A trio of Lady Vols advanced to the semifinals in their respective events, and two other former UT standouts were in action Friday in front of a crowd of 20,936 at Hayward Field at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
Former Lady Vol Liz Costello was the first Tennessee product to compete in a final. The 2011 SEC Outdoor 5000m and 10,000m champ wound up 16th in a time of 32:53.31.
In the men's decathlon, former Vol Chris Helwick tallied a score of 3,727 points to end day one in 13th place. Helwick's top finish came in the shot put, where he had a toss of 46 feet, nine inches to place fourth and generate 744 points. He added an eighth-place effort in the high jump, clearing 6-4 to accumulate 740 points. He also had marks of 22-3 in the long jump (762 pts.), 51.97 in the 400m (726 pts.) and 11.49 in the 100m (755 pts.). Day two begins at 12:30 p.m. Eastern time on Saturday.
In the first round of the women's 100 meters, former Lady Vol Tianna Madison set the standard, winning heat one and rocketing to the fastest time in 11.10 seconds. She did so despite having one of the slowest reaction times out of the blocks at .204. Madison, who claimed the bronze medal in the 60m dash at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in March, will run in the semifinals at 6:40 p.m. Eastern time Saturday with a potential final race later at 8:52 p.m. ET.
Former Lady Vol DeeDee Trotter also looked sharp in advancing out of the first round of the women's 400 meters. The two-time Olympian won heat four in a time of 51.64 seconds. That mark was the second fastest of the day, moving her on to Saturday's semifinal round at 8:15 p.m. ET.
Ex-UT standout Phoebe Wright also posted the No. 2 time of the day in her event, cranking out a reading of 2:00.83 in the first round of the women's 800 meters. She'll run in the semifinals on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET. Lady Vol senior Chanelle Price and former UT cross country runner Erica Moore weren't as fortunate, winding up 19th and 21st overall to end their seasons. Price's 2:04.17 readout left her fourth in heat four, while Moore followed her across the line in 2:04.44.
LADY VOLS/FORMER LADY VOLS AT U.S. OLYMPIC TRIALS
Fri., June 22
10,000m Final: 16. Liz Costello*, 32:53.31
100m First Round: Adv. Tianna Madison*, 11.10p (w: 0.5)/1st, ht. 1 (1st)
400m First Round: Adv. DeeDee Trotter*, 51.64p/1st, ht. 4 (2nd)
800m First Round: Adv. Phoebe Wright*, 2:00.83p/2nd, ht. 3 (2nd); DNA - Chanelle Price, 2:04.17p/4th, ht. 4 (19th); DNA - Erica Moore*, 2:04.44p/5th, ht. 4 (21st)
VOLS/FORMER VOLS AT U.S. OLYMPIC TRIALS
Fri., June 22
Decathlon (First Day): 13. Chris Helwick*, 3,727 pts. (18. 100m, 11.49 (w: -0.2), 755 pts; 14. long jump, 22-3/6.78m w: (-0.6), 762 pts.; 4. shot put, 46-9/14.25m, 744 pts.; 8. high jump, 6-4/1.93m; 740 pts.; 17. 400m, 51.97, 726 pts.)
Thurs., June 21
Hammer Throw Final: 7. Garland Porter*, 232-11/71.01m
University of Tennessee