The UT men’s track team came home from Lexington, Ky., this weekend with some lower times and improved finishes after racing this past Saturday at the Rod McCravy Memorial.
The Lady Vols ventured to Penn State over the weekend and likewise found success with a new school record and their third automatic qualifier to the NCAA Indoor Championships in March.
Men
Senior Evander Wells summed up the weekend in Lexington with one sentence.
“We’re getting closer to where we need to be,” Wells said.
The eight-time All-American proved his point by helping Tennessee Saturday, lowering his NCAA provisional mark, or automatic qualifying time, from 6.70 seconds to 6.66 in the 60-meter dash, placing him second in the event. He was first among collegians in the event and is currently placed fourth on the national qualifying list. Wells also finished second in the 200-meter race with a 20.99, moving him to third on the national qualifying list.
Senior Kyle Stevenson continued to polish his finish times over the weekend by turning in a 6.73 time in the 60-meter event, a fifth place finish. Stevenson also dashed to the finish line in the 200-meter for a career-best 21.38 to finish fourth, placing him among UT’s top ten all-time performers list.
Robert Rasnick, a sophomore transfer from Cedarville University in Ohio, marked a career-best indoor clearance of 17-0 3⁄4 to finish runner-up in pole vault and clear the NCAA provisional mark in his efforts. Rasnick bested his previous mark of 16-2 3⁄4 entering the season. Another UT pole vaulter, Joe Berry, scored a top mark of 16-6 3⁄4 to finish in a fourth place tie.
Evander Wells said it was important for his team to make strides before championship play after the weekend of competition.
“Just about everyone dropped their times this week,” Wells said. “… It shows that if everyone keeps improving, by the time SEC’s (indoor championships) and nationals (NCAA Indoor Championships) come around, we’re going to be competitive and have a chance to win it.”
Women
Phoebe Wright finished first among collegians and second overall for the Lady Vols in the 500-meter event with a 1:09.70, the fifth all-time best finish by a female collegiate. Sophomore Chanelle Price was victorious in the 1000-meter event, clocking a career-best and meet-record time of 2:42.71, which stands as the fourth-best time ever by a Lady Vol in that event. Price currently sits second behind Wright in the 800-meter on the national list.
Jackie Areson, the third member of the Lady Vols to become an automatic qualifier for the NCAA Indoor Championships this season, ran a school-record 9 minutes, 7.27 seconds to take first place in the 3000-meter event, narrowly defeating runner-up Elizabeth Maloy of the New York Athletic Club (9:07.77).
“I was really shocked with how fast I ran. I was going into it just trying to qualify for Nationals in the 3K,” Areson said. “I knew I could do it, but I thought that it was going to be hard. But then the race just felt so good, and I never really felt tired. I felt great the whole race. I ended up knowing for the last two laps that I didn’t need to run very fast. So I thought, ‘Well, I’m going to run fast.’”
Areson snapped the 19-year old record previously held by Lady Vol Patty Wiegard, winning her NCAA indoor title with a 9:09.83 finish back in 1991.
Chanelle Price added a fifth place time of 56:52 in the 400-meter, and freshman Kia Jackson placed fifth in the unseeded 200-meter with a 24.78.
The UT men’s and women’s track teams will hit the races again at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational in New York, N.Y., this Friday.
