Vols Claim Two Conference Titles Friday at SEC Outdoor Championships

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Championship performances from Stamatia Scarvelis and Alex Crigger highlighted a busy day for the Tennessee track & field program Friday at the SEC Outdoor Championships. Scarvelis repeated as conference champion in the women's hammer throw, while Crigger secured UT's first SEC title in the men's 3,000m steeplechase since 1985.

HAMMER REPEAT: Entering the meet as defending champion and top overall seed, senior captain Stamatia Scarvelis left no doubt with her sixth and final throw of 68.32m (224-2) to claim 2019 SEC hammer throw gold. The mark bested the rest of the field by nearly 10 feet and was the third-best toss of Scarvelis' illustrious career.

HISTORIC STEEPLE OUTING: Coming off a third-place finish last season, sophomore distance standout Alex Crigger struck SEC gold for the first time in his career with a win in the 3,000m steeplechase Friday night. The Johnson City, Tenn. native shaved eight seconds off his personal-best with a time of 8:47.85 - ranking 10^th on UT's all-time top-10 list and 6^th among NCAA East Region qualifiers.

Crigger's SEC steeplechase championship was the first for Tennessee since 1985, when Rickey Pittman took home the title in 8:35.11.

TAKE IT TO THE MAX: Junior thrower Joseph Maxwell took home silver in the men's shot put to earn eight points for the Tennessee Volunteers Friday night. The Evansville, Ontario, Canada native heaved a new personal-best of 19.33m (63-5), a mark that ranks fourth in UT history and seventh on the NCAA East Region qualifying list.

NEW HEIGHTS FOR THE JUMP KING: High jump specialist Darryl Sullivan earned the first SEC medal of his career on Friday, as the junior cleared an outdoor personal-best 2.21m (7-3) for third place at the conference meet. The Marion, Ill. native is now tied for fifth place on Tennessee's all-time top-10 list in the outdoor high jump.

ROOKIE GOES THE DISTANCE: Tennessee freshman Alonie Sutton tallied four points for the Lady Vols with a fifth-place finish in the women's long jump Friday afternoon. The Smiths Station, Ala. native logged a new PR of 6.39m (20-11.75) and earned SEC All-Freshman Team honors as the top rookie finisher in the field. Her personal-best also ranks fourth in Lady Vol history and was the furthest mark for UT since 2017 (Cidae'a Woods, 6.40m).

FOUR ADVANCE PAST PRELIMS: The Big Orange had four competitors qualify for Saturday's running finals on Friday, as Alexis Duncan, Zach Long, Katie Thronson and Mustaqeem Williams advanced past prelims on Friday. Duncan won Heat 1 of the 100m hurdles in 13.04 to automatically earn a spot in the final for the second year in a row, while Long (3:49.68) and Thronson (4:27.67) each finished second in their men's and women's 1500m sections to automatically advance. Williams earned an at-large spot in the 100m dash finals with a wind-legal season-best of 10.32 that ranked fourth in prelims.

OTHER SCORERS: Tennessee had three additional scorers to round out highlights from Friday's SEC Championship action. Top-8 finishers are rewarded with points on a scale of 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 from first through eighth place.

Sophomore Kim Spritzky collected 1.5 points in a tie for seventh in the women's pole vault, towering over a PR of 4.01m (13-1.75) Friday at Arkansas.
Scarvelis moved her individual total to 15 points with a fourth-place finish in shot put, throwing a mark of 16.56m (54-4) on her sixth attempt.
Senior steepler Wesley Robinson scored for the first time in his career with an eighth-place finish in the 3,000m steeplechase, clocking in at a season-best 9:11.70.

#PRTRACKER: Eight Tennessee athletes combined to record nine NCAA Outdoor personal records Friday at the 2019 SEC Outdoor Championships.

Kiara Rhodes - Women's Heptathlon 800m - 2:23.45
Kiara Rhodes - Women's 100m Hurdles - 13.68
Kim Spritzky - Women's Pole Vault - 4.01m / 13-1.75
Alonie Sutton - Women's Long Jump - 6.39m / 20-11.75
Katie Thronson - Women's 1,500m - 4:27.67
Alex Crigger - Men's 3,000m Steeplechase - 8:47.85
Joseph Maxwell - Men's Shot Put - 19.33m / 63-5
Cameron Murray - Men's Long Jump - 7.31m / 23-11.75
Darryl Sullivan - Men's High Jump - 2.21m / 7-3

Full results from Friday can be found at this link. The Vols are set to wrap up the SEC Championships Saturday, beginning at 12:30 p.m. CT as Maxwell competes in the men's discus final.

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

University of Tennessee Athletics

Vols Claim Two Conference Titles Friday at SEC Outdoor Championships

Players Mentioned

Alex Crigger

Alexis Duncan

Zach Long

Joseph Maxwell

Cameron Murray

Kiara Rhodes

Wesley Robinson

Stamatia Scarvelis

Kim Spritzky

Darryl Sullivan

Alonie Sutton

Katie Thronson

Mustaqeem Williams

Cidae'a Woods

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