University of Tennessee Athletics
THREE VOLS SELECTED TO COMPETE AT NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
March 07, 2006 | Men's Track
March 7, 2006
Tennessee landed three athletes on the participation list for this weekend's NCAA indoor championships, held at the Randal Tyson Track Center on the campus of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark.
Aries Merritt, Chris Helwick and Rubin Williams were the Vols chosen by the NCAA to compete in the meet. All three scored for the Volunteers last year at the NCAA indoor championships and contributed to the team's 16th-place, 14-point finish.
"I am looking forward to the meet," head coach Bill Webb said. "We are sending three good, seasoned competitors who are ready to do well and represent Tennessee. We are disappointed we didn't get more people in. We had four athletes right on the bubble, but now they have to move on and get ready for the outdoor season. Even though we only have three competitors, I think we can still finish in the top 10. That is always our goal and these guys will be disappointed if they don't finish at or near the top of their event.
Merritt, a four-time All-America junior from Marietta, Ga., will line up for the Vols in the 60-meter hurdles. He owns a top time of 7.61 seconds from the Hoosier Open on Jan. 7 and will be favored to improve on his fifth-place finish at last year's NCAA indoor championships. Merritt's time is the best clocking in the NCAA this season. Oregon's Eric Mitchum (7.67) was the only other athlete to qualify under the 7.70 automatic standard. Merritt broke Jabari Greer's school record in the 55 hurdles earlier this season at the Gator Invitational with a time of 7.10, and his 7.61 is second on the 60 hurdles list behind Greer's 7.55.
Co-captain Helwick, a three-time All-America junior from Greeley, Colo., will compete in the heptathlon. He boasts a score of 5,644, only six points short of the automatic standard, from the Clemson Heptathlon Championships Jan. 27-28. Helwick's performance stands as the third-best in the country this year, behind NCAA record holder Trey Hardee and Donovan Kilmartin from Texas, and places him third on Tennessee's all-time list.
Williams, a three-time All-America sophomore from San Jose, Calif., will represent the Big Orange in both the 60 and 200. A greater threat in the longer sprints, Williams qualified for the 200 with a converted flat-track time of 20.79 at the SEC indoor championships Feb. 26. His 200 time ranks fourth on the NCAA list, behind Walter Dix from Florida State and Kelly Willie and Xavier Carter from LSU. Williams finished second in the 200 at the SEC championships, defeating four other sprinters who qualified for the NCAA meet. He qualified in the 60 with his 6.68 effort at the Virginia Tech Invitational Feb. 18, tying him for 12th on the NCAA performance list this season, and putting him sixth on Tennessee's all-time list.
The Vols won their last NCAA team title at the 2002 indoor championships, hosted by Arkansas. Justin Gatlin, Leonard Scott, Marc Sylvester, Gary Kikaya, Karl Jennings and Rocky Danners all scored to give Tennessee 62.5 points. Second-place Alabama had 47 points, while LSU finished third with 44 and Arkansas was fourth with 39 points.
Tennessee will kick-off the outdoor season March 18 at the Hurricane Invitational in Miami, Fla.
VOLS SIXTH IN COACHES POLL
Tennessee is ranked sixth this week in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll, up from seventh last week.
Texas holds the top spot, followed by Arkansas. Florida State moved into third, LSU fell to fourth and Wisconsin remained in fifth. Florida (eighth) and South Carolina (17th) join the Vols, Tigers and Razorbacks to give the SEC five teams in the poll, which recognizes the top 20. Complete rankings are available at www.ustfccca.com.
Tennessee stands eighth in this week's Trackwire 25 ranking. The rankings project UT will score 24 points at the NCAA indoor championships. The Vols, who qualified three athletes for NCAAs, were in a tie for sixth last week.
Arkansas remained in first with 59 points. Florida State moved into second with 49 points. LSU fell to third with 41, and Texas is fourth with 37. Florida and Baylor are tied for fifth with 26 points. South Carolina (17th-tie, 13 points), Alabama (24th-tie, nine points) and Auburn (24th-tie, nine points) complete the SEC's representation in this week's poll. Seven teams from the SEC ties the conference with the Big 12 for most schools represented in the poll.
The Trackwire 25 rankings, available at www.trackwire.com, are based primarily on individual leader lists for each of the events contested in the NCAA indoor championships and other factors. The resulting formchart, the "Dandy Dozen," is used to predict team finishes at the NCAA indoor championships.
