Lady Vols Post Four All-America Performances Thursday At NCAA Championships

EUGENE, Ore. — Four Lady Vol track & field standouts claimed All-America honors on Thursday as the UT women wrapped up NCAA Championship action at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field.

"I'm really proud of these athletes that were here and competed for the Lady Vols," head coach Beth Alford-Sullivan said after the meet. "This is a challenging environment, and we have been going hard and strong since January—throughout COVID, the indoor championships and outdoor championships. This is a young group, and they've gained a lot of experience this year."

Reigning SEC shot put champion Latavia Maines scored four points for the Big Orange as she placed fifth on Thursday. After clinching a spot in the final on her third attempt at 17.58 meters (57-8.25), the Centralia, Illinois, native launched a mark of 17.79 meters (58-4.5) on her sixth-round throw to earn the highest finish in the NCAA outdoor shot put by a Lady Vol since 2012 (Annie Alexander, 3rd).

"Latavia, being a three-time SEC Champion and breaking school record after school record, she has clearly made her mark and earned her position at the top of the ranks of the Lady Vols in Tennessee shot putting. The NCAA meet is challenging, and the making of a champion comes out under pressure. On that third throw, she became that champion that we know she can be. I was extremely proud of that effort. I'm certain that she's going to want more from the experience in the future."

Tennessee graduate student Nayoka Clunis closed out her collegiate career as a First Team All-American in the hammer throw Thursday afternoon, heaving a lifetime-best 67.40 meters (221-1) to place eighth at the national meet. The performance improved her standing as the No. 2 hammer thrower in program history, and the Kingston, Jamaica, native became the third Lady Vol to be named an All-American in the event.

"I was very proud of Nayoka and what she was able to do in her only season within our program," Sullivan said. "She got here today, took advantage of great conditions and great competition. She had a monster PB to put herself in a place to earn a point for the Lady Vols and also be a first-time First Team All-American. She's added to our program at all levels, and I'm really, really happy that she decided to come do her graduate work at Tennessee."

Lady Vol super senior Maia McCoy claimed her fifth-career All-America citation as she finished 15th in the 100-meter dash Thursday evening. Making her NCAA Outdoor Championship debut as an individual, the Memphis native clocked a time of 11.46 into a headwind (-0.9 m/s) to place third in her heat—missing the final by just seven hundredths of a second.

Redshirt freshman Vanessa Watson rounded out her debut outdoor campaign with Second Team All-America acclaim, running a time of 58.21 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles for 14th place nationally. The Rochester, New York, native finishes her first full season with the Lady Vols as the program's all-time freshman record holder in the quarter hurdles with her mark of 56.72 recorded two weeks prior at the NCAA East Prelims.

HONORABLE MENTIONS: McCoy also represented the Big Orange in the 200-meter dash, running a time of 23.44 in her final collegiate race to place 17th overall. Redshirt freshman Joella Lloyd made her NCAA Outdoor Championship debut on Thursday alongside McCoy in the 100-meter, turning in a time of 11.68 to finish 23rd.

"These ladies competing at their first NCAA Outdoor Championships—Maia, Vanessa, Latavia, Joella—put together a tremendous campaign all outdoor season. The NCAA meet is very difficult. You start with 24 and end up with nine in the finals. We fought hard, competed hard, and turn around with probably not the end result that we want, but also the stepping stones for what it takes to become a program that can make a dent in the team standings."

UP NEXT: This marks the end of the 2021 outdoor season for the Lady Vols. Three members of the UT men's program will close out the campaign Friday evening, as Darryl Sullivan competes in the high jump at 7:30 p.m. ET followed by Carey McLeod and Jah-Nhai Perinchief in the triple jump at 8:20.

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

University of Tennessee | Official Athletics Site

Lady Vols Post Four All-America Performances Thursday At NCAA Championships

Players Mentioned

Nayoka Clunis

Joella Lloyd

Latavia Maines

Maia McCoy

Carey McLeod

Jah-Nhai Perinchief

Darryl Sullivan

Vanessa Watson

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