No. 8 Vols Record Highest SEC Indoor Track Finish Since 2009

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- The No. 8 nationally ranked Tennessee men's track & field team finished fifth at the SEC Indoor Championships with 67 points, good for the highest team placement and point total on the men's side for UT since 2009. The Lady Vols totaled 43 points — their most since 2016 — to tie for eighth place on the weekend.

Individually, Tennessee picked up four medals on Saturday as the program wrapped up the conference meet at the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium in College Station.

Arkansas took home the men's team title with 106 points, followed by LSU (88), Texas A&M (82) and Florida (75) to round out the top four. The Razorbacks were also victorious on the women's side with 102 points, with LSU (87.5) and Georgia (78) earning second- and third-place team finishes.

McLEOD EARNS SECOND MEDAL: Coming off his gold-medal performance in the long jump on Friday, Tennessee sophomore Carey McLeod took home silver in the men's triple jump on Saturday. The Kingston, Jamaica, native went 16.49 meters (54-1.25) for his second-best performance on the season, missing the first place finish on Saturday by one centimeter to Florida's Clayton Brown. McLeod finished his first SEC meet scoring a team-high 18 points for the Big Orange.

TURNER STEPS ON FIRST SEC PODIUM: Competing at her final SEC indoor meet, Lady Vol senior hurdler Domonique Turner claimed a bronze medal in the 60-meter hurdles on Saturday with her time of 8.11. The mark improved Turner's standing as the No. 3 performer in program history as she scored for the first time in her career at a conference meet.

GREEK FREAK BREAKS THROUGH: On his sixth and final attempt in the men's weight throw, Vol junior Georgios Korakidis exploded for a new personal-best 21.21 meters (69-7) to finish third at the conference meet. He is the first Vol to medal in the weight throw since Cameron Brown won the title in 2016.

Saturday marked Korakidis' first time scoring at the SEC Indoor Championships after 9th- and 11th-place finishes the past two years. Additionally, his throw on Saturday ranks as the No. 5 performance in Tennessee history.

SUTTON SECURES TJ BRONZE: Lady Vol sophomore Alonie Sutton was the third-place finisher in the women's triple jump on Saturday, earning the first SEC medal of her career with a performance of 13.28 meters (43-7). Sutton is the only Lady Vol ever to go 13 meters and above in every indoor meet of her career, now reaching that standard nine consecutive times.

JEFCOAT CLEARS ALL-TIME RECORD: Tennessee junior Hannah Jefcoat broke the all-time school record in the women's pole vault on Saturday, clearing 4.25m (13-11.25) on her second attempt at the bar. She now stands as the greatest performer in Lady Vol pole vault history, both indoors and outdoors.

BIG ORANGE SCORERS: Outside of its four podium finishes on Saturday, Tennessee had 11 top-8 scoring performances to round out the SEC Indoor Championships.

Senior captain Darryl Sullivan placed fourth in the men's high jump with a clearance of 2.16 meters (7-1), marking the best SEC indoor finish of his career. Sullivan's roommate, Jalen Tate, scored for the Big Orange in the men's triple jump, placing fifth for the second-consecutive year at the SEC Indoor Championships with a leap of 15.74 meters (51-7.75).

In the men's heptathlon, the freshman duo of Yariel Soto (5,498 points) and Peyton Davis (5,204) placed fourth and sixth respectively for Tennessee. It was the first time UT had two top-8 finishers in the event since 2008, when Jangy Addy and Michael Ayers won gold and bronze for the Vols.

Soto's total of 5,498 points ranks him No. 7 on the Tennessee all-time top 10 list, as the Hatillo, Puerto Rico native recorded PRs in the 60m (6.99), 60m hurdles (8.68) and 1000m (2:39.10) this weekend in College Station. His fourth-place finish in the SEC heptathlon is the best for the Vols since Ayers claimed the title in 2009.

Tennessee had a pair of scorers in the women's pole vault in Hannah Jefcoat and Kim Spritzky. The duo notably place sixth and eighth, respectively, for the second year in a row. Jefcoat's performance of 4.25 meters (13-11.25) broke the all-time school record, while Spritzky's jump of 4.10 meters (13-5.25) was a new personal best and the No. 5 performance in UT indoor history.

Lady Vol senior Alexis Duncan scored three points for UT in the women's 60m hurdles, placing sixth in 8.18 seconds in her first career SEC indoor final.

The Tennessee distance crew had a pair of first-career SEC point scorers in Katie Thronson (mile) and Alex Kay (800m). Thronson clocked in at 4:49.76 for seventh place, while Kay finished eighth in 1:55.29.

In the 4x400-meter relays, Tennessee scored on both sides as the men and women each recorded new season-bests. Christopher Bailey (46.67), Jonathan Sacoor (45.83), Rasheeme Griffith (46.63) and Alex Kay (48.25) combined for the seventh-best time in program history at 3:07.36 to place sixth, while Brooklynn Broadwater (54.12), Jada Chambers (53.66), Joella Lloyd (54.16) and Britton Wilson (54.22) finished eighth overall in 3:36.15.

HAYDEN IMPROVES FRESHMAN RECORD: Tennessee rookie Chandler Hayden made her SEC indoor debut on Saturday in the women's weight throw, tossing a new personal-best 19.61 meters (64-4) for ninth place at the meet. The mark topped her previous Lady Vol freshman record of 19.37 meters (63-6.75) that was recorded at the season opening Tennessee-Indiana Duals.

#PRTRACKER: Tennessee athletes combined to break or tie 14 indoor personal records on Saturday at the SEC Indoor Championships.

Yariel Soto - Men's 1000m - 2:39.10
Peyton Davis - Men's 1000m - 2:46.44
Conner Hawkins - Men's 3000m - 8:27.22
Yariel Soto - Men's 60m Hurdles - 8.68
Peyton Davis - Men's 60m Hurdles - 8.73
Georgios Korakidis - Men's Weight Throw - 21.21m (69-7)
Yariel Soto - Men's Heptathlon - 5,498 points
Peyton Davis - Men's Heptathlon - 5,204 points
Megan Murray - Women's 3000m - 9:46.23
Sydney Seymour - Women's 3000m - 9:52.29
Domonique Turner - Women's 60m Hurdles - 8.11
Hannah Jefcoat - Women's Pole Vault - 4.25m (13-11.25)
Kim Spritzky - Women's Pole Vault - 4.10m (13-5.25)
Chandler Hayden - Women's Weight Throw - 19.61m (64-4)

UP NEXT: Tennessee athletes that post top-16 NCAA qualifying marks will earn a spot at the 2020 NCAA Indoor National Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Official entries will be announced this week, as the nation's top athletes will converge on the Albuquerque Convention Center Friday and Saturday, March 13-14.

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

University of Tennessee Athletics

No. 8 Vols Record Highest SEC Indoor Track Finish Since 2009

Players Mentioned

Christopher Bailey

Brooklynn Broadwater

Jada Chambers

Peyton Davis

Alexis Duncan

Rasheeme Griffith

Conner Hawkins

Chandler Hayden

Hannah Jefcoat

Alex Kay

Georgios Korakidis

Joella Lloyd

Carey McLeod

Megan Murray

Jonathan Sacoor

Sydney Seymour

Yariel Soto

Kim Spritzky

Darryl Sullivan

Alonie Sutton

Jalen Tate

Katie Thronson

Domonique Turner

Britton Wilson

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