University of Tennessee Athletics
Gatorade Classic Caps Home Track & Field Home Schedule
April 29, 2004 | Men's Track
April 29, 2004
Tennessee concludes its three-meet outdoor home schedule Saturday and Sunday on Tom Black Track with the 32nd Gatorade Classic. The non-scored meet serves as a final competitive outing before the Southeastern Conference Championships May 13-16 in Oxford, Miss.
The Volunteers hope to hone their craft one last time against competition at the Gatorade Classic. Then they use the next weekend for training and making final strategic adjustments and preparations for the SEC meet.
The tentative list of entrants includes 11 collegiate teams, including SEC powers Auburn and Tennessee. Additionally, Olympic hopefuls competing for adidas, Nike, Puma, Holyfield International, Runners' Market and the World's Greatest Athlete Decathlon Club dot the list of entrants, including several former Vols now competing professionally. The Gatorade Classic field looks to be stronger than last Sunday's Knoxville Invitational but not as powerful as the list of entrants for the Sea Ray Relays April 7-10.
The Gatorade Classic includes all events contested at the SEC and NCAA championships, with the exception of the 5,000-meter run, 10,000 and decathlon. However, the 3,000, not contested at the SEC and NCAA outdoor meets, has been added to the meet program.
The meet begins Saturday at 4:10 p.m. with the women's hammer. Saturday's action for men includes the hammer, javelin, long jump and steeplechase. Saturday's limited slate concludes at 7:50 p.m. with the women's steeplechase. Sunday afternoon stands packed with events from 1:30 p.m. (the women's 4x100 relay) to 5:45 p.m. (men's 4x400 relay).
Admission is free.
VOLS IN WEEKLY RANKINGS UPDATE
Tennessee's track and field squad maintained its position in the Team Power Rankings but slipped a bit in the Trackwire 25 in this week's update.
The Volunteers remain third in the U.S. Track Coaches Association Team Power Ranking. Tennessee holds a score of 379.89, up from last week's total of 373.96. Wisconsin still leads with 391.02 points. Nebraska's total of 382.66 points stands second. 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 occupying a tie for 15th with 18 projected NCAA points last week, the Vols slipped to 19th with 15 points in the most recent Trackwire 25. Arkansas remains the national leader with 62 projected NCAA points. LSU stands second with 51 points. Florida and Auburn rank third with 41 points each. 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.
