University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Clemson Heptathlon
HELWICK RALLIES FOR RUNNER-UP AND PROVISIONAL QUALIFIER
January 28, 2006 | Men's Track
Jan. 28, 2006
Tennessee co-captain Chris Helwick's performance Saturday to close the first heptathlon of the season will ensure he qualifies for the last heptathlon of the season--the NCAA indoor championships. Helwick rallied from fourth after the first day of the Clemson Heptathlon Championships to capture second place with a lifetime-best score of 5,644 points, a provisional qualifier and just six points off the automatic qualifying standard, at the Clemson Indoor Complex in Clemson, S.C.
"Chris and Alex (Dobranowski) had a fine meet," head coach Bill Webb said. "Chris will get into the NCAA meet with his score. I think Alex will be a good athlete for us. He just needed to get one (a heptathlon) in. I think he 's got 300-400 points of improvement in him just by getting used to our workouts.
Helwick rode a career-best tying leap of 16 feet, 4 3/4 inches in the pole vault, the sixth of the seven events and bane of many a heptathlete, to jump up the standings. Former Auburn star Maurice Smith, now competing unattached, won the heptathlon with 5,896 points, a facility record.
Helwick's score stands as the third best ever by a Vol heptathlete, trailing only Chad Smith (5,891) and Stephen Harris (5,689). Though it is early in the international season, Helwick's score of 5,644 points ranks 10th on the world list and fourth among all Americans in 2006. Helwick ranks third among all collegiate heptathletes this season.
"I expected a good meet," Helwick said. "My score will get me in (the NCAA indoor championships). I competed knowing I wanted to get a qualifier out of this meet. My intention was to get back into the multievent mode, which means not focusing on the score but taking it one event at a time. That includes having an overall good meet, no mental lapses and just competing hard and well. This should help move me into the next phase of the season.
In his first multievent competition as a Vol, Alex Dobranowski finished seventh with a score of 4,868 points. If the freshman can add the points Webb mentioned, Dobranowski could land in the scoring column at the SEC indoor heptathlon in a month, the next multievent competition for the Vols.
The distance Vols contested two events to close their limited participation in the Indiana Open Saturday in Bloomington, Ind. Junior Jeff Day led the way with a second-place, 4:17.29 effort in the mile. The event marked Day's season opener and stood less than a second off the winning time at Indiana's Harry Gladstein Fieldhouse.
"We had a solid performance," assistant head coach George Watts said. "We're moving in the right direction. We still have a ways to go but plenty of time to get there.
A trio of Tennesseans ran the 800 meters. Karns grad Yarrick Kincaid paced the orange by taking fourth in a season-best time of 1:53.09, knocking nearly two seconds off his opener last weekend at the Gator Invitational. Tyler DeVault followed in fifth, clocking a 1:54.02 in his first 800 of the season. Knoxville West grad Dusty Miller finished seventh in 1:55.11, just thirteen-hundredths of a second off his lifetime-best pace, in his first 800 of the season.
Tennessee competes in the New Balance Collegiate Invitational in New York's Armory next Friday and Saturday. The meet stands as the first team-scored event of the season for the Vols. A full Tennessee squad will travel north to compete in the most prestigious non-championship meet of the season.
| TENNESSEE RESULTS | ||
| Clemson Heptathlon Championships, Clemson, S.C. Saturday, Jan. 28, 2006 | ||
| Heptathlon | ||
| 1. | Maurice Smith, Unatt. | 5,896 ** |
| 2. | Chris Helwick, Tenn. | 5,644 *, PR |
| 7. | Alex Dobranowski, Tenn. | 4,868 |
| Indiana Open, Bloomington, Ind. Saturday, Jan. 28, 2006 | ||
| 800 | ||
| 1. | Ricardo Bell, Ind. Invaders | 1:50.58 |
| 4. | Yarrick Kincaid, Tenn. | 1:53.09 SB |
| 5. | Tyler DeVault, Tenn. | 1:54.02 |
| 7. | Dusty Miller, Tenn. | 1:55.11 |
| Mile | ||
| 1. | Charlie Keating, Ind. | 4:16.41 |
| 2. | Jeff Day, Tenn. | 4:17.29 |
| SB-season-best mark; PR-personal record/career best mark; *-NCAA indoor provisional qualifier; **-NCAA indoor automatic qualifer. | ||
