University of Tennessee Athletics
Coleman Qualifies for Pan Am Juniors
June 26, 2015 | Track & Field
June 26, 2015
EUGENE, Ore. -- Tennessee rising sophomore Christian Coleman secured his place on Team USA for the Pan American Junior Championships on Friday with a runner-up finish in the 100-meter dash at the 2015 USATF Junior Championships.
The two-time SEC Freshman Runner of the Year put together a strong showing at the historic Hayward Field, running a career-best and wind-legal time of 10.18 in the finals of the 100 meters. Coleman is back in Eugene, Oregon, for the USATF Championships after finishing 15th in the same race two weeks ago at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
The Pan American Junior Championships run July 31-August 2 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The Junior Pan Am Games are a biennial track and field event that features athletes ages 19 and under who hail from the Americas.
Coleman is coming off a stellar freshman campaign that saw him earn the SEC's indoor Freshman Runner of the Year as well as the league's Co-Freshman of the Year honor for the outdoor season. He was an indoor All-American after finishing sixth in the 60-meter dash at the NCAA Indoor Championships in March, making him UT's first indoor All-American in the 60 meters since Justin Gatlin in 2001. The Atlanta native would go on to score second team All-America honors during the outdoor season, finishing 15th in the National Championships in both the 100 and 200-meter dash.
Coleman opened his Friday in the preliminary rounds of the 100, topping the field of 15 with a windy time of 10.22. That finished qualified him for the event finals later that afternoon where he would clinch his place on the USA Junior Pan Am team.
The USATF Junior Championships are running in conjunction with the Senior Championships at Hayward Field. Vol Track's Tavis Bailey and Chelsea Blaase opened that competition on Thursday night, with each turning in solid performances. Bailey, the NCAA national runner-up in the men's discus, placed fifth overall with a throw of 201 feet, eight inches (61.48). Meanwhile, Blaase--a four-time All-American in 2014-15--was 14th in the final of the senior women's 10,000 meters. The rising senior turned in a time of 34:07.34.
Both Bailey and Blaase were the No. 2 collegiate finishers in their respective events.
The USATF Championships come to an end on Saturday with Coleman and three other Vols in action. In the Junior competition, rising sophomore Matthew Zajac opens the day in the men's discus final, followed by Coleman in the preliminary round of the 200-meter dash. Redshirt freshman Tyler Woodrome is set to run in the 1500 meters later that evening.
The only Vol making an appearance in the Senior Championships on Saturday is rising senior Jake Blankenship. Ranked No. 6 in the world in the pole vault, Blankenship will look to continue a stellar 2015 that has already seen him earn two All-America honors and the SEC pole vault championship.
TENNESSEE RESULTS AT USATF CHAMPIONSHIPS
Senior Championships
Men's Discus: 5. Tavis Bailey, 201-8 (61.48)
Women's 10,000m: 14. Chelsea Blaase, 34:07.34
Junior Championships
Men's 100m (prelim): 1. Christian Coleman, 10.22 (+3.0)
Men's 100m (FINAL): 2. Christian Coleman, 10.18! (+2.0)
