University of Tennessee Athletics
Bowman, Alexander wins put UT 2nd
March 01, 2008 | Women's Track
Complete Results | Photos
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Crucial victories by freshman Annie Alexander in the shot put and junior Sarah Bowman in the 3000-meter run propelled the fourth-ranked Tennessee women into second place with 32 points Saturday at the SEC Indoor Track & Field Championships at the Randal Tyson Track Center.
The Lady Vols, who entered day two pointless without a competitor in Friday???s pentathlon, scored in four different events to move into contention on Sunday. Host Arkansas stands atop the standings with 58, followed by UT, Florida (27), Kentucky (21) and Ole Miss (17). LSU, the No. 1 team in the nation, sits in sixth place with 14 points, but the talented Lady Tigers advanced numerous entries into the finals. Alabama is in seventh at 13, followed by Mississippi State at 12 and South Carolina with 1. Auburn, Georgia and Vanderbilt have yet to score.
???We had a very good day, today,??? UT Head Coach J.J. Clark said. ???Unfortunately, Cleo (Tyson) got injured, but outside of that, pretty much the people we thought would advance did. We are in good shape.???
Already having a sensational first semester at Rocky Top, Alexander raised the success bar another notch when she unleashed a school-record and automatic NCAA qualifying throw of 57 feet, two inches to become her team???s first SEC Indoor shot put champion since Alana Preston in 1995 and only the third Big Orange female winner ever in that event. Alexander???s defining throw, which moved her to No. 3 on the NCAA list this season, is the third-best winning toss by a woman in SEC Indoor Championships history.
The product of Port-of-Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, broke Rose Hauch???s 1982 UT mark of 55-7 3/4 and posted her victorious measurement on her very first throw of the competition to set the tone. With Florida???s Mariam Kevkhishvili, who owns a season-best throw of 57-2 3/4 hovering in second place, though, Alexander dug deep on her final try and nearly bettered her previous effort with a toss of 57-1 1/2. The Gator would come no closer, though, taking runner-up accolades at 56-5 1/4.
???Annie breaking the school record as a freshman is sensational,??? Clark said. ???With one of the top throws in the country, she really answered the bell. She???s a true competitor.???
???I???ve only been here two months now, but I fell right into the program and have been working hard,??? Alexander said. ???Coach (John) Frazier asked me what my goal was, and I said I don???t just want to compete at SECs, I want to win it. He told me I had to work hard, and I said ???I have no problem with that, just tell me what you need me to do.??? Since that, I???ve been working hard, and it finally paid off.???
In the 3K, Bowman became the second Lady Vol and only the fourth woman in league history to repeat as champion in that race. Following in the footsteps of ex-UT standout Patty Wiegand (1990, 1991) and Florida???s Becki Wells (1996, 1997) and Arkansas???s Lilli Kleinman (2000, 2001), Bowman covered the distance in nine minutes, 28.29 seconds in her very first 3K attempt in 2008. It should be noted that Clark also coached Wells when he was an assistant at Florida.
Bowman, who had her appendix removed the second week of January and missed the season opener, coolly ran with the lead pack throughout the 3K until the final two laps. At that point, she put her speed to work, left the field behind and deposited 10 huge points in UT???s account. Junior Katie Van Horn (Glendora, N.J.) also ran a smart and patient race, kicking hard as well to crank out a personal-best time of 9:33.09 to finish third and post her first SEC scoring effort in that event.
???It???s very, very impressive the way she looked in her race tonight,??? Clark said. ???She ran absolutely amazing, had a lot left and it wasn???t really a problem for her to run the time she ran. I am very proud that she was able to come back and defend her title. We???re very proud of Sarah and Annie, and glad that we???ll have both of them here again next year.???
???It???s really exciting to come back and win it again,??? Bowman said. ???For me, it???s kind of extra exciting, because I don???t consider the 3K as much my event or have my focus on it as much as I do the mile. It???s nice to come and be able to win, and it feels like a good accomplishment for that reason.???
Junior Alicia Essex got the Lady Vols on the scoreboard for the first time in the meet earlier in the day. After placing fifth a year ago in the pole vault, the product of Purcellville, Va., native came back in 2008 to grab sixth. Her clearance of 12 feet, 10 1/4 inches, which gave UT three points, was the second best of her career and the sixth highest in Lady Vol history.
Sophomore Lynne Layne (New Rochelle, N.Y.) contributed to the cause in somewhat surprising fashion with a sixth-place performance in the long jump. Her career-best leap of 20 feet, 1 1/2 inches was good for three more points toward the Big Orange ledger.
Tennessee also set itself up for a plethora of points on Sunday with 11 qualifiers in five different events. The Big Orange moved along three in the 60m dash and mile run, two each in the 800m and 200m and one in the 400m dash. Additionally, UT has entries in the weight throw, triple jump, 5000m run, distance medley relay and 4x400m relay on the final day.
In the mile run preliminaries, Bowman and two other Lady Vols advanced to the finals. The defending champ who entered this meet ranked second in the nation and first in the SEC this season, Bowman easily won section one in a conservative time of four minutes, 50.20 seconds to automatically advance to the final. Junior Rolanda Bell (Laurelton, N.Y.) wasn???t far behind her teammate, hitting the line just shy of her career best at 4:50.27 to place fourth in that section and make her second straight SEC mile final. Rookie Brittany Sheffey (Bellport, N.Y.) had no trouble running in a slightly faster section two, as she also was just off her personal best at 4:49.86 to place second and earn a position in Sunday???s ???money race.???
In the 60m dash prelims, Tennessee advanced three to the finals, including senior Courtney Champion (Lawrenceville, Ga.), who rolled to a season best and an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 7.25 to win heat four. Also advancing were freshman Jeneba Tarmoh (San Jose, Calif.), who placed second in heat two in a career best and NCAA provisional of 7.28, and sophomore Lynne Layne (New Rochelle, N.Y.), who was the runner-up in heat one in 7.30. Senior Cleo Tyson (Huntsville, Texas) was the lone UT entry to come up short of qualifying. She finished fourth in heat four at 7.57, tumbled after crossing the finish line and had to be carried off the track by UT???s training staff due to cramping in her left leg.
Sophomore Phoebe Wright (Signal Mountain, Tenn.) and junior Kimarra McDonald (Lumberton, N.J.) kept the qualifying spree going, as both earned their first career SEC finals appearances in the 800m run. Running in section three and fully aware of what kind of time was required to advance, both UT performers got the job done, with Wright taking second in 2:09.99 and McDonald following her across the line in third at 2:11.15. Those readouts rank third and eighth of the nine qualifiers.
Senior LaTonya Loche (Bastrop, La.) clicked off a season-best readout of 53.51 to finish second in heat two of the 400m prelims and advance to her fourth SEC Indoor final in that event. That mark, which ranked Loche sixth among the nine qualifiers, was the fastest she had run since clocking a career-best 53.02 to finish sixth at the 2005 SEC meet.
Closing out the prelim action was the 200m dash, and Tennessee added two more finalists to the equation. Tarmoh posted the fastest readout of the Big Orange bunch, winning heat two in a career-best 23.26, while Champion was second in heat three in a season-topping 23.38. Layne came up just short of advancing, winding up 10th in 23.72.
Junior Celriece Law (Denver, Colo.) nearly gave UT another qualifier, but her 8.42 reading in the 60m hurdles left her in ninth place and one spot out of the finals.
???Things don???t happen the way you want all the time,??? Clark said. ???Cleo didn???t make it, but Lynne Layne scored in the long jump. Things have a way of balancing themselves out, and we look like we are in good shape for tomorrow. It???s definitely going to be tough competition, and we look forward to getting it going tomorrow.???
Final day action begins at 10 a.m. Central Time (11 a.m. Eastern) with the weight throw and concludes around 4 p.m. CT (5 p.m.) with the 4x400m relay.
| SATURDAY, MARCH 1 | ||
| EVENT (NCAA DIV. I QUALIFYING MARKS) | ||
| Pole Vault (Auto: 4.20, Prov: 3.95) Noon CT | ||
| 6th (3) | Alicia Essex | 12-10.25/3.92m |
| 60mH Pre. (Auto: 8.14; Prov: 8.43) 1:30 p.m. CT | ||
| 9th | Celriece Law | 8.42p+/4th, ht. 2 |
| 60m Pre. (Auto: 7.26; Prov: 7.44) 2:30 p.m. CT | ||
| Adv. | Courtney Champion | 7.25p*/1st, ht. 4 (4th) |
| Adv. | Jeneba Tarmoh | 7.28p!+/2nd, ht. 2 (6th) |
| Adv. | Lynne Layne | 7.30p!+/2nd, ht. 1 (8th) |
| 16th | Cleo Tyson | 7.57p/4th, ht. 4 |
| Long Jump (Auto: 6.35, Prov: 6.10) 3 p.m. CT | ||
| 6th (3) | Lynne Layne | 20-1.50/6.13m!+ |
| 16th | Celriece Law | 18-9/5.71m |
| Mile Pre. (Auto: 4:40.00; Prov: 4:48.00)b 3:10 p.m. CT | ||
| Adv. | Brittany Sheffey | 4:49.86pb/2nd, sct. 2 (2nd) |
| Adv. | Sarah Bowman | 4:50.20pb/1st, sct. 1 (3rd) |
| Adv. | Rolanda Bell | 4:50.27pb/4th, sct. 1 (7th) |
| 400m Pre. (Auto: 52.40; Prov: 54.40)b 3:50 p.m. CT | ||
| Adv. | LaTonya Loche | 53.51pb+/2nd, ht. 1 (6th) |
| Shot Put (Auto: 16.90, Prov: 15.20) 4:10 p.m. CT | ||
| 1st (10) | Annie Alexander | 57-2/17.42m!* |
| 12th | Shanna Dickenson | 45-2.25/13.77m |
| 15th | Amara McKell | 42-11.50/13.09m |
| 800m Pre. (Auto: 2:05.00, Prov: 2:09.00)b 4:30 p.m. CT | ||
| Adv. | Phoebe Wright | 2:09.99pb/2nd, sct. 3 (3rd) |
| Adv. | Kimarra McDonald | 2:11.15pb/3rd, sct. 3 (8th) |
| 200m Pre. (Auto: 23.20, Prov: 23.90)b 5:20 p.m. CT | ||
| Adv. | Jeneba Tarmoh | 23.26pb!+/1st, ht. 2 (3rd) |
| Adv. | Courtney Champion | 23.38pb+/2nd, ht. 3 (4th) |
| 10th | Lynne Layne | 23.72pb/3rd, ht. 2 |
| dnr | Cleo Tyson | |
| 3000m Fin. (Auto: 9:15.00; Prov: 9:34)b 6:15 p.m. CT | ||
| 1st (10) | Sarah Bowman | 9:28.29b+ |
| 3rd (6) | Katie Van Horn | 9:33.09b!+ |
| SUNDAY, MARCH 2 |
| EVENT (NCAA DIV. I QUALIFYING MARKS) |
| Wt. Throw (Auto: 21.00, Prov: 18.75) 10 a.m. CT |
| Shanna Dickenson |
| Triple Jump (Auto: 13.30, Prov: 12.65) Noon CT |
| Celriece Law |
| 60m Fin. (Auto: 7.26; Prov: 7.44) 12:55 p.m. CT |
| Courtney Champion Jeneba Tarmoh Lynne Layne |
| Mile Fin. (Auto: 4:40.00; Prov: 4:48.00)b 1:15 p.m. CT |
| Sarah Bowman Brittany Sheffey Rolanda Bell |
| 400m Fin. (Auto: 52.40; Prov: 54.40)b 1:35 p.m. CT |
| LaTonya Loche |
| 5000m (Auto: 16:08.00, Prov: 16:45.00)b 1:55 p.m. CT |
| Katie Van Horn |
| 800m Fin. (Auto: 2:05.00, Prov: 2:09.00)b 2:15 p.m. CT |
| Phoebe Wright Kimarra McDonald |
| 200m Fin. (Auto: 23.20, Prov: 23.90)b 2:35 p.m. CT |
| Jeneba Tarmoh Courtney Champion |
| DMR (Auto: 11:09.00; Prov: 11:30.00)b 3:15 p.m. CT |
| Lineup TBA |
| 4x400mR (Auto: 3:33.00, Prov: 3:40.00)b 3:45 p.m. CT |
| Lineup TBA |
