University of Tennessee Athletics
TRACK VOLS TO BEGIN SPRING BREAK IN MIAMI
March 16, 2006 | Men's Track
March 16, 2006
The Tennessee men's track and field team, fresh off a fifth-place finish at the 2006 NCAA indoor championships, will begin its outdoor season Saturday at the Hurricane Invitational, held at Cobb Stadium on the campus of the University of Miami.
"It was 86 degrees in Miami today, so we hope to get some good training," head coach Bill Webb said. "Sometimes it's good to get the whole team together and just have them all spending time with each other. This weekend will be a low-key meet. Everybody will have an opportunity to do something. We've been to this meet several times, and they do a good job. Our athletes also will get a chance to compete in the outdoor events, like the javelin and discus, for the first time this season.
Tennessee will be one of five men's teams competing that finished in the top 25 of the 2006 NCAA indoor championships. The other schools include No. 4 Texas, No. 7 Wisconsin, No. 14 Virginia Tech and No. 25 George Mason. The field also boasts six schools participating in the men's NCAA basketball tournament. No. 1 seed Connecticut, No. 2 seeds Tennessee and Texas, No. 5 seed Syracuse, No. 9 seed Wisconsin and No. 11 seed George Mason will all be represented on the hardwood as well as the track this weekend.
NCAA indoor championship meet participants Aries Merritt, Chris Helwick and Rubin Williams headline the Vols' effort this weekend. Merritt, the 60-meter hurdles champion, will run the third leg of the 4x100 relay along with Matthieu Pritchett, Akeem Hardnett and Drew Brunson. Co-captain Helwick, runner-up in the heptathlon, is scheduled to compete in the javelin, shot put, discus and 5,000. Williams, fifth in the 200 and sixth in the 60, will line up for the start of the 400.
Co-captain Jim Sexton headlines the throwing efforts for the Vols. He will compete in the hammer throw with Tim Nguyen, Nick Panezich and Richard Wooten, as well as the shot put alongside Panezich, Jangy Addy and Wooten. Joining Helwick for the first javelin throw of the year will be Anthony Immediate, Addy and Alex Dobranowski. Addy, Dobranowski, Sexton and Panezich are scheduled to throw the discus as well. SEC indoor champion Michael Hogue leads the pole vault charge, followed by Brad Holtz, Jeff Trembley, Addy and Dobranowski. Senior Eric Pierce is the Vols' only entry in the long jump, while sophomore Chris Wilson will provide the only Tennessee orange in the triple jump.
The results from the track events might look a bit strange this weekend, as many athletes are scheduled to run in events that are not normally on their weekend itinerary. Hardnett, Holtz, Wilson and James Jones will report to the starting line for the 100, while Jacob Dennis, Pritchett and Addy will line up for the start of the 200. Damond Campbell and Brunson will run their normal event, the 110 hurdles, while Campbell and Carjay Lyles will run the 400 hurdles. The Vols will also send two 4x400 relay teams out to represent the orange and white. Kenny Schappert, Dennis, Pritchett and Brunson will run for the `A' team while Lyles, Dusty Miller, Yarrick Kincaid and Campbell will line up as the `B' team.
The Vols will have a small distance representation in Miami as well. 2005 cross country co-captain Matthew Lapp is scheduled to compete in the 1,500 along with Doug Brown, Ed Davis, Kincaid and Steve Tobin. Miller and Schappert will run the 800, while Dobranowski will join Helwick in the 5,000.
After the Hurricane Invitational, the Vols will stay in southern Florida and train in Clermont. Tennessee will then compete at the Disney World Invitational in Orlando, March 23-25.
