Eight Vols Advance, Four Score on Friday At SEC Championships
May 10, 2024 | Track & Field
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Tennessee track & field program totaled eight qualifying performances during Friday's running event prelims at the 2024 SEC Outdoor Championships at the University of of Florida's James G. Pressly Stadium at Percy Beard Track. Additionally, four athletes scored points for the Big Orange in a quartet of field event and steeplechase finals.
Half of UT's Friday qualifiers came from the men's 1,500-meter, which advances the top three athletes in each heat plus the next three fastest times. Canaan Anderson automatically advanced to Saturday's final with a race victory in Heat 1, turning in a time of 3:46.88 with a strong kick down the home stretch. Jacob Lewis took third in the same heat with a mark of 3:47.10, also automatically punching his ticket to the conference final.
Dalton Hengst was the next Vol to secure a spot in the 1,500-meter championship race, taking third in the second heat with a time of 3:49.82. In the third and final heat of the prelims, 10k bronze medalist Yaseen Abdalla finished fourth but earned a berth to the final on time with his mark of 3:46.56 – the fourth-fastest performance in the preliminary heats.
In the women's 400-meter dash, Lady Vol senior Brianna White stormed to a lifetime-best 51.11 seconds to qualify for her first career SEC final as an individual. Her time was good for eighth place in the prelims and made her the No. 2 performer in Lady Vol history behind Olympic champion DeeDee Trotter.
Entering the meet as the top seed in the men's 100-meter with the NCAA's fastest time this season at 9.94 seconds, Vol sophomore T'Mars McCallum cruised into the SEC final with his mark of 10.13 on Friday. The Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, native placed second in his heat and had the third-fastest time in the preliminary field.
On the women's side, the Lady Vol senior speedster duo of Jacious Sears and Dennisha Page automatically advanced to the 100-meter final with times of 11.09 and 11.33, respectively. Sears won the third heat with the fastest time in the field, while Page was second behind her in Heat 3 to earn a capital Q.
Both Sears and Page will represent the Lady Vols in the 100- and 200-meter finals on Saturday, scheduled for 7:35 p.m. and 8:35 p.m. ET, respectively.
POINTS ON THE BOARD: Tennessee totaled four scoring performances on Friday in the field and distance event finals. Leading off the evening with Grant Campbell in the men's high jump, the freshman from Maryville tied for fifth place after clearing 2.09 meters (6-10.25) on his first attempt at the mark. He equaled Arkansas' Kason O'Riley as the top freshman at the meet, scored three points and turned in the best finish by a Tennessee rookie high jumper since Olympian Darryl Sullivan also placed fifth as a freshman in 2017.
Junior pole vaulter Sarah Schmitt battled windy conditions and collected a sixth-place finish for the Lady Vols, scoring for her third consecutive conference meet. The Midlothian, Virginia, native cleared 4.18 meters (13-8.5) to tally three points for the Big Orange.
UT had a pair of top-8 showings in the men's and women's 3,000-meter steeplechase to cap night the second night of the conference championships. Graduate transfer Brett Brady took seventh for the Vols in 9:05.27, while fifth-year senior Kayla Gholar took fifth with a personal-best time of 10:15.30. The mark improved her standing as the No. 2 steeplechase performer in Lady Vol history.
UP NEXT: The 2024 SEC Outdoor Championships wrap up Saturday, beginning at 3 p.m. with freshmen Seth Apple and Aron Alvarez Aranda competing in the men's discus. The conference meet will close with the women's 4x400-meter relay at approximately 9:40 p.m.
Half of UT's Friday qualifiers came from the men's 1,500-meter, which advances the top three athletes in each heat plus the next three fastest times. Canaan Anderson automatically advanced to Saturday's final with a race victory in Heat 1, turning in a time of 3:46.88 with a strong kick down the home stretch. Jacob Lewis took third in the same heat with a mark of 3:47.10, also automatically punching his ticket to the conference final.
Dalton Hengst was the next Vol to secure a spot in the 1,500-meter championship race, taking third in the second heat with a time of 3:49.82. In the third and final heat of the prelims, 10k bronze medalist Yaseen Abdalla finished fourth but earned a berth to the final on time with his mark of 3:46.56 – the fourth-fastest performance in the preliminary heats.
In the women's 400-meter dash, Lady Vol senior Brianna White stormed to a lifetime-best 51.11 seconds to qualify for her first career SEC final as an individual. Her time was good for eighth place in the prelims and made her the No. 2 performer in Lady Vol history behind Olympic champion DeeDee Trotter.
Entering the meet as the top seed in the men's 100-meter with the NCAA's fastest time this season at 9.94 seconds, Vol sophomore T'Mars McCallum cruised into the SEC final with his mark of 10.13 on Friday. The Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, native placed second in his heat and had the third-fastest time in the preliminary field.
On the women's side, the Lady Vol senior speedster duo of Jacious Sears and Dennisha Page automatically advanced to the 100-meter final with times of 11.09 and 11.33, respectively. Sears won the third heat with the fastest time in the field, while Page was second behind her in Heat 3 to earn a capital Q.
Both Sears and Page will represent the Lady Vols in the 100- and 200-meter finals on Saturday, scheduled for 7:35 p.m. and 8:35 p.m. ET, respectively.
POINTS ON THE BOARD: Tennessee totaled four scoring performances on Friday in the field and distance event finals. Leading off the evening with Grant Campbell in the men's high jump, the freshman from Maryville tied for fifth place after clearing 2.09 meters (6-10.25) on his first attempt at the mark. He equaled Arkansas' Kason O'Riley as the top freshman at the meet, scored three points and turned in the best finish by a Tennessee rookie high jumper since Olympian Darryl Sullivan also placed fifth as a freshman in 2017.
Junior pole vaulter Sarah Schmitt battled windy conditions and collected a sixth-place finish for the Lady Vols, scoring for her third consecutive conference meet. The Midlothian, Virginia, native cleared 4.18 meters (13-8.5) to tally three points for the Big Orange.
UT had a pair of top-8 showings in the men's and women's 3,000-meter steeplechase to cap night the second night of the conference championships. Graduate transfer Brett Brady took seventh for the Vols in 9:05.27, while fifth-year senior Kayla Gholar took fifth with a personal-best time of 10:15.30. The mark improved her standing as the No. 2 steeplechase performer in Lady Vol history.
UP NEXT: The 2024 SEC Outdoor Championships wrap up Saturday, beginning at 3 p.m. with freshmen Seth Apple and Aron Alvarez Aranda competing in the men's discus. The conference meet will close with the women's 4x400-meter relay at approximately 9:40 p.m.
Players Mentioned
Distance
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Throws
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Distance
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Throws
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Distance
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Jumps
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Distance
/ Track & Field
Mid-Distance
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Distance
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Sprints/Jumps
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Sprints
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Pole Vault
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Sprints
/ Track & Field
Sprints
/ Track & FieldEverything Orange S2 | Sarah Schmitt (Track & Field)
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