University of Tennessee Athletics
Track Qualifies for Two Relay Finals at Penn Relays
April 25, 2008 | Men's Track
The 10th-ranked Tennessee men???s track and field team earned one victory, one personal-best mark and qualified for finals in two events Friday between the Penn Relays in Philadelphia and the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa.
???We had a very good day in the relays (at Penn),??? associate head coach George Watts said. ???We had a fantastic performance in the 4x200, which ran one of the top-five times ever run by a Tennessee team. The 4x100 team had solid handoffs and is in a position to do well (Saturday) in that event also.???
In Philadelphia, Tennessee???s 4x200 relay team of Matthieu Pritchett, Evander Wells, Kyle Stevenson and Rubin Williams recorded the fastest preliminary time of 1:21.52. Earlier in the afternoon, the same quartet had the third-fastest qualifying time, 39.53, in the 4x100 relay. The finals of both events take place Saturday.
Tennessee???s distance medley relay team of Yarrick Kincaid, Samdi Fraser, Axel Mostrag and Andrew Dawson finished eighth in the Championship of America section with a 9:38.42 time. Dawson anchored the relay with a 4:01.1 split during the 1,600 leg.
Freshman Charlton Rolle extended his personal-best mark in the long jump by four inches with his 23-10 1/4 leap. Rolle led the event heading into the finals, but was passed after a wind-aided mark was recorded in the final round. Rolle also ran the 110 hurdles, finishing 15th in the preliminaries in 14.26. Team captain Jangy Addy was 11th in the event in 14.11 after advancing to the finals of the championship section of the long jump before the race. Sophomore De???Lon Isom stopped the clock in 14.30 for 17th in the 110 hurdles.
???We ran a solid race in the distance medley relay,??? Watts said. ???We got in a little bit of a hole on the first leg, but we fought our way back to the lead pack with a strong anchor leg by Andrew Dawson. Charlton continues to improve his long jump and had a very competitive day in that event. We look forward to tomorrow???s competition, where we are in the hunt for three relay championships.???
Late Thursday night in Philadelphia, senior Matt Piccarello ran to a personal-best time of 14:28.13 and finished 24th in the championship section of the 5,000. Senior Chris Platt, junior Andrew Press and freshman Michael Spooner competed in the college section of the 5,000 Thursday night, but those results were not available. Former Vol Anthony Famiglietti broke the Franklin Field facility record in the steeplechase Thursday evening, as he won the event going away in 8:24.34.
In Des Moines, the Vols battled unseasonably cold temperatures. Freshman Joseph Berry did not let that bother him as he claimed the third victory of his collegiate career and second in a row, winning the pole vault with a 16-6 3/4 clearance.
???It got remarkably colder throughout the day,??? head coach Bill Webb said. ???This is the coldest track meet I have ever attended. I thought Joe Berry was extremely tough and that will set him up well if he can make the NCAA championships. He has jumped well in bad conditions three times this year. We held Mike Hogue out (of the pole vault) because his back is still just a little bit sore.???
All-America Matthew Maloney finished seventh in the javelin with his throw of 219-3. Fellow junior Nick Panezich advanced to the finals of the shot put and finished eighth with a 54-9 1/2 mark. Junior Richard Wooten placed 13th in the event with his throw of 53-5 3/4. Freshman Michael Ayers continued preparations for the decathlon by finishing 13th in the long jump with a wind-aided leap of 22-5 1/4 after running the 110 hurdles in a wind-aided time of 16.40. Sophomore Jonathan Fluellen was 20th in the long jump with his 21-10 3/4 leap.
???Nick Panezich got in the finals (of the shot put) over some guys that have thrown 60 feet before,??? Webb said. ???The javelin had winds changing throughout the competition and had some guys break out with their last throws.???
The Vols open competition at the Drake Relays with the discus at 11 a.m. Eastern time Saturday, while the Penn Relays begin for Tennessee at 1:40 p.m. with the Championship of America 4x100 finals. Live results from both meets can be found at UTsports.com.
| Penn Relays, Philadelphia, Penn. | ||
| Friday, April 25, 2008 | ||
| Champ. of America distance medley relay | ||
| 1. | Texas | 9:32.89 |
| 8. | Tennessee (Kincaid, Fraser, Mostrag and Dawson) | 9:38.42 |
| 4x100 preliminaries | ||
| 1. | Texas A&M | 39.37q* |
| 3. | Tennessee (Pritchett, Wells, Stevenson, Williams) | 39.53q* |
| 4x200 preliminaries | ||
| 1. | Tennessee (Pritchett, Wells, Stevenson, Williams) | 1:21.52q |
| 110 hurdles preliminaries | ||
| 1. | Jason Richardson, S.C. | 13.64q* |
| 11. | Jangy Addy, Tenn. | 14.12* |
| 15. | Charlton Rolle, Tenn. | 14.26* |
| 17. | De???Lon Isom, Tenn. | 14.30* |
| Long jump (college section) | ||
| 1. | Jonathan Jackson, TCU | 24-2 1/2w* |
| 2. | Charlton Rolle, Tenn. | 23-10 1/4 PR |
| Drake Relays, Des Moines, Iowa | ||
| Friday, April 25, 2008 | ||
| 110 hurdles preliminaries | ||
| 1. | Shawon Harris, Texas Tech | 13.78* |
| 22. | Michael Ayers, Tenn. | 16.40w |
| Pole vault | ||
| 1. | Joseph Berry, Tenn. | 16-6 3/4* |
| -- | Brad Holtz, Tenn. | No Height |
| Long jump | ||
| 1. | Matt Turner, Ariz. St. | 24-8 1/2* |
| 13. | Michael Ayers, Tenn. | 22-5 1/4w |
| 20. | Jonathan Fluellen, Tenn. | 21-10 3/4 |
| Shot put | ||
| 1. | Aaron Studt, Minn. | 60-8* |
| 8. | Nick Panezich, Tenn. | 54-9 1/2 |
| 13. | Richard Wooten, Tenn. | 53-5 3/4 |
| Javelin | ||
| 1. | Chris Hill, Ga. | 268-1* |
| 7. | Matthew Maloney, Tenn. | 219-3* |
| Penn Relays, Philadelphia, Penn. | ||
| Thursday, April 24, 2008 | ||
| 5,000 (championship section) | ||
| 1. | Stephen Fust, NC St. | 13:49.19* |
| 24. | Matt Piccarello, Tenn. | 14:28.13 PR |
PR-personal-best mark; *-NCAA regional-qualifying mark; q-qualified for final; w-wind-aided mark.
