Lady Vols Claim Four Event Titles Saturday At Tiger Track Classic

AUBURN, Ala. — Tennessee earned four first-place finishes on the women's side as the Big Orange wrapped up its first meet of the 2021 outdoor season at Auburn's Tiger Track Classic. Alexis Duncan, Olivia Janke, Maia McCoy and Vanessa Watson each claimed events titles for UT Saturday afternoon at the Hutsell-Rosen Track.

The Tiger Track Classic served as the first outdoor track meet for the Vols and Lady Vols in 651 days. The Big Orange last competed outdoors at the 2019 NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas, which concluded on June 8.

"It was just great to be back on the outdoor track," head coach Beth Alford-Sullivan said after the meet. "I think what best sums it up, is everybody is grateful and appreciative. All of that rolled up with the excitement of doing what they love to do and competing, it was tremendous. It was just a tremendous opener for us. We're really thankful to be doing what we love to be doing."

LADY VOL HURDLERS GO 1-2: Tennessee redshirt seniors Alexis Duncan and Domonique Turner returned to the outdoor track for the first time since 2019 on Saturday, finishing first and second respectively in the women's 100-meter hurdles. Duncan crossed the finish line in 13.59 seconds and was followed closely by Turner in 13.71.

"Those two have been a great duo for us," Sullivan said. "They have been great training partners and competitive spirits with each other. They're both fired up to be back. It was a crazy day for weather with wind blowing in all directions, which might have slightly hindered their performances. But overall, just seeing them compete was outstanding."

McCOY RETURNS VICTORIOUS: Four-time All-American Maia McCoy suited up for the Lady Vols for the first time since March 23, 2019, to run three events on Saturday at the Tiger Track Classic. The graduate student from Memphis placed first overall in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.35, in addition to running legs on both the 4x100 (2nd, 45.20) and 4x400 (3rd, 3:38.86) meter relays.

"Maia executed a perfect race," Sullivan said. "To have been out of official competition for as long as she has, she was well-prepared and well-coached. Coach [Ken Harnden] had done a tremendous job having her ready for this opener. One word that I would use to describe Maia, is that she's just very gracious. She competed with great grace and composure today. I was really thrilled to see her not only get the win, but also a really good time for her opening in that event."

JANKE CLAIMS 1,500m TOP SPOT: Competing outdoors for the first time as a Lady Vol, redshirt sophomore Olivia Janke turned in a personal-best time of 4:33.91 in the 1,500-meter run on Saturday. The mark was good for first place in the event and was a PR by nearly six seconds for the Annapolis, Maryland, native.

"It was good to get Janke out there," Sullivan said. "She had a challenging SEC Championship a few weeks ago, and just really physically and mentally went to work today. She just competed hard. We knew the conditions were difficult to run fast, so we wanted her to run for the win. She executed a great race strategy and popped off with a great PB out of it too. Across the board, out middle-distance group showed and got their seasons started in great fashion."

400 HURDLES ARE BACK: Tennessee had three redshirt freshmen make their long-awaited collegiate debuts in the 400-meter hurdles on Saturday. On the women's side, Vanessa Watson and Britton Wilson ran times of 57.88 and 59.04, respectively, to place first and third at the meet. Watson's mark of 57.88 made her the No. 7 performer in school history and was just .08 seconds away from tying the Lady Vol freshman record.

"I think the last time I saw Vanessa and Britton compete in the quarter hurdles was the U.S. junior trials down in Florida when they were still in high school," Sullivan said. "It's their signature event, and they executed very well in tough conditions."

Vol redshirt freshman Rasheeme Griffith also ran the 400-meter hurdles for the men, clocking in at 51.79 seconds for third place at Auburn.

"Rasheeme went right after the women's event, and he just looks like a million bucks," Sullivan said. "Both he and Vanessa came back with great legs on the 4x4s too. 400 hurdlers are unique athletes as they have to wait until the outdoor season. Ours were impressive today, and we're excited for them."

All three young athletes saw great success in the event on the U20 international stage before arriving on Rocky Top. Wilson and Watson placed first and third, respectively, at the 2019 USATF Junior Championships, while Griffith was a World U20 Championships semifinalist in the 400-meter hurdles in 2018.

LADY VOL RELAY SUCCESS: The Lady Vols had top-3 finishes in both relay events at the Tiger Track Classic, taking second in the 4x100-meter to start the afternoon before closing the meet with a third-place finish in the 4x400.

Duncan, McCoy, Kiara Rhodes and Saqukine Cameron clocked a time of 45.20 in the 4x100 that currently ranks fourth in the nation during the 2021 outdoor season, while Rhodes, Watson, Jada Chambers and McCoy combined for a mark of 3:38.86 in the 4x400 that also sits fourth nationally.

TENNESSEE DEBUTS: 15 athletes made their first outdoor track appearances on Saturday at the Tiger Track Classic: Jada Chambers (women's 400m, 4x400m), Nayoka Clunis (women's shot put/discus), Ainsley Cooper (women's 1,500m), Chance Crawford (men's discus/shot put), Rasheeme Griffith (men's 400m hurdles, 4x400m), Olivia Janke (women's 1,500m/800m), Emily Knight (women's 800m), Sarah McCabe (women's 3,000m), Matthew McMillan (men's 3,000m), Eli Nahom (men's 3,000m), Allison Rand (women's 400m), Preston Ruth (men's 800m), Erin Spreen (women's 3,000m), Vanessa Watson (women's 400m hurdles, 4x400m) and Britton Wilson (women's 400m hurdles).

In total, the Big Orange had 23 athletes make their UT debuts over the course of the weekend.

"When you look at it as 650 days since our last outdoor meet, it seems like forever but at the same time, we've had a lot of that time together and gotten to know these young people," Sullivan said. "We've seen them have the determination and the drive to get to this weekend. It was just really fun across the board. Our young people represented Tennessee well across the board in all the different events. I was very happy to see the smiles on their faces and the appreciation as they enjoyed our sport to its fullest."

PR TRACKER: Tennessee athletes combined to record seven outdoor personal records on Saturday at the Tiger Track Classic.

Jada Chambers - Women's 200m - 24.23
Allison Rand - Women's 400m - 56.76
Olivia Janke - Women's 800m - 2:17.04
Olivia Janke - Women's 1,500m - 4:33.91
Thomas Gardiner - Men's 800m - 1:54.55
Riley Buchholz - Men's 800m - 1:55.20
Preston Ruth - Men's 800m - 1:56.39

CLOSING THOUGHTS FROM COACH SULLIVAN: "I'd also want to give a great shoutout to Ralph Spry, the head coach at Auburn, and his associate head coach, Scott Richardson. They just did a great job of hosting. In COVID times, it's difficult to have the support staff, the officials and the crew to work a meet like that. They did an outstanding job, so it was a great place for us to open up."

UP NEXT: The Big Orange will split up next week, sending groups to Tallahassee, Florida, for the FSU Relays (March 25-26) and to Raleigh, North Carolina, for NC State's Raleigh Relays (March 25-27).

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

University of Tennessee Athletics

Lady Vols Claim Four Event Titles Saturday At Tiger Track Classic

Players Mentioned

Riley Buchholz

Saqukine Cameron

Jada Chambers

Nayoka Clunis

Ainsley Cooper

Chance Crawford

Alexis Duncan

Thomas Gardiner

Rasheeme Griffith

Olivia Janke

Emily Knight

Sarah McCabe

Maia McCoy

Matthew McMillan

Eli Nahom

Allison Rand

Kiara Rhodes

Preston Ruth

Erin Spreen

Domonique Turner

Vanessa Watson

Britton Wilson

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