Tennessee track and field stacked the podium at the SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships, turning in 12 top-five finishes and four medal performances in a high-energy weekend. The pole vault and women’s mile earned standout performances as Tennessee surged through difficult competition inside the R.A. “Murray” Fasken Indoor Track & Field Facility at Texas A&M.
Field
Men’s pole vault dominated the bracket once again, proving themselves as they accomplished high scores under high pressure. Ismaila Sawaneh took the win home in the SEC with a 5.78-meter jump, a personal best. This moves him up to No. 20 in collegiate indoor history and third on Tennessee’s all-time indoor list, just after Blake Sifferlin took the title home in 2025.
Cade Gray’s career-best clearance of 5.73 meters earned him second place and his second career SEC medal. Gray ranks fourth in the NCAA this season and fourth on Tennessee’s all-time list indoors.
Tennessee totaled 23.5 points in the men’s pole vault, which was secured by Evan Puckett’s fifth-place 5.46-meter jump and seventh-place finish from Sifferlin, who also jumped 5.46 meters. Cade Gray also finished in the top five on the long jump, placing fourth with a 7.84-meter jump.
JL Van Rensburg placed fourth in the men’s shot put, 19.47 meters, while John Bruder scored a personal best at 19 meters, taking sixth place.
On the women’s side, both Skye Tolbert and Kendall Ford tied for seventh in the women’s pole vault with a 4.15-meter jump. This is Ford’s best season thus far. Endina Smith completed the women’s triple jump, placing 5th at 13.16 meters.
Distance
Freshman sensation Mary Ogwoka delivered an impressive SEC debut, taking the bronze in the women’s mile with a time of 4:33.60. This mark not only sets a new personal best for Ogwoka, but it also ranks her second all-time in Tennessee program history, earning the team its first SEC medal in the event since 2010.
The women’s distance medley continued to set the tone for the women’s side, as Ogwoka, Tula Fawbush, Jounee Armstrong, and Ka’Myya Haywood placed fifth with a season-best time of 11:00.44.
On the men’s side, Zouhair Redouane’s fourth-place finish in the men’s 3,000-meter run secured a personal best for Redouane, with a final time of 7:49.12. In the same race, sophomore Ethan Edgeworth came in just behind Redouane at 7:51.24, which is fourth in school history.
Sprint
Myreanna Bebe also secured a bronze medal, her second career SEC medal in the women’s 60-meter, with a final time of 8.02 seconds. Lastly, Javonya Valcourt, Cydney Wright, Ka’Myya Haywood, and Esther Joseph all participated in the women’s 4×400-meter relay, which ultimately placed fourth at a time of 3:30.12.
Tennessee produced a total of 51.7 points for the weekend, finishing sixth overall in the final team standings for the men’s side, while Tennessee for the women’s side placed ninth with 34 points total.
The Vols who score top-16 NCAA qualifying marks will travel to the 2026 NCAA Indoor National Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on March 13-14.
