Track Central: Ted Nelson Invitational / Vanderbilt Invitational

Emmanuel Bynum / Msgana Araya - 2024 Photo Day

Track Central: Ted Nelson Invitational / Vanderbilt Invitational

January 19, 2024 | Track & Field

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee's indoor track & field campaign continues Saturday as the program gears up for two meets for the second competition weekend of 2024. UT's sprinters, hurdlers and jumpers travel to Bryan-College Station, Texas, for the Ted Nelson Invitational at Texas A&M, while the distance squad and women's pole vaulters head to the midstate for the Vanderbilt Invitational.

Tennessee's contingent in the Lone Star State includes 31 athletes, with the high jump duo of Grant Campbell and Brandon Pottinger kicking the meet off at 1 p.m. ET. UT has 55 entries at the meet and will see action in the high jump, long jump, 60-meter, 200-meter, 400-meter, 800-meter, 60-meter hurdles and 4x400-meter relay throughout the Ted Nelson Invitational.

Live results from Texas A&M will be provided by Flash Results, and the running events will be streamed live on SEC Network+ beginning at 3 p.m. ET.

Twenty athletes will make up 20 entries at the Vanderbilt Invitational, beginning with Teegan Anderson, Lily Baker and Brooke Dixon competing in the women's mile. Tennessee's second consecutive trip to Nashville will wrap up with Brett Brady, Will Cahill and Thomas Rice running the 3,000-meter in their respective UT track & field debuts.

PrimeTime Timing, Inc. will provide live results from the Vanderbilt Invitational, and the meet will be streamed live via SEC Network+ on the ESPN app.

BIG ORANGE DEBUTS: A total of 12 athletes will make their Tennessee track & field debuts on Saturday, including three transfers and nine freshmen.

Ted Nelson Invitational – Two debuts (One transfer, one freshman)

Gr. Kiara Smith (Women's 60m Hurdles, 200m)
Fr. Davonte Howell (Men's 60m, 200m)

Vanderbilt Invitational – 10 debuts (Two transfers, eight freshmen)

R-Fr. Andie-Marie Jones (Women's 3,000m)
Fr. Teegan Anderson (Women's Mile)
Fr. Lily Baker (Women's Mile)
Fr. Rondi Quass (Women's 3,000m)
Fr. Summer Schuster (Women's 3,000m)
Fr. Jaylee Wingate (Women's 800m)
Gr. Brett Brady (Men's 3,000m)
Jr. Will Cahill (Men's 3,000m)
Fr. Thomas Rice (Men's 3,000m)
Fr. Aidan Ryan (Men's Mile)

SEARS HONORED: After a world-class opener on Saturday, Jan. 13, at South Carolina, Lady Vol sprint star Jacious Sears was selected as Co-SEC Women's Runner of the Week. The Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, native posted a world-leading 200-meter dash of 22.88 seconds and clocked in at 7.25 seconds in the 60-meter dash, which ranked fifth in the NCAA at the time of the performance.

The fifth-year senior is the only female athlete in the country that ranks top-five in the collegiate ranks in both the 60- and 200-meter dashes this season.

LAST TIME OUT: More than 40 athletes began their respective campaigns in Columbia, South Carolina, at the Gamecock Opener and in Nashville at the Commodore Challenge on Saturday, Jan. 13. Tennessee totaled nine event victories from both meets and posted nine marks that cracked the program's all-time top 10 lists.

UT's athletes combined for 19 indoor personal records last weekend, including a school-record tying mark of 32.83 in the 300-meter dash from fifth-year senior Emmanuel Bynum. Freshman mid-distance specialist Ka'Myya Haywood also impressed in Columbia, picking up her second straight win in the 600-meter run with a facility record time of 1:30.77.

At the Commodore Challenge, UT grabbed the top five overall places in the men's mile with a slew of historic marks. School record holder Canaan Anderson picked up the win in 4:00.32, followed by Dalton Hengst (4:02.14), Jacob Lewis (4:02.38), Christopher Cherry (4:02.39) and Gabriel Sanchez (4:05.36) to round out the top five. Hengst, Lewis and Cherry now occupy spots two through four on the program's all-time list behind Anderson's record of 4:00.13.

UP NEXT: The Big Orange has a pair of meets on the docket for Jan. 26-27, sending its elite distance runners to Boston University of the John Thomas Terrier Classic while the sprinters, hurdlers, pole vaulters and jumpers will travel to Clemson, South Carolina, for the Bob Pollock Invitational.