Tennessee track and field announced on April 15 that it will send 50 athletes and five relay teams to compete in three different meets this week: the Wake Forest Invitational in Winston-Salem, North Carolina; the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, California; and the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational in Gainesville, Florida. The team’s distance runners are scheduled for Thursday and Friday events at Wake Forest and Bryan Clay, while sprinters, hurdlers, relays, pole vaulters, jumpers, and throwers will participate Friday and Saturday at Tom Jones.
The competition begins Thursday evening with Carter Knox running the men’s 800-meter at Wake Forest. Tula Fawbush and Amelia Wills will follow in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase. On the West Coast later that night, Zouhair Redouane is set for his season debut in the men’s 10,000-meter race at Bryan Clay.
Friday’s events start with sophomore Aidan Ifkovits competing in men’s hammer throw at Tom Jones. Meanwhile, Mary Nyaboke Ogwoka and Amelia Wills are entered into the women’s 1,500-meter run at Wake Forest. Ethan Edgeworth will conclude Friday’s schedule by running the men’s 5,000-meter late that night at Bryan Clay.
The weekend wraps up Saturday with Wesley Badenhorst starting off in men’s discus throw at Tom Jones Memorial. The final event for Tennessee is scheduled as the men’s 4×400-meter relay late Saturday afternoon.
Last weekend saw Tennessee host its own invitational meet where athletes won a combined total of thirteen events over two days. Notable performances included Cedricka Williams breaking a nearly five-decade-old school record in women’s discus with a throw of 60.57 meters—now second best nationally—and freshman Hannah Grace resetting her own school pole vault record to lead all Southeastern Conference competitors.
Both Williams and Grace received SEC weekly honors following their performances: Women’s Field Athlete of the Week for Williams after her discus mark ranked second nationally; Women’s Freshman of the Week for Grace as she took over first place among conference vaulters while ranking third nationwide.
In national rankings released by U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), Tennessee’s men rose to sixth place while its women held thirteenth—making it one of eight programs nationwide with both squads ranked among America’s top fifteen teams this week.
Looking ahead, Tennessee’s throws squad plans to travel next weekend to Auburn for competition on April 25.
