University of Tennessee Athletics
Penn Relays Headline Weekend Trio of Meets For Vols
April 21, 2004 | Men's Track
April 21, 2004
After spending last weekend training at home, Tennessee makes up for the break from competition with three meets this week. The Volunteers suit up competitors Thursday through Saturday for the Penn Relays, Friday for Louisville's Cardinal Open and Sunday for a home date in the Knoxville Invitational.
The 110th Penn Relays Carnival highlights the trio of meets for the Volunteers. Assistant coaches George Watts and Vince Anderson lead 18 Tennesseans north to Franklin Field in Philadelphia, Pa., for the world's oldest and largest relay carnival. Excepting the SEC and NCAA championships, the Penn Relays stand as the jewel of the outdoor schedule, a meet not to be missed by the Volunteers dating back to the end of World War II.
Tim Kelly, Jeff Day and Doug Brown open the Vols' participation with a Thursday night slot in the steeplechase. Ed Davis and Matthew Lapp cap the night with a late 10,000-meter run appointment. Friday's action picks up with the Vols contesting the 4x100 relay prelims, distance medley relay, 4x400 relay and sprint medley relay. Additionally, Aries Merritt and Robert Boulware compete in the 110 hurdles prelims Friday. Merritt reports again Saturday for the 400 hurdles. Javelin thrower Leigh Smith stands as the Vols' lone field event entry. Also on Saturday, Tennessee runs the 4x800 relay and 4xmile relay, in addition to the finals of the 110 hurdles and 4x100 relay if the Vols advance.
The Penn Relays Carnival offers the greatest variety of events contested of any meet in the nation. This year, during some 33 hours of competition on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, more than 425 races will be run featuring 22,000 athletes ranging from elementary school students to sprinters crashing the century mark.
Spectators can catch events ranging from the Philadelphia elementary shuttle hurdle relay to the master's 100 dash for participants 75 years or older. Events from the Special Olympics 100m dash to the Penn intramural 4x100 relay will be held. The Penn Relays boast events from the South Jersey middle school 4x100 relay to USA vs. The World 4x100 relay. In the USA vs. The World relays, former Vols Justin Gatlin and Leonard Scott have been made available for duty in the American relay pool. In those blockbuster events, some of the finest professional sprinters in the U.S. team up and square off against relay squads from other nations in an Olympic preview. In the past few years, 100 dashes for blind sprinters and races for corporate relay teams have also occupied spots on the schedule.
The large, circular, wooden trophy for winning a "Championship of America" relay title at Penn features Benjamin Franklin, the school's founder, and four relay athletes on the seal. With the exception of an Olympic or World Championship medal and an NCAA champion's trophy, a Penn Relays championship trophy stands as one of the most sought-after prizes in all of track and field. Several Penn Relays trophies grace the Volunteer team room and track offices.
Tennessee is one of the handful of schools to be honored with the annual hoisting of its flag over the Penn Relays, thanks to its longstanding success in the meet. Since 1966, Tennessee has won 29 Penn Relay Championship of America relay titles, the third-best total in the nation. Martin Korik began Tennessee's tradition of winning at the Penn Relays with consecutive pole vault titles in 1949 and '50. Tennessee has won 13 shuttle hurdle relay titles at Penn, more than twice as many as any other school. The first Penn Relays were held on April 21, 1895, drawing a crowd of 5,000. However, the crowds have grown with the stature of the meet.
"I hope for good weather on Saturday," Penn Relays director Dave Johnson said. "We missed that weather last year, but we still had a pretty good crowd in the house - about 39,000. The last time we had a bad weather Saturday was about 20 years earlier and that was around 28,000. In the last 12 years our base has risen rather dramatically, and I think with some good weather we will see anywhere from 45,000-50,000 people on a nice bright sunny Saturday. That is what I am hoping for."
Head coach Bill Webb leads a contingent of Tennesseans to Louisville for the Cardinal Open Friday. Tennessee decathletes Blake Sabo, Chris Helwick, Alex Hritcu and Kevin Yeager are entered in a variety of field events and the 110 hurdles. The Vol throwers also get a good workout with the shot put, discus and hammer throw featuring orange. Additionally, the Vols field entries in the 110 hurdles, 400 hurdles and 5,000 on the track.
The Knoxville Invitational concludes the busy weekend on the home track. The pole vault is added into the mix on Tom Black Track with Jeff Trembley, Mike Yurcho and Jay Mandato joining decathletes Sabo, Helwick, Hritcu and Yeager in the event. Other Vols who traveled to the Penn Relays or Cardinal Open may also enter events in the Knoxville Invitational. The Vol roster for the home meet is fluid, but participation will be lighter than for the home-opening Sea Ray Relays two weeks ago.
The non-scored meet begins with the women's hammer throw at 9:30 a.m. and runs through the afternoon with the men's steeplechase getting underway at 4:45 p.m. Events on the track begin at 1:50 p.m.
VOLS GET MIXED NEWS IN RANKINGS UPDATE
Tennessee's track and field squad climbed in one set of rankings and fell slightly in another after its weekend away from competition.
After standing second last week, the Volunteers dropped to third in the U.S. Track Coaches Association Team Power Ranking. Tennessee holds a score of 373.96. Wisconsin took over the lead from Arizona State with the top total of 382.52 points. The Sun Devils hold second with 377.91 points. The USTCA Team Power Ranking attempts to reward teams fielding complete squads across all events. Tennessee has won the USTCA Team Power Ranking title nine times since 1991, most recently the 2003 outdoor season.
After being left out of the season-opening Trackwire 25 team ranking, the Vols climbed to 20th with 14 projected NCAA outdoor points in last week's update. Tennessee continued its upward momentum in the Trackwire 25, jumping into a tie for 15th with Oregon and 18 projected NCAA points. The Trackwire 25, available on www.trackwire.com, attempts to project the finish at the NCAA meet by analyzing national event leader lists and other factors. Arkansas overtook LSU for the top spot in the Trackwire 25 with 54 points. LSU stands second with 49 projected points, and Florida, the leader two weeks ago, holds down third with 41. Auburn clocks in at fourth with 35 projected points to give the SEC the top four teams.
