Vols Finish 9th At NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The No. 9 Tennessee men's track & field squad concluded the 2021 indoor season Saturday with a top-10 team finish at the NCAA Championships inside the Randal Tyson Track Center. UT placed 9th in the men's standings with 21 points, marking the Vols' third top-10 finish indoors and fifth top-10 showing overall under head coach Beth Alford-Sullivan.

"I'm very, very pleased and excited by the performances from our Tennessee Vol men's program," Sullivan said. "It was a hard-fought battle at the SEC Indoor Championships, and to turn around and face many of those same teams at the national championships, we came in and really competed hard. I was extremely pleased with the results and earning a top-10 finish once again. I think that says quite a bit about our program and what we're building on Rocky Top."

On the women's side, sophomore Joella Lloyd had a 6th-place finish in the 60-meter dash to score three points for the Lady Vols. UT finished in a tie for 40th place among 77 teams at the meet.

"On our women's side, of course we were disappointed in the ending point total. But I was encouraged by the overall effort of our Lady Vols this weekend. We competed hard and we got the experience that we need to propel us forward into the outdoor season with a very, very talented outdoor roster."

For the meet, Tennessee totaled 12 All-America honors on the men's side while six Lady Vols earned All-America certificates over the course of the weekend. The 18 total honors were the most for the program at an indoor national championship since 2008.

"This is a young team, and our future is certainly bright," Sullivan said. "For almost everybody here, it was their first NCAA Championship. I was really thrilled with how they handled competition on the national stage."

TRIPLE TORPEDO: Tennessee junior Carey McLeod finished his first Division I national meet with a team-high 12 points, following Friday's third-place outing in the long jump with a third-place finish in the triple jump on Saturday. The Kingston, Jamaica, native logged the second-best performance of his career with a mark of 16.93 meters (55-6.5) on his fourth-round attempt.

McLeod became the first Vol to score in the NCAA indoor triple jump since VFL John Tillman took fourth place in 1987. Additionally, the Jamaican international's third-place result on Saturday was the best for UT in the event at any NCAA meet since Tillman also finished third at the 1986 indoor championships.

4X4 BRONZE: The Vols posted their highest NCAA finish in the men's indoor 4x400-meter relay in nearly 20 years, as the young group of Sebastian Cooper, Christopher Bailey, Emmanuel Bynum and Jonathan Sacoor turned in a time of 3:04.10 for third place overall. It was the best placement for UT in the event since earning a runner-up result in 2002.

Cooper had the opening leg done in 47.72 seconds before Bailey shined with a team-best 44.79 split. Bynum and Sacoor ran nearly identical splits at 45.80 and 45.81, respectively, to help the Vols secure the third-place finish. Their combined time of 3:04.10 was just two hundredths of a second off the school record that was set by the same group two weeks prior at the SEC Indoor Championships.

"You look at someone like Carey McLeod scoring 12 points, our relay team finishing third, and Jordan West scoring in the shot put yesterday," Sullivan said. "All of them were competing in their first indoor national championship, and the productivity from that was great to see."

FIRST TEAM FOR JOJO: 18-year-old sophomore Joella Lloyd wrapped up her first NCAA indoor nationals with a sixth-place finish in the women's 60-meter dash. The reigning SEC Champion clocked in at 7.23 in the final Saturday night, becoming the first Lady Vol to score in the event since Courtney Champion placed eighth in 2008.

"Joella just had an amazing indoor season for us," Sullivan said. "She set a school record, won an SEC Championship and became an All-American, and we couldn't be prouder of her efforts in the 60-meters."

SECOND TEAM LAURELS: The Big Orange additionally printed five Second Team All-America certificates from two events on Saturday. Senior men's triple jumper Jalen Tate finished 13th overall, while the women's 4x400-meter relay team of Martina Weil, Vanessa Watson, Britton Wilson and Jada Chambers took 12th place.

Competing at his second-career indoor national meet, Tate earned Second Team All-America acclaim with a mark of 15.13 meters (49-7.75). The Clarksville native is the first Vol triple jumper to compete at multiple indoor national championships since Tillman made three-straight appearances from 1985-87.

Weil, Watson, Wilson and Chambers came together to claim UT's third indoor All-America performance in the women's 4x400-meter relay since 2016. Weil completed the first leg in 55.17, followed by Watson (53.89), Wilson (53.44) and Chambers (54.11) as the group combined for a season-best mark of 3:36.60.

FINAL THOUGHTS FROM COACH SULLIVAN: "I just want to give a lot of great credit to our young athletes who scored the points and put us in position with the top-10 finish. A lot of the credit also goes to the coaching staff. We've worked hard to have our young people prepared and ready for this championship meet.

"Again, just thrilled with the outcomes of the weekend. I was really excited for Tennessee track & field to represent our athletic department in such a high-class manner. We'll continue to hold our standard high for this outdoor season."

UP NEXT: The NCAA Championship action continues for UT Monday morning, as Lady Vol junior Sydney Seymour is set to represent the program at the cross country national championships in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The women's 6K is slated for a 12:50 p.m. ET start on the OSU Cross Country Course.

On the track, the Vols and Lady Vols will jump right into outdoor season next week, sending a group of athletes to Auburn for the Tiger Track Classic. The meet is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, March 19-20 at the Hutsell-Rosen Track.

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

University of Tennessee Athletics

Vols Finish 9th At NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships

Players Mentioned

Christopher Bailey

Emmanuel Bynum

Jada Chambers

Sebastian Cooper

Joella Lloyd

Carey McLeod

Jonathan Sacoor

Sydney Seymour

Jalen Tate

Vanessa Watson

Martina Weil

Jordan West

Britton Wilson

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