TRACK CENTRAL: Texas Tech Invitational

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee track & field program is back in action this week as the Vols travel to Lubbock, Texas, to continue the indoor season at the Texas Tech Invitational. The meet is set for Thursday, January 30 through Friday, February 1 at the Sports Performance Center.

The Texas Tech Invitational will begin Thursday morning at 11 a.m. with the women's pentathlon and conclude Saturday at 3:20 p.m. with the men's 4x400m relay. 44 Tennessee athletes are set to make the trip to Lubbock, going up against competition from 19 other collegiate programs: Abilene Christian, Arizona, Barton County CC, Baylor, Boise State, Florida, Florida State, Iowa State, Miami, NC State, Ohio State, Prairie View A&M, Texas A&M, Texas A&M – Corpus Christi, Texas Tech, UNLV, USC, Utah and Western Texas.

TENNESSEE ON THE RISE: The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) released the Week 1 edition of its Track & Field Rating Index (TFRI) on Monday, which saw both the Vols and Lady Vols rise in the rankings.

On the men's side, Tennessee moved from its No. 19 preseason ranking to No. 12 in the nation this week. The Lady Vols saw the fourth-greatest leap in the country, up 27 spots from the preseason to No. 38 among 130 NCAA Division I programs that qualified for consideration.

RANKED COMPETITION: 15 teams that will be represented at the Texas Tech Invitational were ranked inside the top-25 of the USTFCCCA National TFRI in the most recent release of the rankings:

Men

No. 1 Florida State
No. 3 USC
No. 5 Texas A&M
No. 7 Florida
No. 8 Baylor
No. 12 Tennessee
No. 18 Texas Tech
No. 20 Iowa State

Women

No. 1 USC
No. 7 Texas A&M
No. 11 Florida
No. 12 Florida State
No. 16 Texas Tech
No. 22 Baylor
No. 24 Ohio State

SULLIVAN'S WORLD: Tennessee high jumper Darryl Sullivan is coming off a historic performance at the Virginia Tech Invitational, clearing 2.33m (7-7.75) in the men's high jump. The mark tied the all-time SEC indoor record and No. 4 performance in collegiate track & field history.

With his performance in the high jump, Sullivan sits atop the world leaderboard for the 2019-20 indoor season. He was awarded USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week and SEC Men's Field Athlete of the Week honors following the meet.

FRESHMAN HONORS: Tennessee rookie Emmanuel Bynum was named SEC Freshman of the Week following the Virginia Tech Invite, the first Vol to earn the honor since January 19, 2016. The Memphis native ran a UT freshman record time of 33.38 in the men's 300m, followed by an indoor personal-best 47.20 in the 400m which stood as the top mark in the conference at the time of the mark.

LEAGUE LEADERS: Tennessee leads the SEC in three championship events so far this season: men's high jump (Darryl Sullivan, 2.33m/7-7.75), women's triple jump (Alonie Sutton, 13.34m/43-9.25) and women's shot put (Latavia Maines, 17.23m/56-6.5).

ROAD TO ALBUQUERQUE: Through the first month of the indoor track season, UT has 10 athletes that rank inside the top-16 of their respective events. Those inside the top-16 nationally following the conference championships will qualify for the NCAA Indoor National Championships, set for March 13-14 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Domonique Turner - Women's 60m hurdles - 8.20 (No. 10 NCAA)
Alexis Duncan - Women's 60m hurdles - 8.22 (No. 14 NCAA)
Kiara Rhodes - Women's 60m hurdles - 8.24 (No. 15 NCAA)
Hannah Jefcoat - Women's Pole Vault - 4.21m (No. 13 NCAA)
Alonie Sutton - Women's Triple Jump - 13.34m (No. 3 NCAA)
Latavia Maines - Women's Shot Put - 17.23m (No. 4 NCAA)
Darryl Sullivan - Men's High Jump - 2.33m (No. 1 NCAA)
Carey McLeod - Men's Triple Jump - 15.89m (No. 10 NCAA)
Joseph Maxwell - Men's Shot Put - 19.46m (No. 11 NCAA)
Georgios Korakidis - Men's Weight Throw - 20.98m (No. 16 NCAA)

UP NEXT: Following a two-week break from competition, Tennessee's final regular season tune-up is set for Friday and Saturday, February 14-15 at the Clemson Tiger Paw Invitational.

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

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Players Mentioned

Emmanuel Bynum

Alexis Duncan

Hannah Jefcoat

Georgios Korakidis

Latavia Maines

Joseph Maxwell

Carey McLeod

Kiara Rhodes

Darryl Sullivan

Alonie Sutton

Domonique Turner

University of Tennessee Athletics