University of Tennessee Athletics
NCAA Berths on Line at Mideast Regionals
May 25, 2005 | Men's Track
May 25, 2005
The path to the NCAA championships runs through Bloomington, Ind., Friday and Saturday as the track and field Vols compete in the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships. Tennessee sends 17 individuals and its 4x100 relay team to Indiana's Robert C. Haugh Track and Field Complex with hopes of extending the season through the NCAA championships.
"Our goal is to get as many people qualified for the NCAA championships as we can," head coach Bill Webb said. "Lifetime bests and season bests are a bonus. This type of meet is all about competing regardless of the conditions. We want to represent Tennessee and have a big weekend.
To qualify for the Mideast Regional athletes must have met a regional standard in their event(s) during the outdoor season. Competitors in the June 8-11 NCAA outdoor championships must qualify through four NCAA regional meets. Tennessee belongs to the Mideast Region, generally accepted as the toughest of the four regions. In individual events, the top-five finishers from each regional meet advance to the NCAA championships, just as was the case last year.
However, the procedure for choosing the remaining qualifiers has changed. Those who finish sixth, seventh or eighth in each regional meet also have a chance to make the NCAA field. Those sixth through eighth-place finishers will be placed on a rank-ordered list on the basis of their best mark of the season, which could have been posted at the regional meet or any other meet before. According to Webb, the NCAA field will be completed by taking the first names off that rank-ordered list until all spots are filled. An athlete must compete at the NCAA regional meet and finish in the top eight to have any chance of qualifying for the NCAA championships. In an exception to the procedure, competitors in the 10,000 meters and decathlon do not compete in the regional meets but advance based on an automatic/provisional system because of the physical difficulty of competing in those events in a compressed time frame.
"I agree with those who say the Mideast Region is the strongest region by far," Webb said. "With the exception of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, the entire SEC is in the Mideast. There will be a heavy SEC influence on qualifying for the NCAA. There are also some excellent Big Ten teams in the region, and Missouri comes from the Big 12.
Analyzing the Tennessee travel squad shows the Vols are particularly deep in the 110 hurdles. Five Tennessee 110 hurdlers -- Aries Merritt, Robert Boulware, Drew Brunson, Damond Campbell and Cade Liverman -- reached the regional standard and will make the trip. Three Vols compete in the steeplechase as Zach Sabatino, Jeff Day and Tyler DeVault made the cut. Garland Porter, Jim Sexton and Josh Whisman give Tennessee a trio in the hammer throw.
SEC champion Merritt leads the parade of Vols with the best 110 hurdles time in the Mideast Region. Porter owns the third-best hammer mark in the region. Porter is also scheduled to compete in the shot put, where he's ranked 20th. Tennessee's 4x100 relay team ranks third in the region. Paul Cross ranks fourth in the 800. Jeremy Burton ranks sixth in the 400 hurdles. Rubin Williams' 200 time also ranks sixth. Williams also owns the 11th-best time in the 100. Pole vaulter Michael Hogue stands seventh in the region. Eric Pierce competes in both the long jump (eighth) and triple jump (14th). Sexton ranks eighth in the hammer and 28th in the discus.
Sabatino, who owns a provisional qualifier in the 10,000, ranks ninth in the steeplechase. Brunson stands 10th on the high jump list and 18th among 110 hurdlers. Whisman competes in the hammer (11th) and shot put (28th). Day stands 13th among region steeplechasers. Co-captain Boulware ranks 15th on the 110 hurdles list. DeVault stands 17th in the 5,000 and 23rd in the steeplechase. Jonathan Wade holds the 20th-best time in the 100. Campbell holds the 27th-best 110 hurdles time. Liverman ranks 31st on the region's 110 hurdles list.
While Tennessee hasn't competed at Indiana in quite some time, Webb is likely to feel comfortable in Hoosier land. After earning his bachelor's degree at High Point (N.C.) University in 1971, Webb completed master's degrees at Indiana in 1973 and `74. Two squad members also call the Hoosier State home. Porter, competing in the hammer and shot put, hails from Indianapolis, Ind. Distance runner Brian Mills, who won't be competing at the regional meet, lists Richmond, Ind., as his hometown.
