University of Tennessee Athletics
TRACK VOLS TRAVEL TO NCAA INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
March 07, 2007 | Men's Track
March 7, 2007
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The Tennessee men's track and field team heads 700 miles west to Fayetteville, Ark., this weekend for the NCAA Indoor Championships. The national championship meet is being held at the Randal Tyson Track Center on the campus of the University of Arkansas.
Tennessee is sending a total of nine athletes, with five competing as individuals and four as members of the distance medley relay team. The Vols finished fifth last season with three athletes competing and are ranked fourth coming into this meet.
"I like the group we are taking," head coach Bill Webb said. "They have really come on at the right time. I was pleased with the team's competition at SECs, and also Michael Hogue and the distance medley relay qualifying last weekend. We view ourselves as a top-10 team and we will be disappointed if we don't end up there, but we have to just line up, compete and see what happens."
Rubin Williams claimed the SEC title in the 200 two weeks ago while recording an indoor personal-best time of 20.57. His time is currently the fastest time in the nation, with 20.73 standing as the second-fastest time in the NCAA. Williams, a seven-time All-America, is also competing in the 60. The San Jose, Calif., native holds the eighth-fastest time in the nation in the 60 this season and scored in both the 60 and 200 at last year's NCAA championships.
All three team captains, Jangy Addy, Tyler DeVault and Chris Helwick, qualified for the national championships. Addy and Helwick are competing in the heptathlon, while DeVault is anchoring the Vols' distance medley relay team.
Addy won the SEC championship in the heptathlon two weeks ago, scoring a personal-best 5,688 points. His mark is currently third in the nation this season and fourth on Tennessee's all-time performance list in the event. He also qualified for the championship meet in the 60 hurdles after finishing third in the SEC with a time of 7.78, the 14th-fastest time in the nation.
Helwick finished second at the SEC championships with 5,666 points in his first heptathlon of the season. Helwick, Tennessee's school record holder in the heptathlon, finished second in the event at last year's NCAA championships and is currently sixth on this year's NCAA list.
Tennessee's distance medley relay team of Jeff Day, Samdi Fraser, Yarrick Kincaid and DeVault recorded a school-record time of 9:33.61 last weekend at the Alex Wilson Invitational, bettering the old school record by almost two seconds. The quartet's time currently ranks third in the nation. The Vols also won the SEC title in the event, claiming the school's third-ever distance medley relay conference championship.
Back-to-back SEC indoor pole vault champion Michael Hogue will compete in his first NCAA championship meet. The Germantown native cleared a personal-best height of 17-5 3/4 at last weekend's Virginia Tech Last Chance Invitational to bump his qualifying mark up from 17-5 1/2 that he cleared to win the conference meet. That 1/4 of an inch proved to be crucial, as the NCAA decided to make the cut off mark for the championships at 17-5 3/4. Hogue is currently in a four-way tie for 13th on the national performance list.
Freshman Evander Wells enters the national championships with the ninth-fastest time in the 200. The Stone Mountain, Ga., native has a season-best time of 20.97, which he recorded during the preliminaries of the SEC Indoor Championships. Wells went on to finish third in the event at the conference championship meet and missed second by one-hundredths of a second.
"The NCAA championship meet is one of the greatest track meets in the country," Webb said. "Tennessee has a history of rising in the top meets. This is definitely one of those meets, and we expect to step up and perform."
Tennessee is one of only nine programs to win an indoor national title. Tennessee's NCAA indoor championship came in 2002, when the Vols scored 62.5 points and outscored Alabama by 15.5 as the SEC claimed the top four team finishers. That championship earned UT the distinction of being one of only four schools in the NCAA to earn the triple crown, winning the national championship in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track.
The NCAA Indoor Championships begin Friday at 9 a.m. CT with the heptathlon and continues through the 4x400 relay, scheduled to start at 8:20 p.m. CT on Saturday. Live results will be available throughout the championships at UTsports.com.
TRACK VOLS FOURTH IN TRACKWIRE POLL
The Tennessee men's track and field team moved into fourth in this week's Trackwire poll after earning eight qualifying performances for the NCAA Indoor Championships. The Vols are tied for fourth with Auburn and projected to score 30 points.
Jangy Addy is ranked second in the heptathlon in this week's Dandy Dozen rankings after winning the event at the conference championship meet. Rubin Williams, who owns the fastest 200 time in the nation this season, is ranked second in the event and is also ranked eighth in the 60. Freshman Evander Wells is ranked fifth in the 200 after finishing third in the event at the conference championships. Chris Helwick, Tennessee's school record holder in the heptathlon, is ranked fifth. Tennessee's distance medley relay team of Jeff Day, Samdi Fraser, Yarrick Kincaid and Tyler DeVault moved to fourth in the event this week, despite having the third-fastest time in the nation, after breaking the school record last weekend by stopping the clock at 9:33.61. Michael Hogue makes his second appearance in the pole vault rankings this season, returning to 11th this week after clearing a personal-best height of 17-5 3/4 last weekend in Blacksburg, Va.
Wisconsin overtook Florida State for the top spot in this week's poll with 46 points. The Seminoles are ranked second with 43 points, followed by Texas with 42. Tennessee and Auburn round out the top five with a tie for fourth at 30 points. Florida (seventh, 25 points), LSU (ninth-tie, 22 points), Arkansas (12th-tie, 18 points), Georgia (16th-tie, 12 points) and Ole Miss (20th-tie, 10 points) are also ranked, giving the SEC seven teams in this week's poll, more than any other conference.
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 shot up to seventh in this week's U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll after being ranked 14th last week. The Vols have made huge strides the last two weeks, as the team was ranked 20th two weeks ago.
Wisconsin leads the rankings. Florida State is ranked second, followed by Texas. Auburn is fourth and Baylor ranks fifth. LSU is ranked 10th, Florida is 13th and Arkansas is 12th and Florida is 19th in this week's poll. The SEC's four ranked teams tie the Big 12 for most of one conference in the poll.
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.
