University of Tennessee Athletics
VOLS EARN TEAM POWER RANKINGS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
March 13, 2006 | Men's Track
March 13, 2006
Tennessee's track and field team was named the 2006 indoor national champion by the Team Power Rankings. The Vols finished the indoor season with 329.6 points. The rankings are designed to measure a complete team and reward the programs that have excelled in more than just one event or specialty.
The Team Power Rankings are based on a hypothetical dual meet in which points are awarded to teams with individuals who register national-caliber marks in each event of sprints, middle distance, distance, hurdles, relays, jumps, throws and heptathlon.
"The Team Power Ranking is the one rankings system we are always excited about winning because it only rewards teams that excel in all the event areas, " head coach Bill Webb said. "Too many teams specialize in just one area. Our program is being recognized as a balanced team and the No. 1 dual-meet team in the nation. It has always been important to our staff and the University of Tennessee to be a balanced track team. We're one of the few programs able to win this ranking's championship multiple times.
The Volunteers had a strong showing at the NCAA indoor championships in Fayetteville, Ark., last weekend, scoring 25 points to finish fifth. Aries Merritt claimed the 60-meter hurdles title with a school and meet-record time of 7.51 seconds. Chris Helwick set a personal-best score in the heptathlon to finish second with 5,917 points. Rubin Williams finished fifth in the 200 with a season-best clocking of 20.97 and sixth in the 60 after running a personal-best time of 6.67 in the preliminaries.
Tennessee finished a season on top of the Team Power Rankings for the 10th time since 1991, with eight of those titles coming under Webb. Tennessee has been named indoor national rankings champion four times (1996, `99, 2002 and `06) and outdoor national rankings champion six times (1991, `94, `99, 2000, `02 and `03).
Florida finished second with a score of 327.93, followed by LSU in third with 325.98 points. Alabama finished fourth with 321.82 points and Nebraska finished fifth with 317.18 points to keep the SEC from a complete sweep of the top five positions. Complete results can be found at team-power.org.
The Volunteers will open the outdoor season Saturday at the Hurricane Invitational in Miami, Fla.
