University of Tennessee Athletics
Nine Individuals, Men’s 4x400 Relay Qualify for NCAA Indoor Championships
March 02, 2022 | Track & Field
INDIANAPOLIS – Nine individuals and the men's 4x400-meter relay will represent the Orange & White next week at the 2022 NCAA Division I Indoor National Championships. The nation's top athletes will compete in Birmingham, Alabama, Friday and Saturday, March 11-12 at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
To qualify for the NCAA Indoor National Championships, athletes must rank inside the top-16 nationally in their respective events while relays must rank inside the top-12. In total, Tennessee will send 15 athletes to compete in 12 events.
FAVOUR ASHE (FRESHMAN, MEN'S 60m DASH)
The freshman will make his NCAA debut in the men's 60-meter dash as the third-seeded runner in the event. Ashe holds the nation's third-fastest time in the 60-meter this season at 6.52 seconds. His time leads the SEC and ranks seventh in the world for the 2022 indoor season.
EMMANUEL BYNUM (JUNOR, MEN'S 200m DASH)
Bynum will compete in two events at the national meet, running individually in the 200m before joining the men's 4x400-meter relay. In the 200m, Bynum is the eighth seed with a lifetime-best of 20.67 set at last week's SEC Championships.
Bynum's time from SECs makes him Tennessee's sixth-fastest performer in program history.
MEN'S 4X400m RELAY
Tennessee ranks 10th nationally in the men's 4x400-meter relay with a seed time of 3:04.65. The Vols 4x4 group of Jakwan Hale, Christopher Bailey, Alex Kay and Emmanuel Bynum ran the seeded time at the Tyson Invite, finishing fourth. The time is the second-fastest in school history.
Rasheeme Griffith and Justin Swann will make the trip to Birmingham as alternates on the men's 4x400-meter relay.
CAREY McLEOD (SENIOR, MEN'S LONG JUMP/TRIPLE JUMP)
McLeod is the three seed in the men's long jump and the seven seed in the triple jump entering next week's championships. It is the third consecutive season he has qualified for both events. The Kingston, Jamaica, native is one of two male athletes in the country to be entered in both horizontal jumping events.
Last weekend at SECs, McLeod won his second indoor long jump league title and finished third on the podium in the triple jump, and was the only male jumper to medal in both events at the conference meet.
Entering the NCAA Championships, he ranks third nationally in the long jump at 8.07m (26-5.75) and seventh in the triple jump at 16.33m (53-7). He currently ranks 12th in the world this season in the long jump.
WAYNE PINNOCK (FRESHMAN, MEN'S LONG JUMP)
Pinnock's mark of 7.92m (26-0) in the men's long jump makes him the sixth seed entering NCAAs. The freshman set his qualifying mark at Clemson's Bob Pollock Meet, where he placed third overall. He currently ranks fifth all-time in Tennessee history in the event.
JORDAN WEST (SENIOR, MEN'S SHOT PUT)
West earned his second indoor national championship bid with the No. 8 mark in the country this season in the men's shot put. The senior threw 20.07m (65-10.25) at the 2022 SEC Indoor Championships to break his school record and become the first Vol to ever throw 20-meters in shot put. The throw at SECs captured his second silver medal at the conference meet.
YARIEL SOTO (SOPHOMORE, HEPTATHLON)
After winning Tennessee's first SEC medal in the heptathlon since 2009, Soto becomes its first NCAA qualifier in the event since Michael Ayers qualified in the 2009 season. Soto finished third in the event at SECs with a personal-best score of 5,760.
JOELLA LLOYD (SOPHOMORE, WOMEN'S 60m DASH)
Joella Lloyd makes her second appearance at the NCAA Indoor National Championships next week, competing in the women's 60m dash. Lloyd is the 11 seed entering the meet with a season-best time of 7.21 set during the SEC Indoor Championships at Texas A&M.
CHARISMA TAYLOR (GRADUATE, WOMEN'S 60mH/TRIPLE JUMP/LONG JUMP)
One of only two athletes competing in three events at the NCAA Championships, newcomer Charisma Taylor is set to represent the Orange & White in the women's 60m hurdles, triple jump and long jump. Taylor scored in all three events at SECs, including coming home with a silver medal in the 60mH and a bronze in the triple jump.
Taylor is the fourth seed in the triple jump with a qualifying mark of 13.90m (45-7.25) and is the sixth seed in the 60mH at 7.93 seconds. Her leap of 6.45m (21-2) in the long jump has her seeded 11th.
LATAVIA MAINES (SENIOR, WOMEN'S SHOT PUT)
A personal-best and school-record mark of 18.00m (59-0.75) have Latavia Maines competing in her third straight NCAA Indoor Championship. The Centralia, Illinois, native is the No. 5 seed heading into the meet.
A three-time SEC shot put champion, Maines broke 18-meters indoors this season at the Music City Challenge.
Based on the current schedule, the heptathlon will begin the NCAA Championships on Friday, March 11 at 11 a.m. ET. A complete meet schedule can be found at this link.
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Players Mentioned
