Track & Field Central: NCAA Outdoor Championship

June 5, 2017

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee - Tennessee track & field will send 14 student-athletes to the NCAA Outdoor Championship from June 7-10 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. The Vols enter the championship ranked 13th on the men's side and 29th in the women's national poll.

Wednesday's competition at 2 p.m. PT/5 p.m. ET as Cameron Brown and Seth Whitener compete in the hammer throw competition. That will be broadcast live on ESPN3. The broadcast on ESPNU starts at 4:30 p.m PT and will feature the 4x100m relay team. Christian Coleman and Nathan Strother will run in individual semifinals starting at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN2.

Thursday will feature three women's finals. Stamatia Scarvelis will compete in the hammer throw final at 2 p.m. PT on ESPN3. The Coverage moves to ESPN2 as Cassie Wertman will compete in the shot put finals and Chelsea Blaase goes for a national championship in the 10,000m. Shania Collins will run in the 200m semifinal at 6:44 p.m. PT

Matthew Zajac will be featured on ESPN3's coverage on Friday as he competes in the discus championship starting at 5:05 p.m. PT. The men's relay teams and individuals that qualify for the finals will compete on ESPN starting at 5:30 p.m. PT. Zach Long will compete in the final of the 5,000m as part of that coverage at 7:25 p.m. PT.

Saturday's coverage of the women's finals will also be on ESPN as Shania Collins will compete at 5:07 p.m. if she can make it through the semifinals.

Tennessee Sprints

Christian Coleman (100m, 200m) - Won the SEC Championship in the 100m and 200m races after winning NCAA titles in the 60m and 200m during indoor season. He holds four Tennessee school records and is ranked in the top 10 in collegiate history in the 60m, 200m indoor, 100m and 200m outdoor. This week he was named SEC Outdoor Runner of the Year, he also won USTFCCCA National Indoor Runner of the Year. Coleman also became the first collegian to ever run wind-legal times under 10 seconds in the 100m and under 20 seconds in the 200m on the same day when he won the SEC Championship double.

Nathan Strother (400m) - Tied his personal best of 45.07 in the 400m at the NCAA East Prelims, which ranks him sixth in the NCAA this year. That mark also ranks second in Tennessee history. Strother followed that up by running a 44.31 split on the final leg of the 4x400m relay which allowed the team to move from fifth to second and secure an automatic berth at the NCAA Championship.

Men's Relay Teams (4x100m Relay, 4x400m Relay) -- The Vols will bring both the 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams to Eugene after stellar performances at the NCAA East Prelims. Tennessee brought a six-person relay pool of Coleman, Strother, Mustaqeem Williams, Ari Cogdell, Malik Elion and Darryl Harris. The 4x100m group recorded the seventh-fastest time in Tennessee history at the NCAA East Prelims at 38.92. The 4x400m team used a fantastic final lap from Strother to move into second place in the heat and secure an automatic qualifying spot.

Shania Collins (200m) -- She tallied the third-best 200m time in school history as she ran 22.81 (+1.0) to advance out of the first round at the NCAA East Prelims. Collins followed that with a 23.11 mark in the quarterfinals to finish as the final time qualifier for the NCAA Championship. She missed qualifying in the 100m by one spot as she finished with a time of 11.47. Collins set two personal bests at the SEC Outdoor Championship as she finished just outside the scoring with 100m time of 11.34 (10th) and a 200m mark of 22.95 (9th).

Tennessee Distance

Chelsea Blaase (10,000m) - The Tennessee school record holder in the 10,000m. Blaase has worked her way back from injury to place fourth in the competition at the NCAA East Prelims and book her spot in Eugene. She is a three-time SEC Champion and placed fifth in the 10,000m competition at last year's NCAA Championship.

Zach Long (5,000m) - The Rutledge, Tennessee native will be making his first appearance at the NCAA Championship after he took third in his heat at the NCAA East Prelims. Long was only racing in his third career 5,000m race. He competed in the distance at the SEC Championship as well where he took fourth place.

Tennessee Throws

Cameron Brown (Hammer) - Qualified for the NCAA Championship in dramatic fashion as all three of his throws were ruled foul at the NCAA East Prelims, but a protested second throw allowed him to sneak in as the 12th and final qualifier in the hammer. He will be making his first appearance at the NCAA Outdoor Championship. He set the school record in the hammer earlier this year, but Whitener bested that mark at the NCAA East Prelims.

Seth Whitener (Hammer) -- Whitener has recorded back-to-back seventh place finishes at the SEC Championship and the NCAA east Prelims as he earned a spot in Eugene. Whitener has recorded a personal best in five of the team's seven meets this year including the school record in his most recent meet. Whitener posted a mark of 68.59m (225-0) to move past Brown on the school's record book. Whitener's previous best came two weeks earlier at the SEC Championship as he had a throw of 65.52m.

Matthew Zajac (Discus) -- Qualified for the Championship with an 11th place finish at the NCAA East Prelims as he posted a throw of 56.51m (185-4) as he finished 11th at the NCAA East Prelims. This came on the heels of a bronze medal finish at the SEC Championship as he recorded a personal best discus throw of 58.22m (191-0) which ranks seventh in school history.

Cassie Wertman (Shot Put) -- Wertman ranks second in school history in the shot put during both the indoor and outdoor seasons. She recorded second place finishes in the shot put at both the SEC Indoor and Outdoor Championship in 2016 and was also the NCAA runner up in the indoor shot put as she recorded a throw of 17.68m (58-0.25). This year she set an outdoor personal record in the shot put with a throw of 17.43m as she took second place at the Florida Relays.

Stamatia Scarvelis (Hammer) -- Scarvelis is the school record holder in the hammer throw. She recorded her career best mark at the SEC Relays as she took first place in the competition with a throw of 65.26m (214-1). She followed that by notching 13 points for the Vols at the SEC Championship as she notched a second place finish in the hammer and a fourth place finish in the shot put. Scarvelis booked her ticket to Eugene with a seventh place finish at the NCAA East Prelims with a throw of 60.48m despite rainy conditions.

NCAA Championship Schedule

Wednesday's Schedule
100m Semifinal: Christian Coleman
200m Semifinal: Christian Coleman
400m Semifinal: Nathan Strother
4x100m Relay Semifinal: Tennessee
4x400m Relay Semifinal: Tennessee
Hammer: Seth Whitener, Cameron Brown

Thursday's Schedule
200m Semifinal: Shania Collins
10,000m Final: Chelsea Blaase
Shot Put Final: Cassie Wertman
Hammer Throw Final: Stamatia Scarvelis

Friday's Schedule
100m Final: Christian Coleman
200m Final: Christian Coleman
400m Final: Nathan Strother
5000m Final: Zach Long
4x100m Relay Final: Tennessee
4x400m Relay Final: Tennessee
Discus: Matthew Zajac