University of Tennessee Athletics
TRACK & FIELD CENTRAL: Tennessee Challenge
April 30, 2015 | Track & Field
April 30, 2015 
TENNESSEE WOMEN
TENESSEE MEN
MEET INFO
- Tennessee Track and Field brings the 2015 outdoor regular season to a close on Saturday when it plays host to the Tennessee Challenge.
- The Tennessee Challenge is an invitation only meet and serves as a "last chance" event to assist those teams in preparation for postseason competition.
- In all, 16 schools will be competing at Tom Black Track this weekend, including fellow SEC members Auburn and Vanderbilt. The remaining field includes: Belmont, Carson-Newman, Chattanooga, Clemson, ETSU, Lipscomb, Louisville, Middle Tennessee, Radford, Rutgers, Samford, Tennessee Tech, and Virginia Tech.
- A handful of unattached and professional competitors will also be in action on Saturday.
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BROADCAST INFO
- There is no live streaming video broadcast scheduled for Saturday's Tennessee Challenge.
- Fans unable to make it out to Tom Black Track for the Challenge (admission is free) can stay up to date through the live results linked above or by following @Vol_Track on Twitter.
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MEN'S COMPETITION
- The 18th ranked Tennessee men are poised to close out the regular season at the Tennessee Challenge with 21 individuals slated to compete across 14 events on a jam-packed Saturday.
- The day's events begin at 9 a.m. ET as Carson Frost and Deon McAdoo compete in the men's hammer throw. From there, Kyle Quinn, who is ranked 14th in the East Region in the javelin opens up the men's javelin throw at 12 p.m.
- The UT men's events on the track get underway at 1:05 p.m. with Drew Kelley in the 1500 meters. The men's 400, featuring Nathan Strother and Malik Elion, follow at 1:55 p.m. and freshman phenom Christian Coleman is entered to compete in the 100-meter dash at 2:20 p.m.
- After the 100 meters, Tavis Bailey and Matthew Zajac compete in the men's discus competition. At this event last year, Bailey established a new Tennessee record in the event with a toss of 211 feet, eight inches (64.51).
- Fresh off his third straight Penn Relays title, junior Jake Blankenship headlines the men's pole vault competition, which begins at 2 p.m. Tyler Porter and Michael Maira are also scheduled to compete in the event alongside Blankenship.
- At 3:40 p.m. UT will send five competitors to race in the men's 200-meter dash. Coleman, Strother, and Elion will race alongside Jalen Hunter and Wesley Edwards in the event. The day comes to an end at 4:45 p.m. when Tennessee competes in the men's 4x400 meter relay.
- At last tally, the Tennessee men boast nine individuals in qualifying position for the NCAA East Regional in May. Those nine individuals represent 12 events as both Coleman and Bailey are qualified in multiple events. Coleman is in qualifying position in the 100m, 200m, and long jump while Bailey is looking to qualify in both the discus and the shot put.
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WOMEN'S COMPETITION
- Eleven representatives of the Tennessee women's squad will compete across 12 events to conclude the regular season on Saturday.
- Erin Champion will lead off the day for UT as she takes part in the women's pole vault at 11:30 a.m. She will be followed by the Tennessee quartet in the women's 4x100 relay at 12:30 p.m. At the Tennessee Relays in early April, the UT foursome of Cidae'a Woods, London Freeland, Felicia Brown, and Felecia Majors won the event in a time of 45.23.
- The duo of Brielyn Rogers and Cidae'a Woods will have a busy Saturday as the pair is slated to compete in three events each. Both Rogers and Woods will run in the 100-meter hurdles and 200-meter dash, while Rogers will also compete in the triple jump and Woods in the long jump.
- Sprinter Felicia Brown looks to continue her recent run of success on Saturday, running in both the 100-meter dash (2:10 p.m.) and 200-meter dash (3:30 p.m.). She is coming off the second 100-meter win of her career last Saturday when she recorded the top time at the Penn Relays at 11.60. Brown won both the 100 and 200 the last time she raced on Tom Black Track, earning the Tennessee Relays' Tony Wilson Award along the way.
- The UT women currently have six individual athletes in qualifying position for the NCAA East Regional across 10 events. Both Brown and Felecia Majors have a trio of event qualifications to their names with the former presently qualified in the 100m, 200, and 400m and the latter in the 200m, 400m, and long jump.
FROM THE DIRECTOR'S DESK
- First-year Tennessee director of track and field/cross country Beth Alford-Sullivan shares her thoughts on Saturday's Tennessee Challenge:
- On hosting the Tennessee Challenge: "We're excited to host the Tennessee Challenge. It's in the midst of finals week so it's nice to be able to have a home competition and the student-athletes can prepare relatively simply for a one-day, home meet on Saturday. "
- On the day's events: "We'll start early with the hammer throw at 9 a.m., but most of the action is starting right around noon. It's supposed to be a beautiful day and we hope that we can get some Vol fans out there to see us in action."
- On closing out the regular season: "It will be our seniors' last time to wear the Orange and White at home so we're excited for their opportunities and what is a final tune up in the regular season for us before we hit championship time in two weeks at SECs."
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LAST TIME OUT
- Tennessee took two wins, seven top-five finishes, and 12 top-10s away from a strong weekend in Philadelphia at the 121st Penn Relays.
- Headlining the weekend's successes was junior pole vaulter Jake Blankenship who completed his three-peat in the men's pole vault championship at Franklin Field. The winner of the competition in both 2013 and 2014, Blankenship used a vault of 18 feet, 0.5 inches (5.50) to successfully defend his crown.
- Junior sprinter Felicia Brown also came home with a new Penn Relays gold watch after she picked up the victory in the women's 100-meter dash championship. Brown was the top qualifier in the event entering Saturday's final after posting an 11.59 in her preliminary round. She validated that No. 1 spot with an 11.60 in the championship final to earn just her second career-victory in the 100 meters.
- In Friday's relays, Tennessee turned some heads when a quartet of freshmen--making their first-ever trip to the Penn Relays--earned a fourth-place finish in the sprint medley relay. Christian Coleman, Jalen Hunter, Nathan Strother, and Chase Hilton turned in a 3:24.65 in the SMR, finishing behind only Indiana Tech, conference-foe LSU, and champion Penn State.
- Earlier that day in the DMR, Hilton combined with Antonio Carter, Nick Kaiser, and Austin Whitelaw to record the fastest distance medley relay time of the season for the Volunteers with a 9:58.66. That time was good for fourth place.
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UP NEXT
- Tennessee is off next weekend as it prepares for the 2015 SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships, held May 14-16 in Starkville, Mississippi. Last season, the Tennessee women finished in 10th place while the men came in 11th.
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Players Mentioned
Sprints
/ Track & Field
Pole Vault
/ Track & Field
Sprints/Hurdles
/ Track & Field
Sprints/Jumps
/ Track & Field
Sprints/Jumps/Throws
/ Track & Field
Sprints/Jumps/Hurdles
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