University of Tennessee Athletics
Wortham Snares Third In SEC Pentathlon
February 25, 2011 | Women's Track
Feb. 25, 2011
By Eric Trainer
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- A pair of Tennessee multi-eventers were in action on the first day of the 2011 SEC Indoor Track & Field Championships Friday, and junior Ellen Wortham got the Lady Vols on the scoreboard with a third-place finish in the women's pentathlon at the Randal Tyson Track Center.
Buoyed by career-best efforts in the 60-meter hurdles and 800 meters, and a near-personal record in the long jump, Wortham carded a one-place improvement from 2010 with 3,977 points to tie the Big Orange women for third in the team standings with six points. Kentucky's Precious Nwokey claimed victory with 4,185 points. The Wildcats stand in first place in the women's team standings after one day with 10 points, followed by Georgia with eight.
Wortham began the afternoon with a personal-best clocking of 8.47 seconds in the 60 hurdles, finishing second in that event and garnering 662 points. She followed that up with a seemingly solid fourth-place showing in the high jump, but the usual 5-7 jumper cleared only a best of 5-4 1/2 to collect 783 points.
In the shot put, Wortham stumbled a bit from a place standpoint, placing 13th with a toss of 30-9 1/4 that earned 489 points. She bounced back in strong fashion in the long jump, however, nearly equaling her personal record with a measurement of 19-3 1/4. That mark was good for fourth place in that event and 810 points, pushing her total to 3,106 and leaving her in sixth place with only one event remaining.
Known to the coaching staff and her teammates as a fierce competitor, Wortham needed a fantastic race to salvage the day. She did just that, running aggressively and cranking out a career-best 2:16.57 effort to win the event by more than a second and catapult herself into a top-three showing at the conference meet with 871 valuable points.
"It was a good day for Ellen," UT Director of Track & Field J.J. Clark said. "She had PRs in the 60m hurdles and 800 and also jumped well. She definitely put some good events together.
"She had a little stumble in the high jump - for her, a stumble for her - but as champions do, she came back and performed well in the other events. She's a champion; she gutted it out and never quit. That attitude is what we need at this meet.
"We need as many points as we can get, so if it's six, 10, hopefully we continue that trend throughout the meet. We definitely needed those six points, and we're very thankful for the effort she put out for UT, getting those points on the board for us. She gave everything she had."
On the men's side, Kevin Carney concluded the first day of the heptathlon with a score of 2,529 points to stand in 12th place after four events. Gray Horn of Florida held the day one lead with 3,212 points, while Kevin Lazas of Arkansas is second at 3,186.
The UT sophomore, who redshirted last season after transferring from Kentucky, began with a 7.66 reading in the 60-meter dash, leaving him 13th after one event with 662 points. He moved up in the long jump, snaring 12th place at 18-9 to earn 525 points.
The Vol multi-eventer carded a 10th-place showing in the shot put, launching the ball 40 feet and 3/4 of an inch to tally 619 points. He then ended Friday with a sixth-place clearance of 6-3 1/4 in the high jump, accumulating 723 points.
"Kevin didn't have his best day today, but he has a chance to come back tomorrow and put some things together and try to finish higher on the scoreboard," Clark said. "It's been a while for him; he didn't compete last year, so he's just getting his rhythm back, and he'll have to stay tough and plug away tomorrow and do the best he can. I'm looking for that kind of effort, never giving up and doing the best he can for UT and for himself."
The meet resumes on Saturday morning, beginning with the women's weight throw at 10 a.m. Central time. Carney continues his competition in the heptathlon at 2:10 p.m., facing the final three events - the 60m hurdles, pole vault and 1000 meters.
FRIDAY UT RESULTS AT THE SEC INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPSLady Volunteers
Pentathlon (Final): 3. Ellen Wortham, 3977b (60mH: 2nd, 8.47!, 1,024 pts.; High Jump: 4th, 5-4.50/1.64m, 783 pts.; Shot Put: 13th, 30-9.25/9.38m, 489 pts; Long Jump: 4th, 19-3.25/5.87m, 810 pts.; 800m: 1st, 2:16.57b!, 871 pts.)
VolunteersHeptathlon (Day One): 12. Kevin Carney, 2,529 (60m: 13th, 7.66, 662 pts.; Long Jump: 12th, 18-9/5.71m, 525 pts.; Shot Put: 10th, 40-0.75/12.12m, 619 pts; High Jump: 6th, 6-3.25/1.91m, 723 pts.)
* - NCAA automatic qualifying mark, ! - personal record, ^ - oversized track, b - banked track, DNF - did not finish, DQ - disqualified, F - foul, fr - facility record, FS - false start, h - heat, m - meters, mr - meet record, NM - no mark registered, NH - no height registered, p - preliminary round, sr - school record
