Tennessee track and field made a trip down to Gainesville, Florida, to rack up wins and records for its Easter weekend as the end of the season nears.
There were many notable performances at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational, including Donna Douglas. The true freshman thrower from Arkansas has put up an impressive season thus far, adding on to that by throwing a record-breaking 58.78 meters for outdoor discus to improve on her previous Tennessee freshman record. This moves her to No. 10 in the NCAA and second in the U20 World list.
The men’s 4×100 relay managed to come home with a win, finishing in a season-best time of 38.76 seconds with Kalib Branch, Deron Dudley, Devonte Howell and T’Mars McCallum. This performance also put the quad’s ranking at sixth in the NCAA.
McCallum also debuted in the men’s 100-meter, finishing third at 10.04 seconds and ending the day with an NCAA No. 8 time.
Lady Vol Sarah Schmitt also walked away with another win, making a personal-best in women’s
pole vault with a clearance of 4.40 meters. As for the women’s 100m prelims, Myreanna Bebe set a lifetime-best of 12.89, putting her at seventh in the NCAA.
There were other stately performances at the invitational from Jevon Williams and Cade Gray. Williams took victory in the men’s 400m hurdles, moving up to No. 1 in the NCAA after his 48.77-second run and new personal best. Gray took the win in the men’s pole vault, setting a new outdoor personal record with a clearance of 5.50 meters.
Other notable performances came from Jayvonya Valcourt, participating in the women’s 400m and taking her place as the third-fastest in school history with 50.68 seconds and finishing fourth at the meet. Valcourt also participated in the women’s 4x400m relay, earning eighth with a season-best time of 3:29.73, alongside Kaniya Johnson, Cydney Wright and Esther Joseph.
The Vols return to the outdoor track next week in Louisville, Kentucky, for the Clark Wood Invitational as they are getting closer to finishing up the regular season.