University of Tennessee Athletics
FRESHMAN CLEO TYSON NAMED LADY VOL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
May 20, 2005 | Women's Track
May 20, 2005
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- University of Tennessee track & field standout Cleo Tyson has been named the Lady Vol Athlete of the Week. Tyson, a freshman from Huntsville, Texas, was chosen in a vote by the UT women's media relations staff.
At last weekend's Southeastern Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Tyson rocketed to victory in the 100-meter dash, becoming the first Lady Vol to win that event in 21 years. Her lifetime-best 11.25 clocking is the third fastest reading ever produced by a UT woman, trailing 1999 efforts of 11.20 and 11.24 by Kelli White at the NCAA Championships. Tyson, who became only the third female from the University of Tennessee to win that event, moved to fourth on the national collegiate qualifying list, to third on the U.S. women's list in 2005 and to eighth in the world for the current campaign.
Tyson also charted a career-topping 22.88 result to finish second in the 200 meters, moving her to number two on UT's all-time performers list with the sixth-fastest time in school history. That effort vaulted her to seventh on the U.S. list and to ninth in the world in that race.
In addition to her individual accomplishments, Tyson anchored the Lady Vol 4x100m relay to second place and helped the Big Orange wrap up the meet by running the second leg on UT's runner-up showing in the 4x400m relay. All those clutch performances added up to Tyson finishing as the second-highest scorer in the meet and as the runner-up for the SEC Commissioner's Trophy.
Tyson and her teammates will return to action on May 27-28, as they try to qualify for the NCAA Championships at the NCAA Mideast Regional meet in Bloomington, Ind.
