Vols Pick Up Five Medals to Wrap Up SEC Indoor Championships

FAYETTEVILLE, AR - 2019.02.23 - 2019 Indoor SEC Championships

Photo by: Caleb Jones/Tennessee Athletics

Vols Pick Up Five Medals to Wrap Up SEC Indoor Championships

February 23, 2019 | Track & Field

SEC Championship Results Saturday Photo Gallery

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- The Tennessee track & field program took home five more medals Saturday at the SEC Indoor Championships, highlighted by individual conference titles from senior captains Stamatia Scarvelis and Mustaqeem Williams at the Randal Tyson Track Center.

Scarvelis (Santa Barbara, Calif.) put up a historic effort on the way to weight throw gold, heaving a lifetime-best mark of 24.06m (78-11.75) to break her own program record in the event. The mark set a new SEC Championship record and is currently the top mark in NCAA Division I this season by nearly two feet. Furthermore, Scarvelis now ranks as the No. 7 all-time collegian in the weight throw as well as ranking No. 3 in SEC history.

Williams (Woodbridge, Va.) repeated as SEC champion in the men's 200m dash, clocking a season-best time of 20.65 to earn First Team All-SEC honors for the second year in a row. He becomes the second Vol in program history to go back-to-back in the indoor 200m at SECs, joining NCAA national champion Rubin Williams who accomplished the feat in 2007 and 2008.

The Tennessee men finished sixth in the team standings with 50 points, good for the program's highest finish and point total since 2009. On the women's side, UT placed eighth to improve three spots higher than 2018. Florida and Arkansas captured the team titles on the men's and women's sides, respectively.

McCOY DECORATED IN BRONZE: Senior sprinter Maia McCoy picked up a pair of bronze medals Saturday with third-place finishes in the 60m and 200m dashes. The Memphis, Tenn. native clocked times of 7.28 and 23.15 in those events, respectively, to tally 12 points for the Lady Vols. Both races were McCoy's first experience in an SEC final during her collegiate career.

LONG TAKES THIRD: Tennessee distance standout Zach Long claimed his first SEC Indoor medal with a third-place result in the men's 3000m. The senior from Rutledge, Tenn. timed a season-best mark of 8:03.69, finishing less than a second behind Arkansas' Cameron Griffith who won the title.

DYNAMIC TRIPLE JUMP DUO: Lady Vols LaChyna Roe and Alonie Sutton posted a pair of Tennessee records as they competed in the triple jump Saturday afternoon. On her last attempt, Roe recorded a distance of 13.34m (43-9.25) to beat her own all-time program record by about two inches. Sutton finished just one centimeter behind Roe, leaping 13.33m (43-8.75) to break her own UT freshman triple jump record. The duo placed fifth and sixth at the meet and both sit comfortably within the NCAA national qualifying field.

WHITENER HAS CAREER DAY: Senior weight throw specialist Seth Whitener logged a new personal-best of 22.03m (72-3.5) to earn a fourth-place finish on Saturday, scoring for the first time of his career at SEC Indoors. The new PR ranks No. 3 on Tennessee's all-time top-10 and is currently the No. 10 mark on the NCAA Indoor Nationals qualifying list. Notably, all four of Whitener's successful attempts Saturday went further than any previous throw in his career.

OTHER SEC SCORERS: UT's pole-vaulting duo of Hannah Jefcoat and Kim Spritzky combined for four points Saturday afternoon at the SEC Indoor Championships. Jefcoat cleared 4.09m (13-5) to finish sixth at the meet, while Spritzky vaulted over 3.94m (12-11) for eighth place.

Sophomore jumper Jalen Tate tacked on four points for Tennessee with a fifth-place outing in the triple jump. The Clarksville, Tenn. product recorded a jump of 15.59m (51-1.75) to score at SECs for the first time in his career.

Weight thrower Savannah Marlow scored for the second SEC indoor meet in a row with a heave of 19.11m (62-8.5), good for seventh place overall. The senior now ties for fifth on Tennessee's all-time top 10 list with her new personal-best.

In addition to his 200m championship, Williams added a point for the Vols with a 7^th-place showing in the 60m dash, crossing the line in 6.75.

SEASON-BEST 4X4s: Both Tennessee's men's and women's 4x400m relay squads posted their fastest times of the season to close out the conference meet. Layla White, Lenysse Dyer, Martina Weil and Brooklynn Broadwater combined for a mark of 3:35.00, while Jonathan Sacoor, Nickson Pierre, Kwantreyl McConico and Darryl Harris turned in a time of 3:12.40.

QUOTES FROM COACH: "The Vols had a very solid weekend," said UT director of track & field Beth Alford-Sullivan. "I am proud of all the efforts and I was impressed with the intensity this team brought. We are catching some traction in the SEC and the future is very bright."

"Our senior leadership was great. SEC championships for Mustaqeem and Stamatia were awesome, plus Maia McCoy and Zach Long showed out. Thanks also to my staff as they did a great job. I'm proud of the Vols."

"Quick shoutout to Arkansas as great hosts of this meet, as well as the win for their women. Florida men had a great win as well."

#PRTRACKER: Eight Tennessee athletes recorded NCAA Indoor personal records as UT wrapped up competition at the 2019 SEC Indoor Championships.

Andre Hillsman - Men's 3000m - 8:23.22
Karl Thiessen - Men's 3000m - 8:22.97
Georgios Korakidis - Men's Weight Throw - 20.42m (67-0)
Seth Whitener - Men's Weight Throw - 22.03m (72-3.5)
LaChyna Roe - Women's Triple Jump - 13.34m (43-9.25)
Alonie Sutton - Women's Triple Jump - 13.33m (43-8.75)
Savannah Marlow - Women's Weight Throw - 19.11m (62-8.5)
Stamatia Scarvelis - Women's Weight Throw - 24.06m (78-11.75)

UP NEXT: Tennessee athletes that rank top-16 in their respective events will qualify for the 2019 NCAA Indoor National Championships, scheduled for March 8-9 in Birmingham, Ala. The full NCAA field will be officially announced at a later date.

Full results from the 2019 SEC Indoor Track & Field Championships can be found at this link. For the most up-to-date information on Tennessee track & field, follow @Vol_Track on Twitter.