University of Tennessee Athletics
Hengst, Lewis Break Sub-4 Barrier At Music City Challenge
February 09, 2024 | Track & Field, Cross Country
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – History was made on Friday night at the Vanderbilt Multipurpose Facility as Vol grad students Dalton Hengst and Jacob Lewis became the first athletes in program history to break the four-minute barrier in the mile. Hengst took the win at the Music City Challenge with a new school record time of 3:59.71, while Lewis was fourth overall and second among collegians with his time of 3:59.83. The duo ranks fifth and seventh in the SEC this season, respectively, with their new personal bests.
Hengst and Lewis highlighted several strong performances for Tennessee on Friday as the Big Orange was represented at three meets. Notable action from the Tiger Paw Invitational at Clemson, Music City Challenge at Vanderbilt and David Hemery Valentine Invitational at Boston University can be found below.
Tiger Paw Invitational – Clemson, S.C.
Tennessee's sprinters, hurdlers and jumpers opened the weekend at the Clemson Indoor Track & Field Complex, competing against a wealth of SEC, ACC and other Power Five competition at the Tiger Paw Invitational. UT was well represented in the 60-meter dashes and 60-meter hurdles competitions and put up some historic times in the 400-meter dash to highlight Friday's performances at Clemson.
The Lady Vol senior sprinting trio of Jacious Sears, Dennisha Page and Joella Lloyd each showcased their speed throughout three rounds of the 60-meter dash on Friday. Sears had the top times of the day in qualifying and semifinals with marks of 7.14 and 7.13, respectively, while Page won both her preliminary races in 7.23 and a lifetime-best 7.18. Her time of 7.18 in the semifinal raised the Camden, New Jersey, native to No. 4 on the all-time Lady Vol charts and equaled the No. 4 performer in the NCAA this season. Lloyd had season-best marks of 7.27 in her last two races of the day, placing seventh in the semis before picking up the win in the final.
On the men's side, sophomore T'Mars McCallum took third in the 60-meter final as he tied last week's PR with a mark of 6.63 seconds – the No. 9 mark in school history. True freshman Davonte Howell had a career day himself, posting a personal-best 6.64 in the semis before placing seventh in the final with time of 6.66.
Junior transfer Layla Anderson continued her strong debut season for the Lady Vols in the 60-meter hurdles, posting impressive performances in the qualifying rounds before clocking in at 8.07 seconds in the final. Her mark was the second-fastest by a collegian on Friday and the second-fastest performance of her career – trailing her time of 8.06 set earlier this season at the Ted Nelson Invitational.
UT's 400-meter squad posted four times that cracked the program's all-time top 10 lists on Friday at Clemson. Lady Vol sophomore Javonya Valcourt and graduate transfer DaJour Miles logged marks of 52.32 and 52.74 that now rank No. 3 and No. 4 in program history, respectively. Valcourt's time went down as a personal-best, while Miles' mark came in her first open 400-meter competition as a Lady Vol.
Tennessee freshmen Zyaire Nuriddin and Christian Parker each followed with season bests in the men's quarter mile, turning in 400-meter times of 46.23 and 46.63 for the Big Orange. Nuriddin's mark topped his own UT freshman record by three tenths of a second, and the duo now ranks No. 4 and No. 5 on the program's all-time list in the indoor 400-meter dash.
Music City Challenge – Nashville, Tenn.
Hengst and Lewis headlined the action in Nashville with their historic sub-4 miles. UT junior Christopher Cherry narrowly missed becoming the third Vol to accomplish the feat, placing fifth behind Lewis in a personal-best 4:00.18 to improve his standing as the fourth-fastest performer in school history.
Lady Vol senior Carolyn Barksdale also picked up a new PR in the mile at Vanderbilt, dropping more than five seconds to a lifetime-best 4:44.46. Her classmate Msgana Araya also turned in a PB in the women's 5,000-meter with a time of 16:40.10, placing fourth at Vanderbilt.
David Hemery Valentine Invitational – Boston, Mass.
A quartet of Lady Vol distance runners made their season debuts Friday night at Boston University, running the 5,000-meter at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational. Donning Summitt Blue jerseys in their Tennessee track debuts, Emily Covert (15:52.89), Caroline Lyerly (16:06.65) and Ashley Jones (16:06.74) each made their mark on the program's all-time list in the event. The trio checks in at No. 6, No. 8 and No. 9 on the Lady Vol indoor 5k chart after their performances on Friday.
Knoxville native Callie Tucker also competed in Boston and turned in a lifetime-best mark of 16:54.88.
PR TRACKER: Tennessee athletes combined to break or tie 14 indoor personal records on Friday at the Tiger Paw Invitational, Music City Challenge and David Hemery Valentine Invitational.
Hengst and Lewis highlighted several strong performances for Tennessee on Friday as the Big Orange was represented at three meets. Notable action from the Tiger Paw Invitational at Clemson, Music City Challenge at Vanderbilt and David Hemery Valentine Invitational at Boston University can be found below.
Tiger Paw Invitational – Clemson, S.C.
Tennessee's sprinters, hurdlers and jumpers opened the weekend at the Clemson Indoor Track & Field Complex, competing against a wealth of SEC, ACC and other Power Five competition at the Tiger Paw Invitational. UT was well represented in the 60-meter dashes and 60-meter hurdles competitions and put up some historic times in the 400-meter dash to highlight Friday's performances at Clemson.
The Lady Vol senior sprinting trio of Jacious Sears, Dennisha Page and Joella Lloyd each showcased their speed throughout three rounds of the 60-meter dash on Friday. Sears had the top times of the day in qualifying and semifinals with marks of 7.14 and 7.13, respectively, while Page won both her preliminary races in 7.23 and a lifetime-best 7.18. Her time of 7.18 in the semifinal raised the Camden, New Jersey, native to No. 4 on the all-time Lady Vol charts and equaled the No. 4 performer in the NCAA this season. Lloyd had season-best marks of 7.27 in her last two races of the day, placing seventh in the semis before picking up the win in the final.
On the men's side, sophomore T'Mars McCallum took third in the 60-meter final as he tied last week's PR with a mark of 6.63 seconds – the No. 9 mark in school history. True freshman Davonte Howell had a career day himself, posting a personal-best 6.64 in the semis before placing seventh in the final with time of 6.66.
Junior transfer Layla Anderson continued her strong debut season for the Lady Vols in the 60-meter hurdles, posting impressive performances in the qualifying rounds before clocking in at 8.07 seconds in the final. Her mark was the second-fastest by a collegian on Friday and the second-fastest performance of her career – trailing her time of 8.06 set earlier this season at the Ted Nelson Invitational.
UT's 400-meter squad posted four times that cracked the program's all-time top 10 lists on Friday at Clemson. Lady Vol sophomore Javonya Valcourt and graduate transfer DaJour Miles logged marks of 52.32 and 52.74 that now rank No. 3 and No. 4 in program history, respectively. Valcourt's time went down as a personal-best, while Miles' mark came in her first open 400-meter competition as a Lady Vol.
Tennessee freshmen Zyaire Nuriddin and Christian Parker each followed with season bests in the men's quarter mile, turning in 400-meter times of 46.23 and 46.63 for the Big Orange. Nuriddin's mark topped his own UT freshman record by three tenths of a second, and the duo now ranks No. 4 and No. 5 on the program's all-time list in the indoor 400-meter dash.
Music City Challenge – Nashville, Tenn.
Hengst and Lewis headlined the action in Nashville with their historic sub-4 miles. UT junior Christopher Cherry narrowly missed becoming the third Vol to accomplish the feat, placing fifth behind Lewis in a personal-best 4:00.18 to improve his standing as the fourth-fastest performer in school history.
Lady Vol senior Carolyn Barksdale also picked up a new PR in the mile at Vanderbilt, dropping more than five seconds to a lifetime-best 4:44.46. Her classmate Msgana Araya also turned in a PB in the women's 5,000-meter with a time of 16:40.10, placing fourth at Vanderbilt.
David Hemery Valentine Invitational – Boston, Mass.
A quartet of Lady Vol distance runners made their season debuts Friday night at Boston University, running the 5,000-meter at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational. Donning Summitt Blue jerseys in their Tennessee track debuts, Emily Covert (15:52.89), Caroline Lyerly (16:06.65) and Ashley Jones (16:06.74) each made their mark on the program's all-time list in the event. The trio checks in at No. 6, No. 8 and No. 9 on the Lady Vol indoor 5k chart after their performances on Friday.
Knoxville native Callie Tucker also competed in Boston and turned in a lifetime-best mark of 16:54.88.
PR TRACKER: Tennessee athletes combined to break or tie 14 indoor personal records on Friday at the Tiger Paw Invitational, Music City Challenge and David Hemery Valentine Invitational.
- T'Mars McCallum – Men's 60m – 6.63 (tie)
- Davonte Howell – Men's 60m – 6.64
- Dennisha Page – Women's 60m – 7.18
- Avaunt Ortiz – Men's 200m – 21.91
- Christian Parker – Men's 400m – 46.63
- Javonya Valcourt – Women's 400m – 52.32
- Brianna White – Women's 400m – 53.32
- Dalton Hengst – Men's Mile – 3:59.71
- Jacob Lewis – Men's Mile – 3:59.83
- Christopher Cherry – Men's Mile – 4:00.18
- Carolyn Barksdale – Women's Mile – 4:44.46
- Ashley Jones – Women's 5,000m – 16:06.74
- Msgana Araya – Women's 5,000m – 16:40.10
- Callie Tucker – Women's 5,000m – 16:54.88
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