University of Tennessee Athletics
Zajac Leads Vol SEC Scoring Effort
May 12, 2017 | Track & Field
Photos | Friday Results | Saturday Start Lists | Notes | Live Results | Schedule of Events | Watch Live (Saturday) | Championship Central
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA -- Matthew Zajac's third-place finish in the men's discus throw was one of six Tennessee scoring efforts, and Christian Coleman qualified for his second men's sprint final of the meet to highlight the Big Orange effort on Friday at the SEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Zajac uncorked a career-best toss of 191 feet (58.22m) on his third attempt of the competition to score six points for the Vols. The junior, who finished seventh at last year's SEC meet, broke into the UT men's all-time top performers list in the discus in seventh position with his performance. He ranks No. 15 on the NCAA East Qualifying list after Friday's mark.
Coleman matched his best wind-legal time of the season in the 100-meter dash, easily winning heat one and posting the fastest reading of the prelims at 10.03 seconds. He will run for SEC titles in the 100 and 200 on Saturday, attempting to pull off a championship meet sprint double as he did at the NCAA Indoor meet in the 60 and 200. The junior will be joined in the straight sprint final by sophomore Mustaqeem Williams, who made the cut as the ninth qualifier in a career-best 10.33.
Tennessee collected six points in the women's shot put. After taking second in the hammer on Thursday, sophomore Stamatia Scarvelis returned to the venue Friday and grabbed fourth in the shot with a throw of 53-3.75 (16.25m) to tally five points. Freshman Tamia Crockett added another point with an eighth-place result of 47-7 (14.50m). Cassie Wertman was just short of making the finals, carding a measurement of 47-0.75 (14.34m) to wind up 11th.
Freshman Darryl Sullivan continued the youth movement for Tennessee, soaring over the high jump bar at his college-best height of 7-0.50 (2.15m) to snare fifth-place. Sullivan cleared his last two heights, both college bests, on first attempts before coming up short at 7-2.25 (2.19m).
In the women's heptathlon, Neal grabbed sixth place via a career-best score of 5,443 points, a mark that moved her to No. 7 on UT's all-time performers list. Her previous best was a total of 5,091 at last season's SEC meet, where she finished ninth.
Neal opened day two with a wind-aided leap (+2.3) of 19-3.75 (5.87m) in the long jump, tallying 810 points with her fifth-place effort to move from ninth to eight place in the overall standings. The two-sport athlete (she also plays soccer at Tennessee) then moved into seventh position in the competition with a runner-up toss of 122-11 (37.47) in the javelin throw that was good for 619 points.
In the final event of the two-day competition, Neal climbed from seventh to her final placing of sixth by clocking in with a career-best time of 2:22.66 in the 800 meters. Her previous best was a 2:25.33 effort at last season's league meet.
Junior Cidae'a Woods rounded out the scoring for the Vols, garnering two points in the women's long jump. She stretched the tape to 21 feet (6.40m) on her second attempt of the competition, posting her best-ever mark outdoors. It marked the second year in a row she scored at the outdoor meet in this event, taking fifth in 2016.
Junior Shania Collins, who qualified for the 200m final on Thursday, nearly made it in the 100 on Friday night. Her clocking of 11.34 left her in 10th place, just one spot shy of running for points on Saturday.
Through seven events scored, the Tennessee women stand in sixth place in the team standings with 21 points. The men's team currently holds 10th position with 12 points, looking to boost that total with six scoring opportunities on Saturday. The women have five possibilities.
The final day of competition will get under way with field events at 11 a.m ET and running events at 3:15 p.m. The meet will be streamed live at the link listed above.
RESULTS
Thursday's Results
Women's Competitors
200m Prelims: 9. Shania Collins, 22.95 (+1.5) (3rd/ht.1); 18. Lenysse Dyer, 23.32 (+1.1) (3rd/ht. 2); 30. Maia McCoy, 23.87 (+1.6) (6th/ht. 3)
400m Hurdles Prelims: 12. Brooklynn Broadwater (1:00.36) (4th/ht. 2)
Hammer Throw: 2. Stamatia Scarvelis, 63.79m (209-3); 7. Candice Butler, 58.97m (193-5); 17. Savannah Marlow, 48.65m (159-7)
100m Hurdles (Heptathlon): 12. Maya Neal, 14.19 (+3.7) (952 points)
High Jump (Heptathlon): 11. Maya Neal, 1.59m (5-2.50) (724 points)
Shot Put (Heptathlon): 6. Maya Neal, 11.81m (38-9) (649 points)
200m (Heptathlon): 7. Maya Neal, 24.85 (+1.3) (901 points)
Heptathlon First Day: 9. Maya Neal, 3226 points
Men's Competitors
200m Prelims: 2. Christian Coleman, 20.19 (+2.3) (1st/ht. 3); 10. Mustaqeem Williams, 20.59 (+3.3) (3rd/ht. 5); 25. Malik Elion 21.34 (+2.3) (5th/ht. 3)
Hammer: 7. Seth Whitener, 65.52m (214-11); 14. Cameron Brown, 61.60m (202-1); NM. Matthew Zajac, F
Javelin: 15. Nick Hassler 53.21m (174-7)
Friday's Results
Women's Competitors
100m Prelims: 10. Shania Collins, 11.34 (+1.4) (2nd, ht. 2); 26. Maia McCoy, 11.74 (+0.4) (7th, ht. 3)
400m Prelims: 17. Layla White, 54.15 (4th, ht. 5)
Shot Put: 4. Stamatia Scarvelis, 16.25m (53-3.75); 8. Tamia Crockett, 14.50m (47-7); 11. Cassie Wertman, 14.34m (47-0.75)
Long Jump: 7. Cidae'a Woods, 6.40m (21-0) (-1.2); 16. Maya Neal, 5.90m (19-4.25) (+1.3)
Long Jump (Heptathlon): 5. Maya Neal, 5.87m (19-3.75) (+2.3) (810 points)
Javelin (Heptathlon): 2. Maya Neal, 37.47m, (122-11) (619 points)
800m (Heptathlon): 6. Maya Neal, 2:22.66 (788 points)
Heptathlon Final Score: 6. Maya Neal, 5,443 points
Men's Competitors
100m Prelims: 1. Christian Coleman, 10.03 (+0.7) (1st/ht. 1); 9. (3rd, ht. 1) Mustaqeem Williams, 10.33 (+0.7) (3rd, ht. 1); 26. Malik Elion, 10.76 (+0.9) (6th, ht. 4)
400m Prelims: 16. Nathan Strother, 46.65 (3rd/ht. 4); 19. Ari Cogdell, 47.00 (4th, ht. 1)
1500m Prelims: 18. Zach Long, 3:51.62 (4th/ht. 2); 27. Drew Kelley, 3:57.05 (9th/ht. 3); 31. Adam Johnston, 3:59.86 (10th, ht. 2)
High Jump: 5. Darryl Sullivan, 2.15m (7-0.50)
Discus: 3. Matthew Zajac, 58.22 (191-0)
Saturday's Schedule
Women's Competitors
200m: Shania Collins
4x100m Relay: Tennessee
4x400m Relay: Tennessee
Triple Jump: Cidae'a Woods, Brielyn Rogers, LaChyna Roe
Discus: Stamatia Scarvelis, Tamia Crockett
Men's Competitors
100m: Christian Coleman, Mustaqeem Williams
200m: Christian Coleman
5000m: Zach Long, Brad Swiney, Wesley Robinson, Drew Kelley, Adam Johnston
4x100m Relay: Tennessee
4x400m Relay: Tennessee
Pole Vault: Tristan Slater
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