SHORTENING OF SEA RAYS FORCES SCHEDULE CHANGE FOR LADY VOLS

April 19, 2007

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The University of Tennessee women's track & field team has had to adjust its schedule after last weekend's storm-shortened Sea Ray Relays prevented several squad members from pursuing NCAA regional qualifying marks on the final day of the meet. As a result, Head Coach J.J. Clark's Lady Vols will split up and send one group to Baton Rouge, La., for the Alumni Gold meet on Saturday at LSU and the other to Nashville to compete in the Vanderbilt Invitational on Friday and Saturday.

UT, ranked 17th this week in the Trackwire 25 and 20th in the USTFCCA Poll, was originally scheduled to send the whole team to LSU this weekend. Instead, Clark will take his distance corps and one pole vaulter to the mid-state to compete, while assistants Caryl Smith Gilbert and John Frazier lead the sprinters, jumpers, hurdlers and throwers to Baton Rouge. "We had a decent meet at the Sea Ray Relays, but we didn't get to run everything when bad weather wiped out most of Saturday's events," Clark said. "The steeplechase was one of the events, and the 4x4 was another, that we didn't get a chance to qualify people in for the regional meet. So, we are going to go to Nashville for the steeplechase and a couple other events, and we're going to go to LSU for the sprint side to finish qualifying our team in certain areas that will also help us at NCAA and SEC meets."

At LSU, Tennessee is most hopeful of getting freshman Nia Ali (Philadelphia, Pa.) qualified for regionals in the 100m hurdles and 200m dash, junior Cleo Tyson (Huntsville, Texas) in the 100m, junior LaTonya Loche (Bastrop, La.) in the 200m and junior Amara McKell (Nashville, Tenn.) in the discus.

At Vandy, freshmen Jackie Areson (Delray Beach, Fla.) and Kelly Parrish (Ocala, Fla.) will get a crack at the 3000m steeplechase after their opportunity was washed away at Sea Rays, and sophomore Alicia Essex (Purcellville, Va.) is hopeful of getting a qualifying mark on the board in the pole vault. For others, the meets will provide a chance to continue preparations for a parade of upcoming big events, which gets started next week when the Big Orange travels to Philly for the Penn Relays.

After four meets, UT has 16 entries in 10 different events qualified for the NCAA Mideast Regional in Columbia, Mo., on May 25-26. The group includes junior Courtney Champion (Lawrenceville, Ga.) and freshman Lynne Layne (New Rochelle, N.Y.) in the 100m, Layne in the 200m, Loche in the 400m, sophomore Sarah Bowman (Warrenton, Va.), freshman Rose-Anne Galligan (County Kildare, Ireland) and senior Leslie Treherne (Chesapeake, Va.) in the 800m, Bowman, Galligan and sophomore Rolanda Bell (Laurelton, N.Y.) in the 1500m, sophomore Katie Van Horn (Glendora, N.J.) in the 5000 meters, sophomores Pavi'Elle "Tiki" James (Miami, Fla.) and Celriece Law (Denver, Colo.) in the 100m hurdles, junior Shanna Dickenson (Cincinnati, Ohio) in the discus and hammer throws and the 4x100m relay combination of Ali, Champion, Layne and Loche.

Van Horn also is a provisional qualifier for the NCAA Championships in the 10,000 meters, an event which is not contested at the regional meet and instead has a national standard.

"It's really time for us to start turning it up a notch," Clark said. "We've done some good things, but it's the same principle all year. We try to get it going as we reach the championship portion of the season, and we are approaching that now.

"We have to turn it up and make sure we qualify as many people as possible for the NCAA Mideast Regional, and then we will have chance to prepare for the national meet. I believe we are in good shape, but I am a critical coach always looking to do better."

FRIDAY, APRIL 20 AT VANDERBILT INVITATIONAL

1500m (Regional: 4:27.80) 7:00 p.m. CT

Phoebe Wright

Inv. 3000mSC (Regional: 10:50.25) 7:55 p.m. CT

Jackie Areson

Kelly Parrish

SATURDAY, APRIL 21 AT VANDERBILT INVITATIONAL

Pole Vault (Regional: 12-5.50/3.80m) Noon CT

Alicia Essex

800m (Regional: 2:09.80) 1:15 p.m. CT

Sarah Bowman

Leslie Treherne