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Vols Solid to Open Tennessee Relays
April 09, 2015 | Track & Field
April 9, 2015
Thursday Results | 
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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee got off to a strong start at the 49th Tennessee Relays Powered by Sea Ray, witnessing a strong showing in the men's hammer throw after breaking a seven-year hiatus in the women's heptathlon.
The Tennessee Relays continue with what should be a busy day on Friday at Tom Black Track at LaPorte Stadium. The day starts at 9 a.m. ET with the conclusion of the multi events before giving way to the sprints in the early afternoon. The women's and men's 400-meter hurdles begin at 12:15 p.m. and will be followed by the 100-meter dash at 1:50 p.m. The middle distance and distance races begin Friday evening at 6:30 p.m. when the women's 800 meters gets underway.
A full weekend schedule and heat sheets can be found at the Tennessee Relays Meet Central. Admission to the meet is free.
On Thursday morning, Brielyn Rogers became the first Tennessee women's athlete to compete in the heptathlon since Jena' Murphy in 2008 when she took part in the first four events of multi competition. Rogers ended the day inside the top 10, holding onto the 10th place spot with 2,783 points. She looked particularly strong in the high jump portion of the event, placing third overall after clearing a height of four feet, 11.75 inches (1.52 meters). Rogers also recorded a top-five finish in the 100-meter hurdles at a career-best 14.75 seconds.
In the men's decathlon, Tennessee freshman Josh Wheeler competed unattached. After five events, he is in second place with 3,468 points.
Thursday also marked the first time since 2012 that the Tennessee Relays had hosted the multi events.
That evening, the 13th-ranked Vol men got a pair of top-15 finishes in the hammer throw. Senior Deon McAdoo, competing in his final Tennessee Relays, placed 11th behind an effort of 181 feet, eight inches. Not far behind came Frost, whose throw of 175 feet, five inches (53.46) was good enough for 15th.
Cameron Brown competed in the hammer throw as an unattached participant on Thursday. He recorded a new personal-best of 206 feet, eight inches (63.00) to finish in sixth place. Coming into the Relays, his PR had been 203 feet, seven inches (62.05).
"We were happy to see Cameron Brown, who we're redshirting, put together a PR in the hammer throw," said Tennessee director of track and field Beth Alford-Sullivan. "We're very pleased with that kind of performance here at home."
In the other notables on the day, former Ashland University thrower A.G. Kruger claimed his fifth Tennessee Relays championship in the men's hammer throw. Representing Nike, Kruger posted a winning distance of 243 feet, one inch (74.09) to defend his 2014 title.
The women's hammer throw also saw a repeat winner as Gwendolyn Berry of New York Athletic Club took the top spot with a throw of 222 feet, six inches (67.83). Berry was the female field athlete winner of the annual Tony Wilson Award at last year's Relays.
"What I'm looking for tomorrow is really just to get some stuff in the books," Sullivan said. "We've got some field events and we've got some running events and we just need to get it going.
"I'm looking forward to seeing Kyle Walter in the 5K tomorrow night; he's been training extremely well and looking very good. I think we'll see some great 800 out of Chase Hilton and Nick Kaiser. They're both poised for a breakthrough. And I think we'll see some good 400s out of Felicia Brown and Felecia Majors."
MEN'S RESULTS AT TENNESSEE RELAYS
Thursday
Decathlon: 2. Josh Wheeler (UNAT), 3468 (thru 5 events)
Hammer: 11. Deon McAdoo, 55.37 (181-08); 15. Carson Frost, 53.46 (175-05); 6. Cameron Brown (UNAT), 63.00 (206-08)!
10,000m: Anthony Simpson - dnf
WOMEN'S RESULTS AT TENNESSEE RELAYS
Thursday
Heptathlon: 10. Brielyn Rogers, 2783 (thru 4 events)
Hammer: 30. Danielle Holdren (UNAT), 39.99 (131-02)!
! - Personal Best, $ - SEC Record, a - American Record, b - Banked Track, c - Collegiate Record, adv. - Advanced, dna - Did Not Advance, dnf - Did Not Finish, dnr - Did Not Run, dns - Did Not Score, dq - Disqualified, F - Foul, f - Facility Record, fr - Freshman Record, fr* - Tied Freshman Record, fs - False Start, H - Heptathlon, h - Hand-Timed, mr - Meet Record, nh - No Height, nm - No Mark, P - Pentathlon, sr - School Record, u - Undersized Track, w - wind-aided, wr - World Record
