Track And Field To Compete At Vanderbilt Invite

Friday, January 19

Nashville, Tenn.

4 pm

University of Memphis

Vanderbilt Invitational

Adam Neelly, 2016-17 Men's Track and Field

Photo by: Nikki Boertman

Jan 18, 2018 | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Meet is first after 44-day semester break, Tigers' last meet was Dec. 2.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – After 44 days off for the semester break, the University of Memphis track and field squads returned to campus for workouts earlier this week in preparation for the "re-start" of the 2017-18 indoor season this weekend at the 2018 Vanderbilt Invitational in Nashville, Tenn.

However, the teams' training hit a snag this week with the two winter storms that came through the Mid-South. The ice and snow took away the program's outdoor track surface for practices, making expectations for Friday and Saturday unpredictable for Tigers head coach Kevin Robinson and his staff.

So, Robinson not only had to hope his athletes got through the 44-day semester break in good shape, but then also had to battle Mother Nature on the team's four practice days leading into this weekend's meet.

Head coach Kevin Robinson comments
"We've had our kids back for training for only four days, and we've been hampered by the winter weather that we've had. Our track is iced over, and we've had limited time in the turf room, so it's difficult to predict what will happen this weekend.

"We're not where we need to be for this Vanderbilt meet, but we're going to do our best. I want our athletes to compete, and I want to use this weekend as a starting point and see the progress we make during the indoor season. We have a strong team with great athletes, but coming off the semester break in addition to the recent weather conditions, we are a little behind.

"I feel most of our athletes came back from the break in good condition, but we can't really tell because we haven't been on a track surface this week. I know the conditioning is there, but how sharp they'll be, how race-ready they'll be, we will have to see. I'm confident some will step up and compete well.

"This meet is a very early one in the indoor season, and it provides a 'start-over' for me to figure out where we are and go from there."

Team Scoring
The 2018 Vanderbilt Invitational is a non-scoring meet.

Teams Competing
Alabama, Auburn, Belmont, Connecticut, Furman, Georgia Tech, Kennesaw State, Maryland, Memphis, Middle Tennessee, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Missouri, Oklahoma, Southeast Missouri, Southern Illinois, SMU, Southern Miss, Tulane, UAB, Vanderbilt, Western Kentucky

What To Watch For

The last time the Tigers competed was Dec. 2, 2017, at the Vanderbilt Opener.
At that Dec. 2 Vanderbilt Opener, two school records were set. Sophomore Cera Chavez ran the women's 60 meters in a school-record time of 7.39 (previous record was 7.50 in 2010). The men's 4x400 relay of Ryan Champlin, Jarred Pasley, Sir Newton Lee and Antuan Andrews set the school record in the event with a time of 3:13.19 (previous record was 3:13.55 in 2016).
Chavez's 60-meters time (7.39) is 20^th nationally. The Tigers men's 4x400 meter relay time is 31^st nationally.
Junior Davon DeMoss' 6.69 time in the men's 60 meters is 12^th in the nation.
Freshman Sir Newton Lee's time in the men's 400 meters (47.70) is 16^th nationally.
Many of the distance runners return to action this weekend after the 2017 cross country campaign. Only one distance performer – Matthew Kamph on the men's squad – ran in the Dec. 2 Vanderbilt Opener.
2017 outdoor All-American Ashley Pryke sees her first action of the indoor season this weekend. Pryke throws in the women's shot put at the Vanderbilt Invitational. Last outdoor season, Pryke placed third in the women's javelin and earned All-America honors.

Up Next
Memphis travels to Birmingham, Ala., for the KMS Invitational Sunday, Jan. 28. The one-day meet is held at the Birmingham Crossplex, the site of the American Athletic Conference Championships in late February.