University of Tennessee Athletics
TRACK VOLS TRAVEL TO SEC CHAMPIONSHIPS
February 21, 2007 | Men's Track
Feb. 21, 2007
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The Tennessee men's track and field team begins the championship section of the indoor season this weekend as it travels to Lexington, Ky., for the SEC Indoor Championships. The Vols are expected to be in a close race with Arkansas, Florida and LSU for the team title.
Tennessee leads the conference with 18 indoor titles and 67 overall conference championships, 25 more than the nearest competitor. Tennessee finished second at both SEC championship meets last year, and placed sixth in 2004, the last time Nutter Field House hosted the event. Judging by the Vols' early-season success, this year's team can expect to finish much higher.
"This year the meet looks more unpredictable than any year since I've been here," head coach Bill Webb said. "I don't see one team dominating in one area. We should score big in the 60-meter dash, pole vault and heptathlon, but the meet could come down to one or two points. We will have to see who steps up and scratches for points."
Michael Hogue and Rubin Williams look to defend their conference indoor titles in the pole vault and 55, respectively. Both athletes bettered the field to claim their first individual conference championship last year in Gainesville, Fla. Hogue, a junior from Germantown, currently ranks first in the conference with his 17-2 1/4 clearance. Williams, a junior out of San Jose, Calif., enters the conference meet ranked third in the SEC in the 60 and as the reigning conference Track Athlete of the Week.
Tennessee's sprint corps is starting to bring back memories of 2001, the most recent time a school-record three Vols scored in the 60 at the SEC meet. In addition to Williams, Matthieu Pritchett, Kyle Stevenson and Evander Wells are already provisionally-qualified for the NCAA championships in the event and rank in the top six in the conference. Pritchett (ninth), Wells (eighth) and Williams (sixth) also rank in the top 10 on Tennessee's all-time performance list in the event.
Tennessee owns four of the seven provisionally-qualified marks recorded in the conference this season, and no other school has more than one. This season marks the first time since the provisional-qualifying system was introduced in 1991 that Tennessee has four sprinters provisionally-qualified in the 60. Wells and Williams are also expected to compete in the 200 for Tennessee.
Captains Jangy Addy and Chris Helwick will compete in the heptathlon. Helwick, the two-time defending conference champion in the decathlon, owns Tennessee's school record with 5,917 points in the heptathlon. Addy, who ranks sixth on the Vols' all-time list in the heptathlon, finished second in the event last season and already has a provisionally-qualified score this season.
Hogue will be joined in the pole vault by Helwick, Brad Holtz and Andy Lane. Helwick won the pole vault at last year's SEC Outdoor Championships. Lane, who owns a provisional-qualifying clearance of 17-0 3/4, enters this weekend in a four-way tie for second on the conference performance list this season. Holtz finished ninth last year in the event at his first SEC Indoor Championships.
Richard Wooten leads Tennessee's sophomore throwing trio into the meet. The Memphis native is the reigning conference Field Athlete of the Week after breaking his personal record in the shot put last weekend. Nick Panezich joins Wooten in the shot put and the weight throw, while Matthew Maloney is scheduled for weight throw duty. Brenard Wilson serves as Tennessee's lone representative in the high jump, while Akeem Hardnett and Carjay Lyles will contest the triple jump.
Captain Tyler DeVault heads the Vols' middle distance and distance group. The senior, who finished fourth in the mile at the conference championships in 2005, will be the only UT competitor in the event. Andrew Dawson and Yarrick Kincaid will run the 800. Kincaid, a Knoxville native, finished sixth in the event at last year's indoor championships. Ben Lukowski and Matt Piccarello are making their first appearances in the SEC Indoor Championships and will run the 5,000 along with Andy Baksa. Jeff Day, who owns the fastest 3,000 time on the team, is the Vols' only runner in the event.
Junior Kris Fant, who redshirted last year after transferring from UNC-Asheville, is expected to compete for the first time in Tennessee orange by joining Addy and freshman De'Lon Isom in the 60 hurdles. The Vols' freshman duo of Samdi Fraser and Nathan Grace join senior Jacob Dennis in the 400. Fraser and Dennis are currently sixth and eighth, respectively, on UT's all-time 500 list.
"There is a lot of balance in the conference this year," Webb said. "That will lead to a lot of head-to-head competition for points. I feel good about where we are. This is the healthiest we have been entering an SEC championship meet, and we have a history of peaking at the SEC meets. We got on a roll last year and if we can do that again we have a chance to win. This is the best conference in the nation and we are competing against quality teams."
The 45th annual SEC Indoor Championships begin Friday with the heptathlon at 5:15 p.m., and continue throughout the weekend. Live results can be found during the championships at UTsports.com.
VOLS MOVE TO 13TH IN TRACKWIRE POLL
The Tennessee men's track and field team continues to improve its standing in the Trackwire poll. The Vols are ranked 13th this week and projected to score 16 points at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Chris Helwick is ranked second in the heptathlon after moving up from third in this week's Dandy Dozen rankings. Rubin Williams is ranked third in the 200 and 10th in the 60. Freshman Evander Wells, who currently owns the eighth-fastest time in school history in the 60, is ranked seventh in the event and is also ranked 10th in the 200.
Florida State remained on top of the rankings with 48 points. Wisconsin is second with 45 points, followed by Texas with 34. Baylor has 32 points this week and ranks fourth, while Washington and Louisville are tied for fifth with 30. Auburn (seventh, 28 points), Arkansas (eighth, 23 points), LSU (17th, 13 points) and Florida (22nd-tie, 9 points) are also ranked, giving the SEC five teams in this week's poll.
The Trackwire 25 projects a hypothetical score for the NCAA meet, factoring in injury reports and other variables supported by information gathered from coaches and NCAA-qualifying competitions across the country. This projection is generated by scoring the Dandy Dozen, a power ranking of the top-12 athletes and relay squads in each NCAA event.
The factors used to build the D12 include quantitative values that measure performances in past major competitions (such as conference championships, national championships and Olympic competition), durability and freedom from injuries, demonstrated ability to compete well in multiple rounds of competition, ability in other events, head-to-head competition with other top athletes, and personal or seasonal bests. The complete poll can be found at www.trackwire.com.
The Vols slipped to 20th in this week's U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll.
Florida State leads the rankings. Wisconsin is ranked second, followed by SEC foe Auburn. Texas is fourth and Washington ranks fifth. Arkansas is ranked seventh, LSU is 11th, South Carolina is ranked 16th and Florida is 19th in this week's poll, giving the SEC more ranked teams than any other conference.
Thirty-five coaches, including one representative from each Division I conference, vote in the USTFCCCA Division I indoor poll. The complete poll can be found at www.ustfccca.com.
