Ismaila Sawaneh’s Pole Vault Title Fuels Vols On Day Two of SEC Championships

Ismaila Sawaneh - 2026 SEC Outdoor Championships

Ismaila Sawaneh’s Pole Vault Title Fuels Vols On Day Two of SEC Championships

May 15, 2026 | Track & Field

AUBURN, Ala. – Tennessee junior Ismaila Sawaneh completed a season sweep of indoor and outdoor SEC pole vault titles on Friday, placing first overall at the SEC Outdoor Championships with a mark of 5.65 meters (18-6.5). The performance accompanies the indoor conference crown he captured earlier this year and highlighted a formidable Friday for Tennessee at Auburn University's Hutsell-Rosen Track facility.

Sawaneh became UT's first conference champion in the outdoor pole vault since 2016 and led five Vols who finished in the top eight of Friday's final, accounting for 19.5 points in the team standings. Cade Gray was next for UT with a fourth-place finish after clearing 5.50 meters (18-0.5), followed by Evan Puckett, who took sixth with a mark of 5.40 meters (17-8.5). Clarke Byram and Blake Sifferlin finished in a four-way tie for seventh place, also clearing 5.40 meters (17-8.5) to earn 0.75 points each.

Sophomore thrower JL Van Rensburg also made the podium for Tennessee in the men's shot put, heaving a sixth-round toss of 19.81 meters (65-0) to finish second at his first SEC Outdoor Championships. The performance was a personal best for the Mossel Bay, South Africa, native, ranking second in school history while earning UT's first SEC medal in the event since 2022.

The Lady Vol distance duo of Amelia Wills and Tula Fawbush capped Friday's action with scoring performances in the 3,000-meter steeplechase final. Wills placed fifth overall in 9:53.13, while Fawbush set a seven-second PR to finish sixth in 10:03.18, moving into second on Tennessee's all-time chart in the event.

Tennessee had numerous athletes qualify for Saturday finals during Friday's preliminary rounds on the track, beginning with Lady Vol freshman Mary Nyaboke Ogwoka in the women's 1,500-meter run. The Nairobi, Kenya, native won her heat in 4:22.97 to automatically advance to the final, and she will seek her second career SEC medal after earning bronze in the mile during the 2026 indoor season.

True freshman Oliver MacDonald made his first official appearance for Tennessee on Friday in the men's 1,500-meter prelims and secured qualification to the SEC final with a third-place finish in his heat, clocking 3:45.72.

In the sprints, senior standout and All-American Javonya Valcourt earned her first berth to the SEC Outdoor Championships 400-meter final with a time of 50.87, good for eighth overall in the preliminary round.

All three Lady Vols entered in the women's 100-meter dash qualified for their first SEC final, led by Lauren Jarrett's time of 11.08, which was the fastest mark in Friday's preliminary round. Avia Jones also posted a PR of 11.19 to qualify on time, while true freshman Dana Wilson ran 11.24 to earn the ninth and final spot in Saturday's final.

A pair of Vols also earned qualification to the SEC men's 100-meter final to round out Friday's preliminary action. True freshman Elijah Clark turned in a lifetime-best 10.17 to place seventh in qualifying, while redshirt junior Traunard Folson punched his second ticket to an SEC final with a ninth-place time of 10.19. Folson is also set to represent UT in the men's 200-meter final on Saturday.

Full results from the SEC Outdoor Championships can be viewed online via Xpress Timing.

UP NEXT: The 2026 SEC Outdoor Championships conclude Saturday, beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET with the women's discus and concluding at approximately 9:40 p.m. with the men's 4x400-meter relay.