University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Knoxville Invitational
Porter Dominates Throws; Wade Sweeps Sprints at Knoxville Invitational
April 25, 2004 | Men's Track
April 25, 2004
Tennessee's 15th-ranked track and field squad measured progress Sunday afternoon at the Knoxville Invitational on Tom Black Track. The bad weather held off as the Volunteers wrapped up the second of three home meets on the 2004 outdoor schedule under partly sunny skies accompanied by variable breezes.
"It was a chance for people to get some events in," head coach Bill Webb said. "Everyone got to go at some point this weekend. It was a low-key meet, yet we had some lifetime bests. Jonathan Wade and Garland Porter had some wins and season bests. I was very happy with redshirt freshman Michael Hogue's lifetime-best 16-10 pole vault. Also in the pole vault, Mike Yurcho is back moving in the right direction. The weather held off for us again. We've got one more home meet to tune up for conference."
Porter accumulated three wins in the shot put, discus and hammer throw to lead all competitors. Porter pocketed the hammer gold with a regional-qualifying throw of 197 feet. Porter's winning shot put heave of 55-3 ? also surpassed the regional qualifying mark. His winning discus measurement of 161-5 improves his previous season best by more than nine feet and misses his career-best fling by just six inches.
"I've not had a day with three wins before," Porter said. "But I don't think I performed as well as I'm capable. I think my best event of the day was the discus, but the hammer was OK, too. I didn't do too well in the shot. I'm really comfortable [going into the championship portion of the season]. Coach Webb and I have been working on things in practice that I haven't executed in a meet yet. There are still some faults and errors I can work out."
Fresh off a busy weekend in Philadelphia, Pa., Wade captured gold in both the 100 and 200 dashes, surpassing the regional qualifying standard in both. Wade's winning 200 time of 20.93 seconds stands as a season-best. Wade won the 100 with a barely wind-aided time of 10.41w, faster than his preliminary time at the Penn Relays Friday.
"I'm tired," Wade said. "I've been running [at the Penn Relays] since Friday morning. It's coming back slowly. It's been a long road back after shoulder surgery to where I know I'm supposed to be."
High hurdler Robert Boulware defended his 2003 Knoxville Invitational 110 hurdles title with a 14.04, regional-qualifying winner. Craig Sutherland ran the fastest 110 hurdles of his life with a 14.69, fourth-place effort.
"My race felt pretty good," Boulware said. "I ran the 4x100 (Saturday) [at the Penn Relays]. Plus, we traveled, so my legs were a little tired. I was pretty happy with my race. I learned a lot of things I can apply next time. I'm glad I decided to run today."
The Vols measured the most improvement in the sprints and pole vault. The breeze died down enough during the 200 to give all three Vols competing either lifetime-best or season-best wind-legal times. Besides champion Wade, Jak Taylor's 21.36 time to take silver rewrote his lifetime best. In addition, Blake Jones' fifth-place, 21.70 clocking stands as the best of his career. Jones also registered another lifetime best with a barely wind-aided 10.71w to earn fourth in the 100.
After a two and a half hour competition, the pole vault results read like roll call at a Tennessee reunion. Former Vols Lawrence Johnson of adidas and Tim Mack of Nike both cleared 18-6 ?, tied for sixth on the world list of pole vaulters in the 2004 outdoor season. Johnson ended up winning the tiebreaker based on previous jumps. Former Vol Rocky Danners of Holyfield International cleared 17-4 ? to take third. Redshirt freshman Hogue of Germantown, Tenn., enjoyed the best day of his young career with a sixth-place, 16-10 ? leap. Senior Yurcho became the first Vol pole vaulter to meet the regional-qualifying standard with his eighth-place, 16-4 ? clearance. Jeff Trembley's ninth-place, 15-11 vault stands as his season best. Decathlete Chris Helwick capped the trend of improvement with his 15-5 lifetime-best vault to take 10th.
Helwick added a season-best, second-place high jump of 6-4 ?, second only to the 6-10 ? jump by former Vol Stephen Harris, now competing for the World's Greatest Athlete Decathlon Club. Former Vol Jebreh Harris, now competing for Holyfield International, won the 400 with a 47.66 time.
In addition to Porter's wins, Tennessee throwers crowded the leaderboard in the hammer, shot put and discus. In the hammer, the Vols notched the top three and five of the top-six spots. Josh Whisman finished second with a regional-qualifying mark of 188-4. Knoxville Central grad Jim Sexton took bronze with a 179-5 measurement. Tim Nguyen, who is redshirting for the Vols this season, finished fifth with a 164-1 mark, a four-foot PR improvement. Steve London took sixth with a 152-4 mark.
Whisman followed Porter's lead in the shot put with a silver, 54-8 ?, season-best regional qualifier. London nabbed fourth with a 50-0 throw. Decathlete Blake Sabo checked in seventh with a 44-9 ? offering. In the discus, Sexton followed Porter's win with a fifth-place, 148-9 mark.
Tennessee concludes the home schedule Saturday and Sunday with the Gatorade Classic, the third home meet in four weeks. After the Gatorade Classic, the Vols take one weekend for training before reporting for duty at the SEC outdoor championships in Oxford, Miss.
