University of Tennessee Athletics
FORMER VOLS HONORED BY USA TRACK & FIELD
December 14, 2006 | Men's Track
Dec. 14, 2006
Two Knoxville residents and former University of Tennessee standouts were honored earlier this month at USA Track & Field's Annual Meeting, held Nov. 28-Dec. 3 in Indianapolis.
Tom Pappas received the John Bennett Award, presented to the individual who best exemplifies leadership, integrity and dedication in support and promotion of the decathlon, and Tony Cosey was elected vice chair of the Athletes Advisory Committee.
Pappas, a UT letterman in 1997 and 1999, earned two All-America certificates and an NCAA championship in the decathlon during his time at Tennessee. His point toal of 8,463 in the decathlon in 1999 stands as Tennessee's school record and was the NCAA record until it was broken by two points in 2006. Pappas also won the decathlon at the SEC outdoor championships in 1997. After leaving Tennessee, Pappas won a gold medal in the decathlon at the 2003 outdoor world championships held in Paris, France.
Cosey, a UT letterman from 1993-96, won four All-America honors in three different distance events during his time on The Hill. In addition to the track accolades, Cosey was also a two-time cross country All-America selection. He traveled to Sydney, Australia, in 2000 to compete in the steeplechase as a member of the U.S. Olympic Team. Cosey also served as the guest speaker at this year's UT cross country banquet, reflecting on his time as a Vol and what it took for him to make it all the way to the Olympics.
USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, the most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the No. 1 high school and junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States. For more information on USATF and the Annual Meeting, visit www.usatf.org.
