University of Tennessee Athletics
LADY VOLS BACK ON VICTORY STAND AT PENN RELAYS AS SPRINT MEDLEY TRIUMPHS
April 28, 2006 | Women's Track
April 28, 2006
PHILADELPHIA -- Consider the i's dotted, t's crossed and p's and q's minded. The University of Tennessee women's sprint medley relay team followed its coach's instructions to the letter Friday evening at the 112th Penn Relays, and as a result the Lady Vol quartet stood proudly atop the victory stand at Franklin Field with the school's second Championship of America in that event in three years.
With a third-day crowd of 29,943 spectators coming through the turnstiles on another atypically beautiful spring day at this grand old event, the Lady Vol foursome of sophomores Courtney Champion (Lawrenceville, Ga.) and Cleo Tyson (Huntsville, Texas), senior Patricia Hall (St. Ann, Jamaica) and freshman Sarah Bowman (Warrenton, Va.) delivered the program's second SMR relay wheel, following the first in 2004, and gave UT its 12th overall victory at this prestigious meet. In Head Coach J.J. Clark's four-year tenure in Knoxville, his pupils have now won four times, thanks to a triumphant three-minute, 45.16-second readout today that ranked as the fifth best in program annals.
The three members of the Lady Vol sprint corps, who were running their third race of the day, set the table for Bowman. Champion quickly made up the stagger on the opening 200-meter leg and made the baton exchange with the awaiting Tyson about even with Miami and LSU. Tyson then propelled Team Orange into the lead with her impressive 200-meter hitch and deposited the stick into the hands of UT's 400-meter ace, Hall. The UT senior held the lead briefly, but she surrendered it to Miami's quarter leg Ginou Etienne before closing hard over the final 150 meters to overtake the Hurricane and register a 51.9 split that gave Bowman a head start on her UM 800m counterpart.
That two-stride lead was all Bowman would need, as the rookie rode a speedy first lap to a 2:06.7 clocking over her two trips around the oval to seal the victory over the runner-up `Canes (3:46.34). For the UT freshman, it marked the third consecutive year she had earned a win at this meet. Her previous two triumphs came when she won the girls' high school mile in 2004 and 2005.
"We came here with four young ladies who have never run on a championship team at Penn Relays, and we got it done," Clark said. "That's very exciting. The sprint group did an absolutely great job in providing Sarah with a second or two cushion. I stressed to them how important it was for us to be in front, and they did their jobs well."
"Our freshman was a bit anxious and went out a little too quick (on the first lap), but she was able to hang on and run a good race. I am very proud of the team as a whole and also for a freshman to anchor with such poise.
Tennessee will have a shot at two more relay Championships of America on Saturday, as Bowman is expected to join senior Brooke Novak (Kaukauna, Wis.) and juniors Leslie Treherne (Chesapeake, Va.) and Mindy Sullivan (Lubbock, Texas) in seeking glory for the Lady Vols in the 4x800m event for the sixth time, while Champion, Tyson, Hall and sophomore LaTonya Loche (Bastrop, La.) take a crack at UT's first-ever 4x200m relay victory. Redshirt freshman Celriece Law (Denver, Colo.) will also compete on the final day after earning a lane in the 100-meter hurdle finals with a 13.56 result in the prelims Friday.
In the 4x200m prelims on Friday afternoon, UT's aforementioned quartet donned its usual orange singlets but debuted a "retro" look with white shorts. That wardrobe change seemed to provide a spark, as the Lady Vols rocketed to a blistering readout of one minute, 31.88 seconds to easily win heat three and post the fastest qualifying time by more than two seconds. Georgia Tech was the closest threat, running 1:34.04, followed by UT's Southeastern Conference foes South Carolina (1:34.06) and LSU (1:34.39).
With Champion, Tyson, Loche and Hall carrying the baton, the Lady Vols broke through for the second fastest time in school history. It ranks behind only a 1:31.83 marker set forth by the quartet of Tianna Madison, Champion, Loche and Tyson at last year's Florida Relays.
"The 4x2 showed they are going to be a force to be reckoned with tomorrow," Clark said. "They just have to execute and do things right. It is going to be very challenging, because there are some teams who didn't run their full squads today because they had other events. We'll have to be up for the challenge."
In the 4x100-meter relay "Championship of America" race, Champion, Tyson, Loche and Hall zipped to a season-best and number-six all-time school clocking of 43.74 seconds. On this day, though, there were four teams faster, as the Lady Vols had to settle for fifth place after coming in seeded fourth (44.70) from yesterday's prelims. The UT women did, however, eclipse their previous 2006 topper of 44.44, which they logged in the outdoor season-opening Raleigh Relays.
"The 4x1 is part of the trend where we have shown we are moving in the right direction," Clark said. "It was our best time of the season that we ran today.
"It's just good to see the team pulling together after the indoor season. It wasn't disaterous, because we were third in our conference indoors. It just happens that we are used to winning. We enjoy it, so that's what we are doing now."
In a pair of field events that began during the morning session, sophomore Shanna Dickenson (Cincinnati, Ohio) logged a finish of 10th in the championship discus competition with a throw of 149 feet, 11 inches, while redshirt freshman Celriece Law (Denver, Colo.) charted a mark of 39-0 1/2 to place 14th in the college triple jump.
| THURSDAY, APRlL 27 AT THE PENN RELAYS | ||
| College Hammer Throw (Regional: 177-8/54.15m) 11:15 a.m. (E-282) | ||
| 13th | Ariel Brooks | 165-6/50.45m |
| 14th | Shanna Dickenson | 162-4/49.48m |
| Shot Put Champ. (Regional: 46-11/14.30m) Noon (E-284) | ||
| 6th | April Thomas | 47-10/14.58m# |
| 4x100mR Prelims (Regional: 45.70) 12:55 p.m. (E-12) | ||
| Adv. | Courtney Champion / Cleo Tyson / LaTonya Loche / Patricia Hall | 44.70p# (2nd, ht. 5/4th all) |
| Coll. Discus (Regional: 155-2/47.30m) 3:00 p.m. (E-294) | ||
| 9th | Ariel Brooks | 149-5/45.54m |
| 3000mSC Champ. (Regional: 10:50.25) 7:45 p.m. (E-81) | ||
| 16th | Carly Matthews | 11:10.97 |
| 5000m Champ. (Regional: 16:52.00) 8:25 p.m. (E-84) | ||
| 13th | Leah Soro | 16:52.76! |
| 26th | Katie Van Horn | 17:38.28! |
| FRIDAY, APRlL 28 AT THE PENN RELAYS | ||
| Coll. Triple Jump (Regional: 40-5/12.32m) 11:00 a.m. (E-305) | ||
| 14th | Celriece Law | 39-0.50/11.90m |
| Discus Champ. (Regional: 155-2/47.30m) 11:00 a.m. (E-307) | ||
| 10th | Shanna Dickenson | 149-11/45.69m |
| 4x100mR Champ. (Regional: 45.70) 12:50 p.m. (E-125) | ||
| 5th | Courtney Champion / Cleo Tyson / LaTonya Loche / Patricia Hall | 43.79# |
| 4x200mR Prelims (Not An NCAA Event) 2:00 p.m. (E-135) | ||
| Adv. | Courtney Champion / Cleo Tyson / LaTonya Loche / Patricia Hall | 1:31.88p |
| 100m Hurdles Prelims (Regional: 13.92) 3:30 p.m. (E-143) | ||
| Adv. | Celriece Law | 13.56p# (w: nwi) |
| Sprint Medley Champ. (Not An NCAA Event) 6:30 p.m. (E-177) | ||
| 1st | Courtney Champion / Cleo Tyson / Patricia Hall / Sarah Bowman | 3:45.16 |
| SATURDAY, APRlL 29 AT THE PENN RELAYS | ||
| 4x800mR Champ. (Not An NCAA Event) 1:40 p.m. (E-239) | ||
| Lady Vol Lineup TBA | ||
| 4x200mR Champ. (Not An NCAA Event) 2:40 p.m. (E-248) | ||
| Courtney Champion / Cleo Tyson / LaTonya Loche / Patricia Hall | ||
| 100m Hurdles Champ. (Regional: 13.92) 3:25 p.m. (E-253) | ||
| Celriece Law | ||
