Tennessee Racks Up 13 Event Titles Friday At Tennessee Relays

Photo by: Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics

Tennessee Racks Up 13 Event Titles Friday At Tennessee Relays

April 10, 2021 | Track & Field

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee track & field program showed out on its home track from start to finish on Friday, claiming 13 event victories on the second day of the Tennessee Relays at Tom Black Track. The Big Orange claimed 10 individual titles while also winning all three of its relay competitions on the day.

SHOT PUT RECORDS FALL, AGAIN: For the second meet in a row, Tennessee redshirt juniors Latavia Maines and Jordan West broke all-time school records in the shot put events on the way to a pair of victories on Friday.

Maines popped off with a collegiate-leading heave of 17.96 meters (58-11.25) on her sixth-round throw, topping her own program standard by 23 centimeters. The mark leads the NCAA this season and the Centralia, Illinois, native now ranks as the No. 11 women's shot putter in the world in 2021.

On the men's side, West logged a three-centimeter season best with his third-round toss of 19.85 meters (65-1.5). The performance broke his own program record and currently places West as the No. 4 performer among the NCAA Division I ranks this year.

RETURN OF D-WAVY: Coming off a world-class 2020 indoor campaign in the high jump, Tennessee grad student Darryl Sullivan returned to competition in remarkable fashion with a clearance of 2.26 meters (7-5) to defend his 2019 Tennessee Relays title. The Marion, Illinois, native moved up to No. 3 on Tennessee's all-time list and currently leads all NCAA Division I high jumpers during the 2021 outdoor campaign.

Friday marked Sullivan's first competition for Tennessee since February 29, 2020 at the SEC Indoor Championships, a span of 406 days. He was in the midst of a special senior campaign, having cleared a conference-record mark of 2.33 meters (7-7.75) during the indoor season prior to the COVID-19 shutdown.

MAIA IS UNDEFEATED: Lady Vol graduate student Maia McCoy has not lost an individual event this season, running her streak to four consecutive first-place finishes as she won the women's 100-meter dash with a wind-legal time of 11.23 (+1.3) on Friday. The mark was good for a new personal-best, bumping the Memphis native up to No. 5 on the all-time program list and ranking eighth in the NCAA this year.

RELAY DOMINANCE: Tennessee had first-place outings in all three of its relay competitions on Friday, earning victories in the women's 4x100-meter, men's 4x400-meter and women's 4x400-meter relays.

Jada Chambers, Joella Lloyd, Saqukine Cameron and McCoy teamed up for a season-best 44.26 for the win in the 4x100, good enough for the No. 10 time in the country during the 2021 campaign.

On the men's side, Tennessee's quartet of Jonathan Sacoor, Sebastian Cooper, Christopher Bailey and Kameron Helmlinger took the title in 3:06.93, edging Pittsburgh (3:10.01) and the Tennessee 'B' squad (Rasheeme Griffith, Emmanuel Bynum, Alex Kay, Joe Hoots) who finished third in 3:10.11.

UT wrapped up the relay events with a win in the women's 4x400-meter when Vanessa Watson, Britton Wilson, Lloyd and McCoy combined for a mark of 3:41.17, holding off MTSU who came in second at 3:41.93.

HURDLES UNIVERSITY: Friday's winning ways began with the women's 100-meter hurdles, as redshirt junior and current school record holder Alexis Duncan was the first across the finish line with a season-best time of 13.38 seconds. Her mark currently ranks No. 19 on the NCAA Division I East Outdoor Qualifying List and was good for Duncan's third-straight victory in the event this season.

In the 400-meter hurdles, redshirt freshman Rasheeme Griffith earned a win for Tennessee with his personal-best mark of 50.56. Taking .05 seconds off his season-best, the Bridgetown, Barbados, native improved his standing as the No. 5 performer in program history and No. 11 performer in the NCAA this season.

Redshirt freshman Britton Wilson completed the long hurdles double for the Big Orange as she won the women's event in a season-best 58.68 seconds. The defending U.S. junior champion was only 0.11 seconds away from placing herself among the 10 fastest Lady Vol 400-meter hurdlers in program history.

DISTANCE DUBS: Tennessee's distance/middle-distance crew combined for three victories Friday evening, beginning with redshirt freshman Alex Kay in the men's 800-meter run. The Ocala, Florida, native tabbed a personal-best 1:48.75, ranking No. 14 in the country and fourth among NCAA Division I freshmen this season.

Redshirt sophomore Katie Thronson made her 3,000-meter steeplechase debut with a victory for the Lady Vols, completing the race in 10:33.50. The Spokane, Washington, native now ranks No. 4 on Tennessee's all-time list in the event and is joined by senior Abigail Smith, whose Friday clocking of 11:29.81 is the No. 7 performance in program history.

Karl Thiessen cruised to his first win of the 2021 outdoor campaign with a time of 14:11.04 in the men's 5,000-meter run, topping the nearest competitor by 13 seconds to round out the baker's dozen victories for the Big Orange on Friday.

TOP-3 SHOWINGS: In addition to the 13 victories, the Vols and Lady Vols had 14 second-and-third-place finishes on Friday at the 53rd Tennessee Relays.

Joella Lloyd - Women's 100m - 3. 11.52
Jada Chambers - Women's 200m - 3. 28.83
Domonique Turner - Women's 100m Hurdles - 3. 13.73
Kayla Gholar (unattached) - Women's 3,000m Steeple - 3. 11:04.44
Prom'Myse Hoosier - Women's Long Jump - 2. 6.14m / 20-1.75 (No. 10 in UT history)
Kiara Rhodes - Women's Heptathlon - 2. 5,223 points
Kameron Helmlinger - Men's 800m - 2. 1:49.12
Alex Crigger - Men's 3,000m Steeple - 3. 9:00.31
Griffith, Bynum, Kay, Hoots - Men's 4x400m Relay - 3. 3:10.11
Carey McLeod - Men's Triple Jump - 2. 16.08m / 52-9.25 (No. 6 in UT history)
Daniel Igbokwe - Men's Triple Jump - 3. 15.71m / 51-6.5 (No. 9 in UT history)
Jordan West - Men's Discus - 2. 55.90m (183-4)
Chance Crawford - Men's Discus - 3. 54.16m (177-8)
Yariel Soto - Men's Decathlon - 3. 7,363 points

PR TRACKER: Tennessee athletes combined to record 29 outdoor personal records on Friday at the 53rd Tennessee Relays.

Maia McCoy - Women's 100m - 11.23
Jada Chambers - Women's 200m - 23.83
Allison Rand - Women's 800m - 2:10.36
Emma Dilullo - Women's 800m - 2:14.01
Carolyn Barksdale - Women's 800m - 2:14.33
Ainsley Cooper - Women's 1,500m - 4:46.80
Sarah McCabe - Women's 5,000m - 18:26.75
Ellison Colarossi - Women's Pole Vault - 3.76m / 12-4
Skyler Reynolds - Women's Long Jump - 5.78m / 18-11.75
Latavia Maines - Women's Shot Put - 17.96m / 58-11.25
Kayla Racine - Women's Discus - 43.93m / 144-1
Kiara Rhodes - Women's Javelin - 30.61m / 100-5
Alex Kay - Men's 800m - 1:48.75
Kameron Helmlinger - Men's 800m - 1:49.12
Joe Hoots - Men's 800m - 1:50.54
Preston Ruth - Men's 800m - 1:55.09
Peyton Davis - Men's 1,500m - 4:31.36
Nick Brey - Men's 5,000m - 14:40.23
Max Barbour - Men's 5,000m - 15:08.14
Rasheeme Griffith - Men's 400m Hurdles - 50.56
Darryl Sullivan - Men's High Jump - 2.26m / 7-5
Spencer Brown - Men's Long Jump - 6.90m / 22-7.75
Carey McLeod - Men's Triple Jump - 16.08m / 52-9.25
Chance Crawford - Men's Shot Put - 16.08m / 52-9.25
Jordan West - Men's Discus - 55.90m / 183-4
Chance Crawford - Men's Discus - 54.16m / 177-8
Yariel Soto - Men's Discus - 40.81m / 133-10
Peyton Davis - Men's Discus - 36.67m / 120-3
Steele Wasik - Men's Javelin - 63.72m / 209-0

UP NEXT: The 53rd Tennessee Relays will conclude with distance relay events Saturday morning, beginning at 9:30 a.m. with the women's 4x1500-meter.

Full results through Friday's action can be viewed at this link. For the most up-to-date information on Tennessee track & field, follow @Vol_Track on Twitter and Instagram.