University of Tennessee Athletics
NCAA Berths at Stake in Mideast Regional Friday
May 26, 2004 | Men's Track
May 26, 2004
Tennessee must clear one final hurdle at the NCAA Mideast Regional Friday and Saturday before taking its act to the biggest stage in collegiate track and field -- the NCAA outdoor championships. Twenty Volunteers suit up for the regional meet this week at LSU's Bernie Moore Track Stadium in Baton Rouge, La., to determine Tennessee's roster for the upcoming NCAA championships in Austin, Texas June 9-12.
"We probably have just about as many regional qualifiers as anyone else in the country plus another couple provisional qualifiers in the decathlon," head coach Bill Webb said. "I view it as a necessary evil. That's the way to the NCAA meet now. If you're not as high on the list as Aries Merritt [110-meter hurdles], Paul Cross [800], Marc Sylvester [800] or Leigh Smith [javelin], then you better get in the top five at regionals. We're going there to compete fiercely and advance as many people to the NCAAs as possible."
While team finish is deemed most important at the SEC and NCAA championships, the goal for the Mideast Regional is to advance as many people as possible to the NCAA meet. The Mideast Regional is team scored but locking up your slot for the NCAA outdoors by finishing in the top five of your event is paramount to winning the regional team title. The sixth, seventh and eighth-place finishes that can tilt the balance of power at an SEC or NCAA meet will leave an athlete out of the NCAA championships loop at the Mideast Regional.
The Tennessee 20 traveling to Baton Rouge have been given those marching orders by the Vols coaching staff. Tennessee contests both the 4x100 and 4x400 relays. Tentatively, Blake Jones, Sean Lambert, Jonathan Wade and Jak Taylor are set to pass the baton on the 4x100 relay. Jacob Dennis, Cross, Merritt and Taylor have been penciled in for duty on the 4x400 relay.
The Vols boast three competitors each in three different events. In the 800, Cross, Sylvester and Frank Francois will attempt to shore up their NCAA status in the two lapper. In the steeplechase, Tim Kelly, Jeff Day and Doug Brown hope to navigate the 3,000 meters of water jumps and hurdles to splash down in the top five. In the hammer, the Tennessee three of Garland Porter, Josh Whisman and Jim Sexton have earned a spot in the regionals.
Tennessee sends a pair of entrants into other events. Co-captain Lambert and Wade draw double duty in the 100 and 200. Also on the short track, Merritt and Robert Boulware contest the 110 hurdles. Porter and Whisman get another chance at the NCAA meet in the shot put.
Additionally, Brett Frykberg represents the Vols in the high jump. NCAA leader Smith will compete in the javelin. Jak Taylor suits up for the 400. After an impressive collegiate opener at the SEC meet, Jeremy Burton gets another shot at the 400 hurdles. Merritt qualified for the 400 hurdles but will concentrate on the high hurdles, his specialty. Mike Yurcho hopes to cap his collegiate career with an NCAA championships appearance with a strong regional pole vault clearance.
Upon adopting the regional format for NCAA outdoor qualifying in 2003, the path to the NCAA meet changed from its previous course of automatic and provisional qualifying standards. An athlete must meet the regional standard, less lofty than the previous automatic and provisional standards, in a meet earlier this season to qualify for the regional meet.
Those advancing to the NCAA championships must finish in the top five at one of four regional meets. Tennessee belongs to the Mideast region, which includes all Division I teams from Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee and Wisconsin. The Mideast region is generally considered the strongest across all events nationally. In the event an elite athlete who ranks near the top of the performance list in his event meets misfortune at the regional meet and places out of the top five, some qualifying exceptions are granted by the committee. Those situations are dealt with on a case by case basis.
"We're going to be competitive and represent the University of Tennessee," Webb said. "It's kind of like our conference meet with many of the same old faces, but we also add some quality northern schools from the region."
Qualifying for the NCAA indoor championships remains based on the automatic and provisional qualifying system. To muddy the process even more, NCAA outdoor championships qualifying for the 10,000 and decathlon is still based on the automatic and provisional system because of the physical difficulty of competing in those events twice in the compressed time period between the regional and NCAA meet. Blake Sabo and Chris Helwick hold provisional qualifiers in the decathlon which may make the NCAA cut. Last season, Tennessee sent 21 athletes to the NCAA Mideast Regional and finished seventh at a windswept, shivering affair at Ohio State's Jesse Owens Memorial Track.
