University of Tennessee Athletics
Lady Vol Trio NCAA Bound
May 27, 2011 | Women's Track
May 27, 2011
By Eric Trainer, Associate Director of Media Relations
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Four Tennessee athletes had their tickets to the NCAA Outdoor Championships punched Friday, as they delivered qualifying performances at the NCAA East Preliminary Round meet at Indiana's Robert C. Haugh Track & Field Complex.
Lady Vols Annie Alexander, Chanelle Price and Ellen Wortham confirmed their reservations for Des Moines, Iowa, where the national meet will be held on June 8-11 at Drake Stadium. Vol standout Dentarius Locke, meanwhile, earned his way in the 100-meter dash and put himself into position to do the same in the 200 on Saturday.
Alexander was the first Big Orange athlete to book her trip to Iowa. Her final-attempt toss of 55 feet, 7 3/4 inches was the fifth-best mark in the group of 12 athletes who advanced from the East meet to NCAAs in the shot put. Ranked number four nationally in that event, the junior will make her third outdoor nationals appearance following a third-place effort in 2009 and a 10th-place showing in 2008. She redshirted a year ago due to injuries.
"We expect Annie and the other athletes to advance, and they did," UT Director of Track & Field J.J. Clark said. "And making it is a very good accomplishment, because a lot of times it might not happen. No matter what occurs during a competition, advancing is the key, and she did it today."
Locke, a redshirt freshman, joined the travel list to the land of tall corn in the 100-meter dash and set himself up to repeat the feat in a second event. In the straight sprint, the SEC runner-up grabbed the third automatic qualifying spot in heat three, zipping down the track in 10.41 seconds to post the No. 9 mark in the quarterfinals.
The SEC Outdoor Freshman Runner of the Year came back later in the evening to advance to the quarterfinals in the 200, shooting around the turn and seizing victory in heat two in 21.08. An indoor All-American in the 60m dash, Locke will participate in the 200m quarterfinals at 7:50 p.m. Saturday. Teammate Nathan Grace was unable to move on, as the senior placed 44th in 22.12.
"Dentarius got some of the jitters out yesterday and came back with way more confidence today," Clark said. "He just did a better job all across the board of executing and was ready for his 200 after he nailed his 100. That was good to see."
Junior Chanelle Price propelled herself to her second NCAA Outdoor meet appearance. The 2011 SEC indoor and outdoor champ came in second in section three and posted the No. 2 overall time of the quarterfinals in 2:04.54. Only Yale's Kate Grace was faster at 2:03.41, overtaking the UT standout with 230 meters remaining and holding on to win section three. The sub-2:05 effort marked the third straight by Price this season.
"Obviously, she likes to win, but the objective was to qualify for nationals, and she did that," Clark said. "In two weeks we will be ready to run at the national meet."
NCAA leader Ellen Wortham looked sharp in advancing to her second-straight national meet in the 400m hurdles. The junior from Maryville navigated the obstacles in 56.95 to place first in heat two and log the number-four readout of the quarterfinal round. She remains undefeated in all eight of her races in 2011.
"Ellen did a great job again of taking control of the race and advancing," Clark said. "She did what she does best, and that is being a competitor and winning. I was very happy to see her punch her ticket."
The Vols suffered a disappointing development in the pole vault, where junior Joe Berry and redshirt freshman Chase Brannon traversed 16-6 3/4 but were unable to clear another bar. Berry, the SEC indoor and outdoor champion this season, had been hoping to make his third NCAA Outdoor meet.
"It's very unfortunate," Clark said. "Joe's a great competitor and has a lot of talent. We looked forward to having him at the NCAA meet, and it just didn't happen. We just have to rebound and keep on going."
In the women's 100 meters, sophomore Kia Jackson saw her individual season come to a close. Her 11.79 effort left her seventh in heat three and 21st in the quarterfinal round. She will compete with UT's 4x100m relay on Saturday.
In addition to Locke's 200 on the final day of the NCAA East meet, Tennessee will have five women's qualifying opportunities. That quintet of events includes Alexander in the discus, the 4x100m relay, Brittany Sheffey in the 1500m, Liz Costello in the 5000m and the 4x400m relay. Alexander is slated to throw around 11 a.m., while running events get underway at 6 p.m.
"We just want everyone who is scheduled to compete tomorrow to advance," Clark said. "That's our goal, to advance all individuals and relays to the national meet."
VOLS AT NCAA EAST PRELIMINARY ROUNDFriday Results
100m Quarterfinals: NCAA Qualifier: Dentarius Locke, 10.41p (w: -0.4)/3rd, ht. 3 (9th)
200m First Round: Adv. Dentarius Locke, 21.08p (w: 0.6)/1st, ht. 2 (8th); 44. Nathan Grace, 22.12p (w: 1.4)/8th, ht. 5
Pole Vault Qualifying: t16. Joe Berry, 16-6.75/5.05m; t16. Chase Brannon, 16-7/5.05m!
100m First Round: Adv. Dentarius Locke, 10.47p (w: 0.5)/2nd, ht. 4
Long Jump Qualifying: 27. Justin Hunter, 23-6.75/7.18m (w: 0.0); 31. Desmond Brown, 23-4/7.11m (w: -0.8)
10,000m Semifinal: 35. Michael Spooner, 30:30.87; 44. Chris Bodary, 31:33.80
400m First Round: 35. Varick Tucker, 48.59p/6th, ht. 4
High Jump Qualifying: t38. Justin Hunter, 6-7/2.01m
Friday Results
800m Quarterfinals: NCAA Qualifier: Chanelle Price, 2:04.54p/2nd, ht. 3 (2nd)
400m Hurdles Quarterfinals: NCAA Qualifier: Ellen Wortham, 56.95p/1st, ht. 2 (4th)
Shot Put Qualifying: NCAA Qualifier: Annie Alexander, 55-7.75/16.96m (5th)
100m Quarterfinals: 21. Kia Jackson, 11.79p (w: 0.8)/7th, ht. 3
400m Hurdles First Round: Adv. Ellen Wortham, 57.56p/1st, ht. 3
1500m First Round: Adv. Brittany Sheffey, 4:29.84p/2nd, ht. 2
100m First Round: Adv. Kia Jackson, 11.67p (w: -0.1)/2nd, ht. 3
800m First Round: Adv. Chanelle Price, 2:06.21p/1st, ht. 5; 34. Kianna Ruff, 2:09.60p/8th, ht. 5
Pole Vault Qualifying: t20. Linda Hadfield, 12-1.50/3.70m
400m First Round: 35. Martinique Octave, 55.97p/5th, ht. 3
! - personal record, DNF - did not finish, DQ - disqualified, - 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, w - wind-aided
