two weeks ago, Robert Boulware placed sixth in a time of 14.36w in the 110m hurdles. Sutherland followed Boulware with a season-best, 14.86w time to rate 13th.
Running behind Kelly, freshman Paul Cross ran his first collegiate 1,500m in 4:01.40 to finish 13th. Brian Mills registered a personal-best time with a 4:06.35 time.
In the 800m run, Frank Francois finished seventh in 1:54.40, and doubled with a lifetime-best 49.34 offering to take 18th in the 400m dash. Jacob Dennis got around the oval in 48.65 to finish 10th in the 400m dash.
In the 5,000m run, Doug Brown led the Vols in the longest event of the day with his ninth-place, 15:10.36 effort. Freshman Dusty Miller took 12th with a 15:26.21 offering. Saturday's action marked the first collegiate 5,000m run for both Vols.
The Volunteers, along with the field eventers who sat out the Alabama Relays, return to action Friday and Saturday in the Tarheel State at the Raleigh Relays.
VOL FINISHES
Alabama Relays, Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Saturday, March 20, 2004
100m dash
1. Titus Ryan, Wallace St. 10.43 *
32. Blake Jones, Tenn. 10.89
200m dash
1. Jonathon Brown, Western Ky. 20.76w*
6. Jonathan Wade, Tenn. 21.09w*
22. Jak Taylor, Tenn. 21.63w
400m dash
1. Nick Horton, Tenn. St. 46.69*
10. Jacob Dennis, Tenn. 48.65
18. Frank Francois, Tenn. 49.34 PR
800m run
1. Seth Bortey, Ark. St. 1:51.84
7. Frank Francois, Tenn. 1:54.40
16. Kenny Schappert, Tenn. 1:56.04
30. Jeff Day, Tenn. 1:59.76
1,500m run
1. Josphat Waweru, Ala. 3:51.08
3. Tim Kelly, Tenn. 3:54.02 PR
13. Paul Cross, Tenn. 4:01.40
27. Brian Mills, Tenn. 4:06.35 PR
51. Kenny Schappert, Tenn. 4:18.08
5,000m run
1. Josphat Waweru, Ala. 14:39.92
9. Doug Brown, Tenn. 15:10.36
12. Dusty Miller, Tenn. 15:26.21
110m hurdles
1. Aries Merritt, Tenn. 13.69w* PR
6. Robert Boulware, Tenn. 14.36w
13. Craig Sutherland, Tenn. 14.86w SB
w - wind-aided mark; PR - career best/personal record; SB - season best; * - NCAA outdoor regional qualifier.
