University of Tennessee Athletics
Abdalla Leads Three Sub-8 Vols at BU Terrier Classic
January 26, 2024 | Track & Field
BOSTON – Tennessee distance star Yaseen Abdalla made his 2024 season debut on Friday at the John Thomas Terrier Classic and led three Big Orange athletes that ran well below eight minutes in the men's 3,000-meter. The UT graduate student competed in the invitational section and turned in a time of 7:42.63 to place seventh overall and second among collegians at the meet.
Abdalla's mark ranks sixth on the 2023-24 collegiate list and was 0.4 seconds behind his PR of 7:42.23 set last year at the same meet. That time ranks him as the No. 11 performer in NCAA history in the indoor 3,000-meter.
Graduate transfers Gabriel Sanchez and Brandon Olden each competed in Heat 1 of the open 3,000-meter and clocked personal-best marks for the Big Orange. Sanchez won the heat with a time of 7:54.36, taking nearly 20 seconds off his previous best. That performance now ranks him third in UT annals and No. 17 on the 2023-24 NCAA list.
Olden made his Tennessee track debut and placed fifth in his heat with a new PR of 7:56.78, rising to No. 4 on UT's all-time list. Grad student Nate Kawalec rounded out UT's competitors in the 3k on Friday, posting a personal-best time of 8:10.27.
Since Sean Carlson was tasked with leading the Tennessee distance program last season, four Vols have run under eight minutes in the indoor 3k. Prior to 2023, VFL Zach Long was the only Vol that had dipped under that threshold with a mark of 7:59.15 in 2018.
Tennessee also saw success in the men's mile at Boston University, with graduate transfer Dalton Hengst leading the way in 4:00.58 for the No. 2 mark in school history. Junior Christopher Cherry also logged a season-best and PR with his time of 4:02.21, moving up Tennessee's all-time charts to No. 3 in the indoor mile.
UT's trip to Boston wraps up Saturday with a pair of Lady Vols competing inside the BU Track & Tennis Center. Carolyn Barksdale is set to run the mile at approximately 4:10 p.m., while Rachel Sutliff makes her season debut in the 3k at 5:40 p.m.
Abdalla's mark ranks sixth on the 2023-24 collegiate list and was 0.4 seconds behind his PR of 7:42.23 set last year at the same meet. That time ranks him as the No. 11 performer in NCAA history in the indoor 3,000-meter.
Graduate transfers Gabriel Sanchez and Brandon Olden each competed in Heat 1 of the open 3,000-meter and clocked personal-best marks for the Big Orange. Sanchez won the heat with a time of 7:54.36, taking nearly 20 seconds off his previous best. That performance now ranks him third in UT annals and No. 17 on the 2023-24 NCAA list.
Olden made his Tennessee track debut and placed fifth in his heat with a new PR of 7:56.78, rising to No. 4 on UT's all-time list. Grad student Nate Kawalec rounded out UT's competitors in the 3k on Friday, posting a personal-best time of 8:10.27.
Since Sean Carlson was tasked with leading the Tennessee distance program last season, four Vols have run under eight minutes in the indoor 3k. Prior to 2023, VFL Zach Long was the only Vol that had dipped under that threshold with a mark of 7:59.15 in 2018.
Tennessee also saw success in the men's mile at Boston University, with graduate transfer Dalton Hengst leading the way in 4:00.58 for the No. 2 mark in school history. Junior Christopher Cherry also logged a season-best and PR with his time of 4:02.21, moving up Tennessee's all-time charts to No. 3 in the indoor mile.
UT's trip to Boston wraps up Saturday with a pair of Lady Vols competing inside the BU Track & Tennis Center. Carolyn Barksdale is set to run the mile at approximately 4:10 p.m., while Rachel Sutliff makes her season debut in the 3k at 5:40 p.m.
Players Mentioned
Distance
/ Track & Field
Distance
/ Track & Field
Distance
/ Track & Field
Mid-Distance
/ Track & Field
Distance
/ Track & Field
Distance
/ Track & Field
Distance
/ Track & Field
Distance
/ Track & FieldEverything Orange S2 | Sarah Schmitt (Track & Field)
Thursday, April 17
Track & Field | 400m Hurdles Feature
Wednesday, May 22
Track & Field | Tennessee Invite Recap
Wednesday, April 10
Track & Field | Battle on the Bayou Recap
Saturday, March 30
