University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
SEC Outdoor Championships
Vols Vault to Second at SEC Outdoors
May 15, 2004 | Men's Track
May 15, 2004
OXFORD, Miss. - After scoring in every event finals it contested Saturday, Tennessee's track and field squad jumped into a tie for second with 33 points in the toughest league in the nation entering the final day of the Southeastern Conference outdoor championships at the Ole Miss Track and Field Complex. However, a lukewarm effort in the preliminaries may leave the Volunteers in need of more muscle during Sunday's final clash.
Tennessee parlayed a gutsy 2-4-6 effort by Chris Helwick, Blake Sabo and Kevin Yeager into 16 points in the decathlon to open the day. The Volunteers added another seven points to bookend the night courtesy of a 5-6 finish in the steeplechase by Tim Kelly and Jeff Day. In between, Garland Porter retook the Vols' scoring lead with nine total points after adding a fifth-place shot put finish to his fourth-place hammer finish from Friday.
Auburn leads the team scoring with 48 points. Georgia also boasts 33 points to tie the Vols. LSU stands fourth with 30 points. Arkansas (fifth, 26 points) and Florida (sixth, 24 points) remain in the hunt.
The rare three-day decathlon ended with a 16-point windfall for the Tennesseans as all three Vols placed in the top six. After overwhelming favorite Maurice Smith of Auburn no heighted before Friday night's rain postponement, the complexion of the decathlon changed. When the decathlon pole vault resumed Saturday at 10 a.m. without the hindrance of precipitation, nine competitors remained and the bunching of scores offered vertical momentum up or down the scoreboard hinging on a quality performance in the last three events. The Volunteers continued to compete tough and improved their lot.
True freshman Chris Helwick struck silver in only his second collegiate decathlon with a lifetime-best score of 7,290. Despite the difficulties presented by the three-day test of mental and physical stamina, Helwick authored a strong close, vaulting from fifth to second in the last three events by finishing second in each. Helwick, the Vols' best decathlon pole vaulter, finished the event in second with a 14 foot, 7 ? inch clearance after the overnight delay. Helwick's javelin measurement of 185-11 also took second. Helwick closed the decathlon with another second-place finish in the 1,500-meter run with a 4:39.02 clocking.
Helwick's score of 7,290 probably won't be enough to qualify for the NCAA outdoor championships. However, if the score is impressive enough to make the cut, Tennessee will have to appeal to get him in because of the unconventional three-day decathlon.
"This was absolutely the most bizarre decathlon I've been part of," Helwick said. "This one's definitely going into the memory books. It [the delay and rain] throws your rhythm off a little, but I tried to adjust. It's a little encouraging. Things were off. There were so many places where more points will come in regular circumstances, but I did a few things well."
Sabo finished fourth with a 6,911 score. Sabo took fifth in the pole vault (12-11 ?), but bounced back to win the javelin with a 187-6 measurement. Sabo took ninth in the 1,500, his nemesis, with a time of 5:36.30 to cap his decathlon.
"It was crazy how it turned out, but it was just as wet and nasty for everyone," Sabo said. "I'm just glad it's over and our team came out with the most points. I think we're pleased with the point total. We're happy to put 16 points on the board for Tennessee."
Yeager, a Farragut grad, finished sixth with a season-best total of 6,747 points. Yeager tied for sixth in the pole vault with a 12-3 ? clearance. He took eighth with a lifetime-best 146-11 measurement in the javelin. Yeager concluded his decathlon with a season-best winner in the 1,500 in 4:38.10, refusing to let anyone below him on the leaderboard steal his sixth-place points.
Tennessee got a needed seven points from the steeplechase to put the wraps on Saturday night. Kelly finished fifth in 9:08.69, which surpassed the previous track record, to contribute four points to the cause. Freshman Day took sixth in 9:13.30, which also topped the previous track record, to add three points to the coffers. Doug Brown just missed scoring with his ninth-place, 9:25.12 time, which also beat the previous track record.
"I was happy that we got our points, but we know we should have finished higher if we had run our [season-best] times," Kelly said. "I wasn't happy with my time. The strongest part of my race was going out fast in the beginning. It's a little different approach with the steeple pit on the outside of the track. Usually, we run with the pit on the inside."
Porter upped his point contribution to nine to lead the Vols in that important category at the end of the third day. After finishing fourth in the hammer throw Friday, Porter placed fifth in the shot put with a regional qualifier of 57-9 ?. Teammate Josh Whisman took 11th in the shot put with a 54-4 ? effort, another regional qualifier.
Freshman Aries Merritt led the Vols in prelim action by going two-for-two in qualifying for the 110 hurdles and 400 hurdles finals. Merritt led all competitors with a 13.73 regional qualifier in the 110 hurdles. Merritt also secured a berth in the 400 hurdles finals with a seventh-place, 52.01 regional qualifier.
"My approach [in the 110 hurdles] wasn't as good as I wanted," Merritt said. "I need to tune that up for the finals. I didn't get out as fast as I wanted. I was getting eaten up, but I kept my focus. I like the high hurdles better, but my intermediates [hurdles] are coming around. My focus was a little down. I was ready to run last night--rain or not. I think I'll do fine tomorrow."
In his first race as a Vol, freshman Jeremy Burton performed admirably on the big stage. Burton also qualified for the 400 hurdles finals with an eighth-place, 52.30 regional qualifier. Burton got out of the hole a little timidly but closed with authority to nip a competitor at the tape.
In the 110 hurdles, Craig Sutherland continued his improvement with a 14.54 to notch the day's 10th-best qualifying time and miss the finals by just one-tenth of a second. During warm-ups, Robert Boulware aggravated a leg injury sustained in the warm-ups of the Gatorade Classic two weeks ago. Sprint/hurdles coach Vince Anderson made the decision to scratch him from the race in order to avoid a more serious injury.
In the 100 prelims, co-captain Sean Lambert cruised to the win the first heat and take the third-best overall time with a regional-qualifying 10.40. However, Jonathan Wade, running in the first heat, missed qualifying by nine-hundredths of a second after running a 10.59, the 11th-best time of the day. Freshman Blake Jones' 10.67 stands as the fastest effort of his career, but the 13th-ranked time didn't make the finals cut.
In the 400, newcomer Jak Taylor reserved his finals' lane with his 46.78 regional qualifier to place seventh. Freshman Jacob Dennis' career-best 47.99 took 17th and didn't make the cut.
The Vols were blanked in qualifying for the 1,500 finals. Running in the second heat, Rob Cloutier made a strong move into the top four with about 200 meters remaining, but couldn't sustain the drive. Cloutier finished seventh in his heat and 13th overall in 3:50.51, the fastest non-advancing time. Miller actually led the second heat with two laps to go, but the Knoxville West product ended up eighth in the heat and 14th overall with the second-fastest non-advancing time.
History is tangible at the SEC outdoor championships. Stan Huntsman (1971-85), Doug Brown (1986-95) and Bill Webb (1996-present), Tennessee's last three head coaches dating back to 1971, are all in attendance. Huntsman, Brown and Webb directed 17 of Tennessee's league-leading 24 SEC outdoor titles, with Chuck Rohe (1963-70) chipping in the remainder.
The SEC outdoor championships conclude Sunday. Tennessee sends competitors to 14 finals Sunday with points available to the top-eight scorers in each.
TENNESSEE RESULTS
SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Oxford, Miss.
Saturday, May 15, 2004
Decathlon (final)
1. Trey Hardee, Miss. St. 7,480
2. Chris Helwick, Tenn. 7,290 PR
4. Blake Sabo, Tenn. 6,911
6. Kevin Yeager, Tenn. 6,747 SB
Decathlon pole vault
1. Jimmy Duke, Ark. 14-11
2. Chris Helwick, Tenn. 14-7 ?
5. Blake Sabo, Tenn. 12-11 ?
6t. Kevin Yeager, Tenn. 12-3 ?
Decathlon javelin
1. Blake Sabo, Tenn. 187-6
2. Chris Helwick, Tenn. 185-11
8. Kevin Yeager, Tenn. 146-11 PR
Decathlon 1,500m run
1. Kevin Yeager, Tenn. 4:38.10 SB
2. Chris Helwick, Tenn. 4:39.02
9. Blake Sabo, Tenn. 5:36.30
100m dash (prelims)
1. Tyson Gay, Ark. 10.30 *, Q, FR
3. Sean Lambert, Tenn. 10.40 *, Q
11. Jonathan Wade, Tenn. 10.59
13. Blake Jones, Tenn. 10.67 PR
400m dash (prelims)
1. Terry Gatson, Ark. 46.10 *, Q, FR
7. Jak Taylor, Tenn. 46.78 *, Q
17. Jacob Dennis, Tenn. 47.99 PR
1,500m run (prelims)
1. Alistair Cragg, Ark. 3:45.16 *, Q, FR
13. Rob Cloutier, Tenn. 3:50.51 SB
14. Dusty Miller, Tenn. 3:51.94
Steeplechase (final)
1. Steve Zieminski, Fla. 8:53.01 *, FR
5. Tim Kelly, Tenn. 9:08.69
6. Jeff Day, Tenn. 9:13.30
9. Doug Brown, Tenn. 9:25.12
110m hurdles (prelims)
1. Aries Merritt, Tenn. 13.73 *, Q
10. Craig Sutherland, Tenn. 14.54
-- Robert Boulware, Tenn. Scratched
400m hurdles (prelims)
1. Bennie Brazell, LSU 50.09 *, Q, FR
7. Aries Merritt, Tenn. 52.01 *, Q
8. Jeremy Burton, Tenn. 52.30 *, Q
Long jump (final)
1. Leevan Sands, Auburn 26-4 ? *
Shot put (final)
1. Edis Elkasevic, Auburn 64-0 ? *, FR
5. Garland Porter, Tenn. 57-9 ? *
11. Josh Whisman, Tenn. 54-4 ? *
Q-qualified for event finals; SB-season best; PR-personal record/career best; *-NCAA regional qualifier, FR-facility record.
