University of Tennessee Athletics
Vols Celebrate 2007 Season with Banquet
October 07, 2007 | Men's Track
Banquet Photo Gallery
The Tennessee men???s track and field team gathered Sunday at the L&N Station at World???s Fair Park in Knoxville to celebrate the 2007 season. About 175 people attended the two-hour ceremony, including athletes, families, coaches and special guests.
The 2007 season saw Tennessee win the program???s 25th overall SEC outdoor championship, the most of any school in the conference. Tennessee scored 129.5 points during the SEC Outdoor Championships in Tuscaloosa, Ala., May 10-13 to outdistance second-place LSU???s 122 points and record Tennessee???s third SEC outdoor title in the last seven years. The Vols tied for 10th at the NCAA Indoor Championships and placed fourth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Individually, 10 different Vols earned All-America certificates during 2007.
Distance runner Brent Smith started the festivities with the invocation before dinner was served. After eating, head coach Bill Webb started the recognition portion of the ceremony by recognizing the special guests present. Associate head coach George Watts, assistant coach Norbert Elliott and volunteer coaches Jebreh Harris and Russell Johnson were acknowledged. Athletics Director Mike Hamilton, Executive Associate Athletics Director Gary Wyant, Special Assistant to the Athletics Director Gus Manning, Sports Psychologist Joe Whitney, Academic Counselor Kay Shanahan and Team Chiropractor Dr. Michael Petty also were recognized.
Following the acknowledgements, Webb listed highlights of the 2007 season, including individual SEC and NCAA champions, All-Americas and academic performers, before introducing the newcomers and seniors for the 2007-08 season.
Jeff Day, Samdi Fraser, Yarrick Kincaid and Tyler DeVault were recognized for breaking the school record in the distance medley relay after the quartet recorded a time of 9:33.61 at the Alex Wilson Invitational on March 2.
Dr. Buck Jones took to the podium to recognize the winners of the athlete awards. Chris Kane was presented with the James Snow Award as the team???s most outstanding academic freshman. The distance runner from Knoxville earned a 3.33 GPA during the school year with an interest in sport management. Day won the Dr. Jack Chesney Award as the most outstanding academic senior. He graduated in May with a bachelor???s degree in sport management and a 3.90 GPA. The Springfield, Va., native was one of 29 male athletes across the country to be awarded a $7,500 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.
Rubin Williams was named the team???s Most Valuable Track Athlete and won the Ed Murphey Award for outstanding performance. The junior from SanJose was named South Region Indoor Track Athlete of the Year and won five All-America certificates after finishing second in the 200 at the indoor and outdoor national championship meets, anchoring Tennessee???s 4x100 relay team to a third-place national finish, placing ninth in the 100 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and sixth in the 60 at the indoor championships. He won the 200 at both the SEC Indoor and Outdoor Championships and anchored Tennessee???s 4x100 relay team to a conference title and Walton Stadium record. He ranks fourth on Tennessee???s all-time performance list in the 60 and fifth in the 200 and was named SECTrack Athlete of the Week on Feb. 20. Williams finished his season by earning two bronze medals, in the 200 and 4x100 relay, at the Pan American Games.
Michael Hogue won the Ironman Award and was named Most Valuable Field Athlete. He won two All-America certificates for finishing fifth in the pole vault at the NCAA Indoor Championships and seventh at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. The junior from Germantown defended his SEC indoor championship in the pole vault and also added an SEC outdoor title to his resume. He recorded wins in his first six competitions during the outdoor season and broke the Vanderbilt Track facility record. He was named SEC Field Athlete of the Week on May 9.
Evander Wells was named Most Valuable Freshman. The sprinter from Stone Mountain, Ga., earned three All-America certificates after finishing sixth in the 200 at the NCAA Indoor Championships, fifth in the event at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and running the second leg on Tennessee???s 4x100 relay team. The 4x100 team also won the event at the SEC Outdoor Championships and broke the Audrey J. Walton Stadium Record in Columbia, Mo., during the Mideast Regional. Wells won the 200 at the Mideast Regional and the Yellow Jacket Invitational. His time of 20.43 from that meet ranks sixth in school history in the event and earned him SECTrack Athlete of the Week honors on April 3. His 6.68 clocking in the 60 indoors ranks eighth on Tennessee???s all-time list.
Chris Helwick was recognized with the Career Achievement Award. The Greeley, Colo., native ended his career with a total of seven All-America certificates in the heptathlon and decathlon. He won the conference crown in the decathlon in 2005 and 2006 and the Sea Ray Relays title in 2006 and 2007 to become the first Vol to repeat in the event at both meets since Chad Smith in 1995 and 1996. Helwick leaves Tennessee with the school heptathlon record, school freshman heptathlon record and Sea Ray Relays meet record in the decathlon javelin. He won the Commissioner???s Award as the meet???s highest scorer at the 2006 SEC Outdoor Championships with 28.5 points, the most by a Vol at a conference meet since Justin Gatlin scored 30.5 at the 2002 SEC Indoor Championships.
Day, Andy Baksa, DeVault and Helwick shared the Pritchett Award, given to the most dedicated senior. Jangy Addy, DeVault and Helwick were recognized with the Jon Young Captain???s Award for their service during the season. Matthieu Pritchett won the John Stuckey Lifter of the Year Award, given to the best pound-for-pound weightlifter on the team.
The Herb Neff Award, given to a freshman or walk-on that makes the biggest contribution, went to Kyle Stevenson. The freshman from Memphis earned All-America honors for running the third leg on Tennessee???s 4x100 relay team. He won a gold medal at the Pan American Junior Games carrying the baton for the third leg on Team USA???s 4x100 relay team after finishing second in the 200 at the USA Junior Championships. Stevenson finished fifth in the 200 at the SEC Outdoor Championships to contribute to a 22-point haul in the event that clinched the team title for Tennessee.
The Volunteer Award, given to the toughest competitor, was shared by Kincaid and Andy Lane. Kincaid, a junior from Knoxville, won his first All-America certificate after finishing as the sixth American in the 800 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. He won the 800 at the Yellow Jacket Invitational and the Smoky Mountain Twilight and recorded the 10th-fastest time in school history while finishing third in the event at the Mideast Regional. He finished sixth in the 800 at the SEC Indoor Championships after battling flu-like symptoms throughout the week that required him to travel to Lexington, Ky., a day after the rest of the team.
Lane returned after missing the entire 2006 campaign with a back injury to finish second in the pole vault at the SEC Outdoor Championships. The Knoxville native finished third at the Clemson Opener, his first meet in 11 months, and extended his personal-best mark in the event in consecutive meets after clearing 17-1 1/2 at the SEC Indoor Championships and 17-5 3/4 at the Virginia Tech Last Chance Invitational.
Baksa and Brad Holtz earned the Comeback of the Year Award. Knoxville native Baksa broke the Hurricane Invitational record in the 3,000 during his senior season. He earned the fastest 10,000 time on the team while becoming the first Vol to win the event at the Sea Ray Relays since 1997 and also recorded the fastest 5,000 time on the team both indoors and outdoors. Holtz, a redshirt freshman from Barrington, R.I., returned after missing the entire 2006 outdoor season due to an illness to finish fifth in the pole vault at the SEC Outdoor Championships. His points helped Tennessee earn 24.5 in the event and take the overall team lead at the conference championship meet. He cleared a personal-best height of 16-6 3/4 at the meet and qualified for the Mideast Regional.
Addy and Carjay Lyles shared the Most Improved Athlete Award. Addy won the heptathlon at the SEC Indoor Championships and also took the conference crown outdoors in the decathlon. The junior from Norcross, Ga., earned the first All-America certificate of his career after finishing third in the decathlon at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. His score of 7,808 from that meet ranks seventh on Tennessee???s all-time list, and he broke the school record in the decathlon 110 hurdles with his 13.96 clocking at the national championship meet. During the decathlon at the SEC championships, he broke Tennessee???s school record in the decathlon shot put with a mark of 53-4 1/2 and broke the meet record in the decathlon 110 hurdles with his time of 14.31.
Lyles improved his personal-best mark in the triple jump by two and a half feet during the final month of his senior season. The Lithonia, Ga., native earned his first All-America certificate with his seventh-place finish in the triple jump. His mark of 52-4 3/4 from the national championship meet ranks fifth on Tennessee???s all-time list in the event. Lyles also finished fifth at the SEC Outdoor Championships and fourth at the Mideast Regional.
| School Record |
| Distance Medley Relay (Jeff Day, Samdi Fraser, Yarrick Kincaid and Tyler DeVault) |
| James Snow Award (Most Outstanding Academic Freshman) |
| Chris Kane |
| Dr. Jack Chesney Award (Most Outstanding Academic Senior) |
| Jeff Day |
| Most Valuable Track Athlete |
| Rubin Williams |
| Ed Murphey Award (Most Outstanding Performance) |
| Rubin Williams |
| Most Valuable Field Athlete |
| Michael Hogue |
| Ironman Award |
| Michael Hogue |
| Most Valuable Freshman |
| Evander Wells |
| Career Achievement Award |
| Chris Helwick |
| Pritchett Award (Most Dedicated Senior) |
| Andy Baksa, Jeff Day, Tyler DeVault and Chris Helwick |
| Jon Young Captains Award |
| Jangy Addy, Tyler DeVault and Chris Helwick |
| Lifter of the Year Award |
| Matthieu Pritchett |
| Herb Neff Award |
| Kyle Stevenson |
| Volunteer Award (Toughest Competitor) |
| Yarrick Kincaid and Andy Lane |
| Comeback of the Year |
| Andy Baksa and Brad Holtz |
| Most Improved Athlete |
| Jangy Addy and Carjay Lyles |
