Vols Wrap Up NCAA Indoor Championships With Four Podium Finishes

BIRMINGHAM, ALA. -- The Tennessee track & field program posted four podium (top-8) finishes Saturday to round out competition at the 2019 NCAA Indoor National Championships. In total, 10 All-America citations were claimed by the Big Orange contingent over the weekend.

With 10 points, the Lady Vols tied for 21^st place on the team leaderboard, while the men finished tied for 35^th with 7 points. Reigning SEC Champions Florida (men) and Arkansas (women) claimed the team titles Saturday night.

HIGH JUMP RUNNER-UP: Junior high jumper Darryl Sullivan highlighted Saturday's performances with a second-place finish, clearing a lifetime-best height of 2.26m (7-5) on his first attempt at the mark. The runner-up result in the event was Tennessee's highest since 1994, when Randy Jenkins leaped over 2.31m (7-7) to secure the program's lone indoor high jump national title.

"I was unbelievably impressed with Darryl Sullivan, just the entire mental focus that he brought to the game," director of track & field Beth Alford-Sullivan said following the meet. "He steps in and he's vying for a national title. He was here at the show two years ago as a freshman, got the experience out of the way. We had some coaching changes from last year to this year, and you can just see. This was a guy on a mission and he was ready to go."

HISTORIC TRIPLE JUMP PERFORMANCES: Tennessee's triple jump duo of LaChyna Roe and Alonie Sutton became the second and third Lady Vols in the history of the program to earn All-America status in the indoor triple jump. Roe posted a mark of 13.54m (44-5.25), breaking her own all-time UT record by 20 centimeters to place fourth at the national meet - the highest finish in that event ever recorded by a Lady Vol. Sutton's performance of 13.25m (43-5.75) tabbed seventh to become the first Tennessee freshman to earn All-America honors in the women's triple jump.

Jalen Tate represented the bounce squad in the men's triple jump, becoming the first UT All-American in the event since alum John Tillman in 1987. Tate, a sophomore from Clarksville, Tenn., cleared a mark of 15.75m (51-8.25) to place 10^th overall, good for Second Team All-America acclaim in his indoor national championship debut.

"The Vols did great, and it was a great field event day for us. [Associate Head Coach Travis Geopfert] had his bounce squad ready to roll. The young ladies in the triple jump and Jalen Tate, all had great performances. LaChyna Roe, it'll go down in my memory books. She had two fouls and pulled out a third-place jump at the time to stay alive. Alonie Sutton, starting off as a freshman and scoring, being an All-American. I was really, really proud of them."

COMING OUT STRONG: In the weight throw pit, senior captain Stamatia Scarvelis eclipsed First Team All-America status for the second year in a row on Saturday. Her top heave of the day (22.21m / 72-10.5) claimed a sixth-place finish for the reigning SEC individual champion. The Santa Barbara, Calif. native stands alone as the only weight throw All-American in program history, earning the honors in each of the past three seasons.

Senior weight thrower Seth Whitener made his indoor nationals debut with a distance of 20.30m (66-7.25) to place 14^th nationally and earn Second Team All-America accolades. Tennessee men's weight throwers have now earned All-America citations at four of the past six indoor national meets.

LAST WORDS FROM COACH SULLIVAN: "I was very proud of the efforts today. Our teams have much improved from a year ago. Our overall finishes are much better, but we're still a ways from where we want to be. The culture is still growing to a championship mindset, an NCAA mindset. I look forward to rolling into outdoor. It's a stronger season for us."

"Congrats to Florida, Arkansas, all the SEC schools for once again just dominating this meet and having great, great competition. I look forward to the next step, and we'll be taking that starting on Monday."

UP NEXT: Tennessee will open its 2019 outdoor track & field campaign at the Power 5 Trailblazer Challenge, hosted by Miami (FL) on Saturday, March 23 in Coral Gables, Fla.

For the most up-to-date information on Tennessee track & field, follow @Vol_Track on Twitter.

University of Tennessee Athletics

Vols Wrap Up NCAA Indoor Championships With Four Podium Finishes

Players Mentioned

LaChyna Roe

Stamatia Scarvelis

Darryl Sullivan

Alonie Sutton

Jalen Tate

Seth Whitener

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