Tennessee Shot Put Records Fall Thursday At FSU Relays

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee All-American shot putters Latavia Maines and Jordan West each opened their 2021 outdoor seasons in record-breaking fashion as UT kicked off the week's action at the FSU Relays in Tallahassee, Florida. Both athletes set all-time program records in the women's and men's shot put Thursday night at Mike Long Track.

The reigning back-to-back SEC indoor shot put champion, Maines made her first outdoor appearance as a Lady Vol on Thursday and recorded a mark of 17.73 meters (58-2) to win the event at Florida State. The redshirt junior broke the all-time program record of 17.66 meters (57-11.25) set by seven-time All-American Annie Alexander in 2011. Additionally, Maines' performance ranks No. 1 in the NCAA this season and makes her the No. 4 performer in the world during the early stages of the 2021 outdoor campaign.

Making his first attached outdoor appearance since 2018, West began his outdoor season with a heave of 19.82 meters (65-0.5) to improve his own program record from three years ago by three centimeters. The throw placed second at FSU and ranks him No. 4 in the NCAA and No. 12 in the world this season. The Rahway, New Jersey, native owns an outdoor personal-best of 20.33 meters (66-8.5) that was recorded unattached on June 22, 2019.

Competing at both the FSU Relays and Raleigh Relays on Thursday, Tennessee athletes posted seven top-3 finishes and seven personal-best marks. Read below for more highlights from both meets.

McCOY IN FRONT: Lady Vol graduate student Maia McCoy claimed her second individual victory in five days, finishing first in the 200-meter dash at Florida State with a time of 23.46 seconds. The mark ranks No. 5 in the NCAA this season and is the fastest season-opening 200-meter dash of McCoy's five-year career on Rocky Top.

HAVE A DAY, NAY: Jamaican international throwing standout Nayoka Clunis logged two all-time Lady Vol top-10 marks on Thursday in the hammer throw and shot put. The Kingston, Jamaica, native opened the meet winning the hammer with a toss of 59.99 meters (196-10) to rank third in program history, before closing the day in the shot put with a mark of 16.07 meters (52-8.75) that sits No. 8 on the all-time top-10 list.

REDSHIRT ROOKIES CLAIM BRONZE: Tennessee had three redshirt freshmen post third-place finishes at the FSU Relays on Thursday. Coming off a freshman record performance in the hammer throw last week, Chandler Hayden logged a mark of 56.59 meters (185-8) for third overall in Tallahassee. Next, Oklahoma City native Anthony Riley made his outdoor career debut with a leap of 7.44 meters (24-5) in the long jump to place third in the event. Jada Chambers, a sprinter from Cypress, Texas, capped the night with an outdoor PB of 24.05 in the 200-meter dash to finish third for the Lady Vols at Florida State.

RALEIGH RESULTS: Five distance runners on the men's side represented UT at the Raleigh Relays, a premier early-season meet hosted by NC State at the Paul Derr Track and Field Facility. Three upperclassmen logged personal records in the 5,000-meter run, led by redshirt sophomore Karl Thiessen who turned in a mark of 14:03.95. Tennessee natives Alex Crigger (Johnson City) and Conner Hawkins (Cookeville) each completed the fastest 12.5 laps of their careers as well, crossing the finish line in 14:27.95 and 14:37.91 respectively.

Redshirt freshman Riley Buchholz ran the 1,500-meter for the second week in a row, clocking in at 3:51.24 in Raleigh. True freshman Mike Griffin made his outdoor career debut at NC State, finishing the 1,500-meter in a personal-best 3:53.23.

OUTDOOR DEBUTS: Of Tennessee's 24 athletes competing on Thursday, eight were making their first outdoor appearances for the Orange & White: Spencer Brown (men's long jump), Ellison Colarossi (women's pole vault), Mike Griffin (men's 1,500m), Prom'Myse Hooser (women's long jump), Shatara Johnson (women's long jump), Latavia Maines (women's shot put), Skyler Reynolds (women's long jump) and Anthony Riley (men's long jump).

PR TRACKER: Tennessee athletes combined for a total of seven outdoor personal records on Thursday at the FSU Relays and Raleigh Relays.

Jada Chambers - Women's 200m - 24.05
Latavia Maines - Women's Shot Put - 17.73m (58-2)
Mike Griffin - Men's 1,500m - 3:53.23
Karl Thiessen - Men's 5,000m - 14:03.95
Alex Crigger - Men's 5,000m - 14:27.95
Conner Hawkins - Men's 5,000m - 14:37.91
Spencer Brown - Men's Long Jump - 7.09m (23-3.25)

UP NEXT: Tennessee resumes action at both ACC venues all day on Friday, beginning at 10 a.m. with the men's discus in Tallahassee and concluding at 9:25 p.m. with the men's 10,000-meter run in Raleigh.

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

University of Tennessee Athletics

Tennessee Shot Put Records Fall Thursday At FSU Relays

Players Mentioned

Spencer Brown

Riley Buchholz

Jada Chambers

Nayoka Clunis

Ellison Colarossi

Alex Crigger

Mike Griffin

Conner Hawkins

Chandler Hayden

Shatara Johnson

Latavia Maines

Maia McCoy

Skyler Reynolds

Anthony Riley

Karl Thiessen

Jordan West

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