In 2008 Tennessee had 21 entries into the NCAA Track and Field National Championships. This year the Vols have 14 entries, the most since that 2008 season. Tennessee heads to the 2016 Indoor National Championships in Birmingham, Ala. ranked No. 6 on the men’s side and No.7 on the women’s side. The championships will be held on March 11 and 12.
There are eight women entries and six for the men. Senior Felicia Brown and junior Kali Davis-White will be competing in three events over the weekend. Both will run in the 60 and 200 meter and both women are members of the 4×400 meter relay team. Sophomore Felicia Majors will also pull double duty by running in the 400 meters, while being a member of the 4×400 meter relay team.
Brown is the No.1 runner in the nation this season in the 200 meter with a season best time of 22.45 seconds. Brown is tied for fifth in the 60 meter with a time of 7.23 seconds.
The next closest person to Brown’s time in the 200 is Florida’s Kyra Jefferson with a time of 22.72. Brown defeated Jefferson at the Indoor SEC Championships to claim the SEC title in the 200.
“It’s fun because it’s not as long as the 400 but it’s not as short as the 60,” Brown said. “It’s like the perfect distance, I love the 200.”
Sophomore Christian Coleman is in the top-3 in both the 60 and 200 meters and will run both events at the Indoor National Championships. Coleman is also a part of the No.12 ranked men’s 4×400 meter relay team. Coleman won the 60 meter at the SEC Championships and was a part of a photo finish in the 200 meter. He came out in second in the 200.
Coleman and Brown said they feed off each other and seeing the other win drives them to be even better.
“We were at Arkansas for the (SEC) Indoor Championships I was like ‘Fe (Brown) we gotta try and get the sweep in the sprints,” Coleman said. “She got the 200 and I got the 60 so we almost got it.”
In coach Beth Alford-Sullivan’s first year at Tennessee, last season the team sent six entries to the national championships. To turn around and have 14 in year two is quite the accomplishment.
Alford-Sullivan said the 14 entries is a large number and puts Tennessee in the top 10 in total entries among the competing schools.
“There is two level of depths when you talk track and field,” Alford-Sullivan said. “There is a depth at the conference level and then depth at the NCAA level. We have been able to start to crack the code at the NCAA level. Our front end kids have developed very, very nicely.”
Other front end kids going to the national championships for Tennessee will be No.1 ranked pole vaulter Jake Blankenship. Blankenship will be in his seventh NCAA National Championship, he has also been to several Outdoor National Championships. Blankenship, however, is coming off a slight injury he suffered during the SEC Championships that forced him to withdraw.
“He is going to be fine,” Alford-Sullivan said. “We had a little bit of a scare on the runway at the SEC Championships, took the conservative route he was already in third place at the point and knew he was going to score.”
Alford-Sullivan said the NCAA Championships were important to Blankenship and aired on the side of precaution but believe that he is set up well for nationals.
Two other Vols are in the top 5 in their events going into national are Cameron Brown who is No.2 in the weight throw and Chelsea Blaase who is No.5 in the 5000 meter run. Both Brown and Blaase won SEC titles two weeks ago and will be looking to add a National Championship to their resume.
“It will be very competitive,” Alford-Sullivan said. “It’s a pretty elite meet … You need to be on your game and ready to go and I think our kids have proven that we can do that.”
