Three All-America Showings Help Vols Place 11th At NCAA Championships

EUGENE, Ore. — Guided by a trio of scoring performances from its jumpers on Friday, No. 16 Tennessee totaled 21 points at the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships to place 11th in the team standings nationally. The result marked UT's highest finish at the meet since tying for seventh in 2017.

"I'm pleased with the end result for our men's program," head coach Beth Alford-Sullivan said after the meet. "We were ranked 16th coming in and were able to pull together an 11th-place finish, and almost a top-10 finish to match our indoor result. Overall, it was a very challenging season. We had the high-intensity indoor season, then to back that up into outdoor was challenging. We had some roster changes to deal with throughout the outdoor season, but the kids that made it through the battle in the SEC, first rounds and nationals really rose up to those occasions."

UT jumpers Carey McLeod, Jah-Nhai Perinchief and Darryl Sullivan combined for all 21 of Tennessee's points as all three athletes were making their NCAA Outdoor Championship debuts. UT was one of two schools in the country to score in all three jumping events alongside national champion LSU.

"About a four-week span from the SEC meet to now is a long time to stay in battle mode," Sullivan said. "We made some errors, definitely had some unanswered points across the board. It takes a lot to get to this point, and when you get here, it takes a lot to be on your game and produce. Coach [Travis Geopfert] did a great job with these three guys, and we certainly walk away knowing that we're a heartbeat away from the challenge of scoring 30 or more points. We're closing the gap on that, and our kids are getting the experience they need to be ready for those things in the future."

BERMUDIAN WONDER: Graduate student Jah-Nhai Perinchief claimed Tennessee's second outdoor national runner-up finish in the triple jump with a school-record mark of 17.03 meters (55-10.5) on his first attempt. The Bermudian international broke the all-time Tennessee record that had stood since 1985, when VFL John Tillman went 16.94 meters (55-7) at the NCAA outdoor meet to also earn a national runner-up result.

"Jah-Nhai is a young man that is just a wonderful person," Sullivan said. "He's had a collegiate path that has taken him to a handful of different places. He ended up with us, and saved his best for last. In his path at other schools, he had qualified for the nationals but been injured and unable to compete. This one, he was healthy and obviously on top of his game. A goal of his was to get that school record, and we're very proud of that effort and his performance here.

"He brings a lot of life to the whole team. A positive guy, positive person with a big future ahead of him. I'm excited to see what he can do in the Olympics and his post-collegiate career jumping for his native Bermuda. The Orange will always be a piece of him, and he'll always be a piece of our history here now. I couldn't be more proud."

D-WAVY BABY: Tennessee graduate Darryl Sullivan rounded out his illustrious career scoring five points for the Vols in the high jump, as his third-attempt clearance at 2.23 meters (7-3.75) was good for fourth place on Friday. The Marion, Illinois, native concludes his collegiate career as a four-time All-American and the program's all-time record holder with a lifetime-best 2.33-meters (7-7.75) set last month at the SEC Championships.

"Darryl is special to me," Sullivan said. "He's someone that we recruited six years ago now, and I've only been at Tennessee for seven so he's been a major part of my career here. As I said to him, he had his breakthrough performances a year ago indoors, and then had to put all that on the shelf and hold out all the way to the outdoor season this year. He did great job of that and came back to it outdoors.

"I'm extremely proud of him, and a big piece of my heart goes to him and all that he's achieved. I know that this summer's going to be amazing, and I'll be back out here with him at the U.S. Trials. He stands a great chance to represent the United States and continue not only as our All-American, our school record holder, but also a big future of representing his country that matters so much for him."

CAREY'S ONE OF A KIND: Redshirt sophomore Carey McLeod added two points to the Vols' tally in the triple jump, placing seventh as he leaped an outdoor personal-best 16.40 meters (53-9.75). Moving up to No. 6 on UT's all-time list, the Kingston, Jamaica, native was also the only athlete in the country to score points at the national meet in both horizontal jumping events. He placed third in the long jump on Wednesday with his mark of 7.92 meters (26-0.75).

"Carey's a character, and it's great to see him achieving, competing and being successful," Sullivan said. "He was out of scoring position going into the finals, came back and got into scoring position to give us two hugely valuable points in the triple jump. He was just having fun out there with Jah-Nhai, enjoying the environment and taking full force of that second event.

"He's certainly capable of reaching another level in that, but it doesn't surprise me at all that he is the only one to score in both of those events. He's also double-qualified for the Olympic Games. Carey is just scratching the surface for what he's going to do the Vols and for his home country of Jamaica as well. We're thrilled with the young man he's becoming and the absolute passion for what he's doing now. He's a student of the sport and becoming an unbelievable force in these jumps. We'll see him back on this Oregon track next year with a lot of momentum behind him."

This marks the end of the 2021 collegiate season, with attention now turning to Olympic trials for several current and former Tennessee student-athletes looking to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Games. For the most up-to-date information on Tennessee track & field, follow @Vol_Track on Twitter and Instagram.

University of Tennessee Athletics

Three All-America Showings Help Vols Place 11th At NCAA Championships

Players Mentioned

Carey McLeod

Jah-Nhai Perinchief

Darryl Sullivan

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