University of Tennessee Athletics
NO. 9 TRACK VOLS TRAVEL TO PENN RELAYS
April 25, 2007 | Men's Track
April 25, 2007
The ninth-ranked Tennessee men's track and field team will travel to Philadelphia this weekend for the 113th Penn Relays, to be held Thursday through Saturday at historic Franklin Field.
"This has been a big meet for us," head coach Bill Webb said. "We are anticipating that Rubin (Williams) will be back from his injury, but the weather will determine how much he and the rest of our guys run. We would like to take a shuttle hurdle relay team, but just aren't able to this year. This weekend is mostly about relays, but our throwers are also going to compete while some other guys are staying home to prepare for Tuesday night's Smoky Mountain Twilight.
Because of Tennessee's immense success at the Penn Relays, including 15 shuttle hurdle relay titles which is more than twice as many as any other school, UT is one of just a few schools to have its flag flown over the meet every year. The Vols have claimed 31 relay titles and 69 overall champions at the Penn Relays since 1949.
Tennessee's distance medley relay team, which claimed an SEC championship and school record during the indoor season, is scheduled to feature Yarrick Kincaid, Samdi Fraser, Andrew Dawson and Tyler DeVault. The Vols finished second in the 4x100 last year and will send Matthieu Pritchett, Evander Wells, Kyle Stevenson and Rubin Williams around the track this year. The same quartet could be called on in the 4x200, but a final decision will be made by the coaching staff before the race.
UT placed third last year in the sprint medley relay. Wells, Williams, Jacob Dennis and Dawson are scheduled to run the relay for the Vols this year. Tennessee will round out competition in the relays by competing in either the 4x800 or 4xmile relay. DeVault, Jeff Day and Dawson are scheduled to run either relay, while Kincaid will complete the 4x800 and Chris Platt will round out the 4xmile.
Day will open events for Tennessee at the meet by competing in the steeplechase Thursday evening. The senior from Springfield, Va., is already regionally qualified in the event for the fourth consecutive year. Also on Thursday, Andy Baksa, Ben Lukowski, Platt and Matt Piccarello will contest the 5,000.
Tennessee's sophomore trio of throwers is scheduled to compete in the hammer throw. Richard Wooten, who is qualified in the hammer throw and shot put, leads the group. He is joined by Matthew Maloney, who recorded a personal-best throw in the event last weekend and Nick Panezich. Panezich and Wooten also are entered in the shot put.
Maloney recorded the eighth-best javelin throw in school history earlier this season, and is entered in that event along with fellow regional-qualifier Kevin Duffy. Panezich earned a personal-best mark in the discus at the Sea Ray Relays and will look to extend that while completing his weekend of triple duty in the throws.
Freshman De'Lon Isom will be Tennessee's lone representative in the 110 hurdles. The Harrisburg, Pa., native clocked a personal-best and regional-qualifying time of 14.15 last weekend at the Vanderbilt Invitational. Sophomore Akeem Hardnett, another regional qualifier, joins junior Carjay Lyles in the triple jump. Hardnett qualified for the Mideast Regional with a 49-7 leap at the Sea Ray Relays, his only competition so far during the outdoor season.
Franklin Field, on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania, was opened in 1895 for the first running of the Penn Relays. The stadium, which also hosts the Quakers' home football games, is deemed by the NCAA the oldest stadium still operating for football games. It was the site of Vince Lombardi's only career playoff loss, a 17-13 victory by the Philadelphia Eagles over Lombardi's Green Bay Packers in the 1960 NFL Championship Game.
The Penn Relays Carnival is the largest track meet in the world with over 2,000 athletes, ranging from ages eight to 80 and older, competing in more than 425 races during 33 hours of competition. Events begin Thursday at 10 a.m. Eastern Time and continue Friday and Saturday at 9 a.m. Live results can be found at UTsports.com throughout the weekend.
VOLS NINTH IN LATEST POLLS
Tennessee men's track and field team is ranked ninth in this week's Trackwire poll. The Vols are projected to score 23 points at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and tie with defending indoor champion Wisconsin and Baylor.
Rubin Williams is ranked second in the 200 after finishing second at this year's NCAA Indoor Championships. Team captain Chris Helwick remained second in the decathlon following his 7,732-point performance at the Sea Ray Relays. Freshman Evander Wells, who holds the second-fastest time recorded in the NCAA so far this season in the 200, is ranked fourth in the event. Wells and Williams are also ranked eighth and ninth, respectively, in the 100.
Two-time defending SEC indoor champion Michael Hogue, who extended his season-opening winning streak to four last weekend while breaking the Vanderbilt Track facility record, is ranked 10th in the pole vault. The Vols 4x100 relay team slipped to eighth.
Defending outdoor champion Florida State leads the rankings with 68 points. LSU moved to second with 49 points, and is followed by Auburn with 42. Southern California is fourth with 37 points this week, and Texas is fifth with 31. Arkansas (16th, 18 points) and Mississippi (24th-tie, 11 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 also are ranked ninth in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll.
Florida State, the defending outdoor champion, leads the rankings. SEC foe Auburn is ranked second, followed by Southern California. LSU and Texas round out the top five. Arkansas is ranked 10th and Georgia is 17th in this week's poll, giving the SEC five teams ranked in the poll that recognizes the top-20 teams in the nation.
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.
