Vol Track Runs NCAA Qualifier Total to 10

Saturday, May 30

Jacksonville, Fla.

All Day

University of Tennessee

NCAA Regional Championships

May 30, 2015 | Track & Field

May 30, 2015

Final Results

JACKSONVILLE -- Tennessee brought its total number of qualifications to June's NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships to 10 on Saturday as three more Volunteers punched their tickets to the final event in Eugene, Oregon. Tavis Bailey secured qualification in the men's shot put while sprinters Felicia Brown and Christian Coleman emerged from their respective 200-meter dash quarterfinals.

In total, Vol Track & Field qualified 10 of a possible 17 entries to the National Championships over a three-day period at the NCAA East Preliminary Round. Eight athletes will represent the Orange & White across those 10 events June 10-13 at the famed Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon. Of those 10 qualifiers, half are first-timers as freshmen Coleman and Nathan Strother will be making their initial descent upon Eugene in the sprints, Bailey is a first-time qualifier in the shot put, and women's javelin ace Maria Jimenez punched her first ticket on Thursday afternoon.

An exciting day for the Vols began in the early evening when Bailey found just enough distance on his only scoring throw to pull into the 12-man qualifying pool in the shot put competition. Sandwiched between two fouls, the senior's throw of 61 feet, 8.5 inches (18.81) landed him in 11th-place overall. It was the best throw of his season and Bailey will now compete in two events while in Eugene after clinching a berth in the men's discus on Friday.

Bailey has qualified to NCAAs in the men's discus in each of the last three seasons, but Saturday marked his first qualification in the shot put.

On the track, Brown looked particularly strong in punching her ticket to Eugene with a career-best time of 22.76. She finished second in her heat, fourth overall, and will be making a return trip to the NCAA Championships after qualifying in the 200 last season as a sophomore.

Brown's time remains the second-fastest in Tennessee's outdoor 200-meter dash history.

On the men's side, Coleman delivered with a big PR of his own to force his way into the qualifying zone in the 200-meters. Needing a PR to even have a hope of qualifying, Coleman recorded a career-best 20.61 -- an improvement from his previous mark of 20.73 -- to place 11th overall. He will be pulling double duty while in Eugene, having qualified for the men's 100-meter dash as well.

A 20.61 ranks Coleman at No. 10 all-time at Tennessee in the 200-meter dash.

Tennessee also saw a couple of seasons come to a close on Saturday as Matthew Hoty and Austin Whitelaw did not advance out of their respective events. Hoty concluded his terrific Volunteer career with a throw of 57 feet, 10.5 inches (17.64), finishing 29th place. The senior from Sandusky, Ohio, will leave UT a two-time SEC medalist and the program's freshman shot put record-holder.

Whitelaw battled in the men's 5000 meters and posted a time of 14:22.51 to finish 18th overall. He ends his year having recorded a PR in the event (13:58.69) that moved him onto UT's top-10 performance list in the 5K.

UT will head back to Knoxville with just a little more than a week to prepare for the NCAA Championships, which run June 10-13. The four-day schedule will stagger men's and women's competition: men's events are scheduled for Wednesday and Friday (with the exception of the men's decathlon) and the women will compete Thursday and Saturday (with the exception of the women's heptathlon). The ESPN family of networks will televise the Championships each evening with additional coverage available online through ESPN3.

Stay up-to-date with all things Tennessee Track & Field by following @Vol_Track on Twitter or by liking the team's page on Facebook at facebook.com/tenntrack.

MEN'S RESULTS AT NCAA EAST PRELIM
Thursday
100m (1st Rd): 8. Christian Coleman, 10.35 (+1.8) - adv
400m (1st Rd): 11. Nathan Strother, 46.24! - adv

Friday
Javelin: 44. Kyle Quinn, 181-3 (55.26)
Discus: 4. Tavis Bailey, 199-7 (60.83); 14. Matthew Zajac, 185-9 (56.62)
Pole Vault: 1. Jake Blankenship, 17-2.75 (5.25); 6. Tyler Porter, 17-2.75 (5.25)
400m (QF): 7. Nathan Strother, 45.76!
100m (QF): 6. Christian Coleman, 10.33 (+0.9)
200m (1st Rd): 14. Christian Coleman, 20.90 (+0.4) - adv

Saturday
Shot Put: 11. Tavis Bailey, 61-8.5 (18.81); 29. Matthew Hoty, 57-10.5 (17.64)
200m (QF): 11. Christian Coleman, 20.61! (+1.3)
5000 (SF): 18. Austin Whitelaw, 14:22.51

WOMEN'S RESULTS AT NCAA EAST PRELIM
Thursday
Javelin: 8. Maria Jimenez, 160-7 (48.95)!
Pole Vault: 39. Erin Champion, 12-10.75 (3.93)
100m (1st Rd): 30. Felicia Brown, 11.74 (-0.6) - dna
400m (1st Rd): 45. Felecia Majors, 54.67 - dna
10,000 (SF): 2. Chelsea Blaase, 33:47.20