University of Tennessee Athletics
Photo by: Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics
Nine UT Athletes Qualify For Finals On Friday At SEC Championships
May 13, 2023 | Track & Field, Cross Country
BATON ROUGE, La. — Tennessee will have plenty of scoring opportunities on the third and final day of the SEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships after nine athletes booked trips to finals in Friday's running event prelims at LSU's Bernie Moore Stadium.
The Vols will be represented well in the 110-meter hurdles final with four UT men qualifying past prelims Friday evening. Graduate student Devon Brooks led Tennessee and paced the field with a wind-aided (+2.3 m/s) mark of 13.36 seconds, winning the first heat to automatically qualify for Saturday's final. Cayman Islands international Rasheem Brown was next across the finish line in heat 1 with a mark of 13.43 to earn a capital Q, and grad student Jesse Henderson qualified on time with his mark of 13.76 in the first heat.
Redshirt freshman Leonard Mustari competed in the second heat of the 110-meter hurdles and turned in a time of 13.51 (+2.7 m/s) to place second in the race and become the fourth Vol to qualify for the final. The Big Orange quartet will look to pile up points for Tennessee at 6:45 p.m. ET on the center straightaway.
Lady Vol graduate Charisma Taylor made her SEC outdoor debut and kicked off her busy weekend competing in the 100-meter hurdles prelims. The Nassau, Bahamas, native booked a trip to Saturday's final, running a slightly wind-aided 12.93 (+2.2 m/s) to place fourth overall and second in her heat.
Stepping on the track for the men's 1,500-meter prelims, Vol redshirt sophomore Canaan Anderson raced into the final with a time of 3:52.07 in the opening heat. The Murfreesboro native ran strategically to place top three in his heat and threw down his signature 'thumbs down' gesture in triumphant fashion at the finish after qualifying for his first career SEC outdoor final.
Entering the meet as the top seed and NCAA Division I leader in the men's 400-meter dash, Tennessee junior Emmanuel Bynum won his heat out of lane nine with an impressive time of 44.86 to automatically advance to the final. His mark was the second-fastest overall on Friday, and the Memphis native was one of three athletes to run the quarter-mile in less than 45 seconds in the SEC prelims.
Tennessee had two athletes qualify out of the men's and women's 100-meter dash prelims, beginning with junior Javonte Harding tabbing a season-best 10.13 seconds to win the second heat on the men's side. Lady Vol junior Jacious Sears was the top performer in the women's prelims, tying her PR and season-best with a time of 11.08 to win heat 4.
First-year head coach Duane Ross' squads currently sit eighth and 10th in the women's and men's team standings, respectively, with several scoring opportunities on the table. Tennessee has 22 entries in Saturday's running event finals, five entries in field events and four relays still set to compete at the conference meet.
FRIDAY SCORERS: Tennessee saw four scoring performances on Friday, headlined by Taylor posting a PR in the long jump to place fourth overall. One of the most versatile athletes in the country, she leaped 6.51m (21-4.25) in the fourth round to score five points for the Lady Vols, ascending to No. 27 on the 2023 world list and No. 9 in the NCAA this season while improving her mark as the No. 3 performer in school history.
Lady Vol sophomore Sarah Schmitt secured her first career scoring mark at the SEC Championships with a sixth-place finish in the pole vault, clearing 3.95m (12-11.5) to tally three more points on the women's side.
Competing in his third career SEC decathlon, junior Peyton Davis racked up a lifetime-best 7,264 points to place seventh overall. Sitting ninth with two events to go, the Centralia, Missouri native delivered impressive performances in the javelin (58.41m / 191-8) and 1,500-meter run (4:27.63, PR) to collect two points for his Big Orange men's squad.
True freshman Brandon Pottinger made his SEC outdoor debut in the high jump and tabbed one point for Tennessee with his eight-place outing to round out the field event scorers on Friday. The Jamaican international who hails from Miami cleared an outdoor season-best mark of 2.04 meters (6-8.25) to secure the scoring performance.
DARK MODE DEBUT: Tennessee rolled out its new all-black "Dark Mode" uniform combo on Friday, becoming the third Vols' athletic program to don black uniforms over the past two years. Tennessee football and baseball have also introduced a black jersey into their respective uniform combinations.
UP NEXT: The SEC Outdoor Championships conclude Saturday in Baton Rouge, beginning at 3 p.m. ET with Israel Adesina representing UT in the men's discus and ending at 9:40 p.m. with the women's 4x400-meter relay. The evening session will be televised on SEC Network starting at 6 p.m.
Saturday's complete schedule and compiled results can be accessed via Delta Timing, Inc.
The Vols will be represented well in the 110-meter hurdles final with four UT men qualifying past prelims Friday evening. Graduate student Devon Brooks led Tennessee and paced the field with a wind-aided (+2.3 m/s) mark of 13.36 seconds, winning the first heat to automatically qualify for Saturday's final. Cayman Islands international Rasheem Brown was next across the finish line in heat 1 with a mark of 13.43 to earn a capital Q, and grad student Jesse Henderson qualified on time with his mark of 13.76 in the first heat.
Redshirt freshman Leonard Mustari competed in the second heat of the 110-meter hurdles and turned in a time of 13.51 (+2.7 m/s) to place second in the race and become the fourth Vol to qualify for the final. The Big Orange quartet will look to pile up points for Tennessee at 6:45 p.m. ET on the center straightaway.
Lady Vol graduate Charisma Taylor made her SEC outdoor debut and kicked off her busy weekend competing in the 100-meter hurdles prelims. The Nassau, Bahamas, native booked a trip to Saturday's final, running a slightly wind-aided 12.93 (+2.2 m/s) to place fourth overall and second in her heat.
Stepping on the track for the men's 1,500-meter prelims, Vol redshirt sophomore Canaan Anderson raced into the final with a time of 3:52.07 in the opening heat. The Murfreesboro native ran strategically to place top three in his heat and threw down his signature 'thumbs down' gesture in triumphant fashion at the finish after qualifying for his first career SEC outdoor final.
Entering the meet as the top seed and NCAA Division I leader in the men's 400-meter dash, Tennessee junior Emmanuel Bynum won his heat out of lane nine with an impressive time of 44.86 to automatically advance to the final. His mark was the second-fastest overall on Friday, and the Memphis native was one of three athletes to run the quarter-mile in less than 45 seconds in the SEC prelims.
Tennessee had two athletes qualify out of the men's and women's 100-meter dash prelims, beginning with junior Javonte Harding tabbing a season-best 10.13 seconds to win the second heat on the men's side. Lady Vol junior Jacious Sears was the top performer in the women's prelims, tying her PR and season-best with a time of 11.08 to win heat 4.
First-year head coach Duane Ross' squads currently sit eighth and 10th in the women's and men's team standings, respectively, with several scoring opportunities on the table. Tennessee has 22 entries in Saturday's running event finals, five entries in field events and four relays still set to compete at the conference meet.
FRIDAY SCORERS: Tennessee saw four scoring performances on Friday, headlined by Taylor posting a PR in the long jump to place fourth overall. One of the most versatile athletes in the country, she leaped 6.51m (21-4.25) in the fourth round to score five points for the Lady Vols, ascending to No. 27 on the 2023 world list and No. 9 in the NCAA this season while improving her mark as the No. 3 performer in school history.
Lady Vol sophomore Sarah Schmitt secured her first career scoring mark at the SEC Championships with a sixth-place finish in the pole vault, clearing 3.95m (12-11.5) to tally three more points on the women's side.
Competing in his third career SEC decathlon, junior Peyton Davis racked up a lifetime-best 7,264 points to place seventh overall. Sitting ninth with two events to go, the Centralia, Missouri native delivered impressive performances in the javelin (58.41m / 191-8) and 1,500-meter run (4:27.63, PR) to collect two points for his Big Orange men's squad.
True freshman Brandon Pottinger made his SEC outdoor debut in the high jump and tabbed one point for Tennessee with his eight-place outing to round out the field event scorers on Friday. The Jamaican international who hails from Miami cleared an outdoor season-best mark of 2.04 meters (6-8.25) to secure the scoring performance.
DARK MODE DEBUT: Tennessee rolled out its new all-black "Dark Mode" uniform combo on Friday, becoming the third Vols' athletic program to don black uniforms over the past two years. Tennessee football and baseball have also introduced a black jersey into their respective uniform combinations.
UP NEXT: The SEC Outdoor Championships conclude Saturday in Baton Rouge, beginning at 3 p.m. ET with Israel Adesina representing UT in the men's discus and ending at 9:40 p.m. with the women's 4x400-meter relay. The evening session will be televised on SEC Network starting at 6 p.m.
Saturday's complete schedule and compiled results can be accessed via Delta Timing, Inc.
Players Mentioned
Throws
/ Track & Field
/ Cross Country
Sprints/Hurdles
/ Track & Field
Hurdles
/ Track & Field
Sprints
/ Track & Field
Multis
/ Track & Field
Sprints
/ Track & Field
Hurdles
/ Track & Field
Hurdles
/ Track & Field
Jumps
/ Track & Field
Pole Vault
/ Track & Field
Sprints
/ Track & Field
Jumps/Hurdles
/ Track & FieldEverything Orange S2 | Sarah Schmitt (Track & Field)
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