University of Tennessee Athletics
TRACK VOLS LAND NINE INDIVIDUALS IN NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
May 30, 2006 | Men's Track
May 30, 2006
The Tennessee men's track and field team received good news Tuesday afternoon as nine individuals, along with the Vols' 4x100-meter relay team, were included on the official list of competitors in the 2006 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Aries Merritt, Rubin Williams, Chris Helwick, Zach Sabatino, Tyler DeVault, Yarrick Kincaid, Eric Pierce, Jim Sexton and Drew Brunson will be packing their bags and traveling to Sacramento, Calif., next week.
The 4x100 relay team of Matthieu Pritchett, Jonathan Wade, Merritt and Williams, which boasts a season-best time of 39.48, was awarded an at-large entry into the championships after dropping the baton during the finals at the Mideast Regional. Akeem Hardnett and Brunson will serve as alternates for the 4x100 team during the NCAA championships.
Merritt, the reigning NCAA indoor champion in the 60 hurdles, has broken the Tennessee, SEC meet and Mideast Regional meet record in the 110 hurdles during his last two races. Merritt is a perfect 13-for-13 in 55, 60 and 110 hurdles races that he has finished this year. His personal-best time of 13.22 seconds is currently tied with Terrence Trammell for second in the world this year. China's Xiang Liu holds the world's fastest time this year with his 13.21 clocking at the Prefontaine Classic last weekend. Williams, who scored 12.25 points at the Mideast Regional, qualified for the championships in the 100 and 200. In the 200, his season-best time of 20.48 ranks seventh in the nation. His season-best time of 10.21w in the 100 is ranked 12th in the country.
Co-captain Helwick, a five-time All-America selection from Greeley, Colo., automatically qualified for the outdoor championships in the decathlon at the Sea Ray Relays April 12-13 with his score of 7,707w. He then improved his season-best score to 7,765 points on his way to winning the decathlon at the SEC outdoor championships May 11-12. Helwick currently ranks fourth in the nation in the decathlon. Zach Sabatino, the Vols' 2005 cross-country co-captain, advanced to the NCAA championships in the steeplechase. His season and personal-best time of 8:46.64 ranks 16th in the country entering the championship meet.
DeVault, a junior, qualified for the outdoor championships in the 1,500 after breaking his personal record at the Mideast Regional. His time of 3:45.69 in the finals placed him third in the region and propelled him into the NCAA meet. Kincaid, a graduate of Knoxville Karns High School will run in the 800 at the NCAA championship meet. The sophomore lowered his personal-record time in the race for the third time this season while finishing third at the Mideast Regional meet.
Pierce, who is currently ninth on Tennessee's all-time list in the triple jump, was the final Vol to earn his automatic-qualifying spot in the NCAA championship meet. Before his final attempt in the finals at the Mideast Regional, Pierce was in sixth place. He then launched himself onto the list of automatic qualifiers by recording a jump of 51 feet, 1 1/2 inches to place fifth.
Sexton and Brunson joined the 4x100 team as they were selected to compete out of the at-large pool. Sexton, a senior co-captain from Central High School in Knoxville, will participate in the hammer throw while Brunson, a sophomore, will join Merritt in the 110 hurdles. Sexton just missed qualifying automatically for the NCAA championships, finishing sixth at the Mideast Regional. Brunson also finished sixth, running the 110 hurdles in 14.06 during the finals, but his wind-aided time of 13.70 from the preliminaries ranks high enough on the NCAA list to enable him to compete in the championship meet.
The 2006 NCAA outdoor championships will be held June 7-10 on the campus of Sacramento State University. Hornet Stadium, located in the A.G. Spanos Sports Complex and home to Sacramento State's track and field and football programs, is the largest in the Big West Conference and currently seats 21,000 people.
VOLS NINTH IN COACHES POLL
Tennessee fell to ninth in this week's U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll. The Vols, who finished second in the Mideast Regional, were seventh before the four regional meets this past weekend.
Florida State continues to lead the rankings, followed by UTEP in second place. Texas is ranked third. LSU fell to fourth, with Arkansas following in fifth. Florida is ranked 11th, giving the SEC four teams in the poll. The USTFCCCA recognizes the top 20 collegiate track teams in the nation. The SEC's three teams in the top 10 are more than any other conference. The ACC and Pac-10 each have two teams ranked in the top 10.
The USTFCCCA rankings are determined each week by a panel of 38 college coaches representing each of the four regions of the country and will be updated on a weekly basis through the week of the NCAA outdoor championships in June.
Complete rankings can be found at ustfccca.com.
