Track & Field Central: Tiger Paw Invitational

Feb. 9, 2017

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee returns to the track to compete in its final two regular season meets of the 2017 indoor season. The majority of Tennessee's team will travel to the Tiger Paw Invitational hosted by Clemson University. Two runners will head to Seattle to compete in the Husky Classic.

Tennessee enters the weekend ranked 14th in the nation on the men's side and 21st on the women's side.

Tiger Paw Invitational

Tennessee will take on a competitive field featuring Clemson (no. 90 men/no. 36 women), South Carolina (25/27), North Carolina (121/57), NC State (71/18), Miami (92/15), Texas A&M (6/48), Alabama, (11/17), Auburn (84/54), Notre Dame (79/9) and Hampton.

Friday's events will begin at 3 p.m. ET with the women's weight throw and the men's pole vault. The track events will begin at 3:30 p.m. ET with the women's 60m hurdles. Saturday's schedule will begin at 11 a.m. with the women's shot put and high jump as well as the men's triple jump. The track events begin at 12 p.m. with the women's 600m.

"We're excited about the upcoming weekend," director of track & field/cross country Beth Alford-Sullivan said. "Clemson has a brand new facility; Coach Mark Elliott has been gathering a great squad at Clemson and we are excited to take them on. We will see some quality teams from the ACC and the SEC. It should be a competitive field and we will look to take this last opportunity of the regular season and set ourselves up for the SEC Championships in two weeks."

Husky Classic

Senior Chelsea Blaase will make her season debut as she runs in the 5000m race at the Husky Invitational on Friday at 6:05 p.m. PT. Blaase is the defending SEC Champion in the indoor 5000m race and finished third in the nation at last year's NCAA National Championship. Blaase holds the second-best 5000m time in school history with a mark of 15:42.47.

Sophomore Zach Long will compete in the men's 3000m competition at 5:05 p.m PT from Dempsey Indoor on the campus of the University of Washington. After focusing on the mile competition for the past month, Long will return to the 3000m race looking to best his time of 8:37.64 which he set at the Indiana-Tennessee Dual Meet.

"We are taking two student-athletes out to the Husky Classic, which is always a great meet for the long-distance races," Alford-Sullivan said. "Coach Greg Metcalf and his staff out there produce the season's best distance racing and we have two that are primed and ready to go. Chelsea Blaase will return to action for her first indoor race of the year and we are looking for a great performance from her in the 5000m. Zach Long who has had a breakthrough so far this season looks to take his talents to the 3000m in which will be his first very competitive 3000m race."

Last year at the Husky Classic, Blaase won the 5000m competition with a time of 15:43.81. Long finished 65th in the mile with a time of 4:15.10. Tyler Woodrome finished 52nd in the mile while Austin Whitelaw took 22nd in the 3000m race.

Last Time Out

Tennessee is coming off a dominant showing at the Virginia Tech "Doc Hale" Elite Meet where the Vols posted 10 event wins, 23 personal records and 25 top-three finishes. Christian Coleman and Shania Collins earned MVP honors. Coleman was also named USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week and SEC Runner of the Week after he posted a world-leading 60m time of 6.51 in the 60m dash.

Malik Elion claimed second place in both the 60m and 200m dashes as he set personal bests in both. Elion finished with a time of 21.84 in the 200m and 6.82 in the 60m. Nathan Strother won the 400m with a time of 47.60.

The distance crew of Wesley Robinson, Brad Swiney, Nick Brey and Gashaw Duhamel all set personal bests in the 3000m. Sophomore Seth Whitener set his personal best four times during the weight throw competition finishing with his best mark of 20.30m (66-7.25). Darryl Sullivan took second place in the high jump with a mark of 2.14m.

Collins tied her PR and won three events at the meet as she finished the 200m in 23.63. She won the 60m on Friday evening as she tied her personal best of 7.35 seconds in that race as well. Maia McCoy took third place in both the 60m and 200m dashes. The women's 4x400m team of Layla White, Collins, Brooklynn Broadwater and McCoy notched a win as they crossed the line in 3:43.24.

Cidae'a Woods won the triple jump competition with a personal record of 12.69m (41-7.75). Woods' leap ranks fifth in the school's all-time record book. Brielyn Rogers set a season-high in the event as she jumped 12.42m (40-9) to claim third place. Woods also took home the long jump title as she jumped 6.08m (19-11.5).

Stamatia Scarvelis threw the shot put 16.11m (52-10.25) to notch another second place finish for the Vols. Freshman Tamia Crockett set a new PR and finished in sixth place with a throw of 14.43m (47-4.25). Candice Butler won the weight throw competition with a personal best of 19.94m (65-5). Scarvelis finished in third place with a mark of 19.61m (64-4).

Domonique Turner was named SEC Freshman of the Week as she set two personal bests in the 200m and the 60m Hurdles. She also took second place in the high jump and the 60m hurdles with her hurdles time ranking as the sixth-best 60m hurdles time in school history.

The distance trio of Jessica Rizor, Peighton Meske and Julia Rizor took three of the first four spots in the 3000m competition as Meske set a personal best time.