TF2K22: Cold Days in Knoxville

Last weekend we survived a cold day in Cincinnati, Ohio at the Oliver Nikoloff Invitational. This past weekend it was even colder and wet at times at the Tennessee Relays. Temperatures dropped under 40 on Saturday, while on Friday, it ranged between the low 40s to low 50s. Many athletes gritted their way through the unusual conditions for Knoxville during this time of the year, but there were some that decided to pull out and compete another day. With all that being said, here are some of our favorite moments from the chiller which was known as the Tennessee Relays.

Cincinnati's Faith Banks continued her strong start for the outdoor season. The senior sprinter has won in five of six races during the outdoor portion and has not yet lost an open race. At the Tennessee Relays she ran a personal best 11.51 against a -4.5 headwind. In the 200 meters she won with a time of 23.73 which would have been considered her personal best but she ran that with a tailwind of 4.9.

In the 200, Banks finished ahead of Courtney Williams of Clemson and Minnesota's Odell Frye who finished second and third respectively at 23.84 and 23.97.

Banks' teammates shined as well as Alicia Thorpe won the 400 meters at 55.80, All-American Ellie Leather won the 5,000 meters at 16.23.43 and freshman Nadia Collins won her second straight long jump competition at 6.10 meters.

Cincinnati All-American sprinter Caisja Chandler participated in a couple of invitational races as she placed second in the 100 meters and 200 meters to Minnesota's Amira Young. Young finished the 100 meters at 11.35, ahead of Chandler's 11.47 finish. Olympian Joella Lloyd of Tennessee ran a third place time of 11.48.

The 200 meters invitational was a tighter race as Young held off a late surge from Chandler with both runners finishing the race at 23.76 and 23.78 respectively.

Tennessee's Nicole Sreenan won her first open outdoor race since transferring to her new school. She was an NCAA Division II national champion in the 400 meters during the indoor and outdoor seasons in 2021. Sreenan won the invitational portion of the 400 meters at 54.82. She was the only competitor of six to finish the race under 55 seconds.

Tennessee also got wins from Sydney Seymour in the 1,500 meter run at 4:21.37 and All-American Latavia Maines, who won the shot put invitational section with a throw of 17.18.

Melanie Winters competed unattached and scored a win in the heptathlon. The 2016 NCAA Division III champ in the 200 meters, 100-meter hurdles and long jump continued to show off her versatility as she scored 5,653 points. Winters collected personal records in the shot put in 11.61, 200 meters at 23.91 and 800 meters at 23:09, during her victory. Notre Dame's Alaina Brady was second at 5,573 points and Ball State's Charity Griffith was third at 5,455.

A Look Around the NCAA

UTEP's Maribel Caicedo won the 100-meter hurdles at 13.21 at the Sun Angel Classic in Tempe Arizona. She finished ahead of Arizona State's Kiera Christi-Gallow (13.34) and Iowa State's Kaylyn Hall (13.39) who rounded out the top three in the final. Caicedo is the back-to-back champion in the 60-meter hurdles at the Conference USA indoor championships.

Nissi Kabongo won the high jump at the Carl Knight Invitational & Multis meet, hosted by her school Stephen F. Austin. Sakari Famous of McNeese State shared the victory with Kabongo as the two jumped 1.82. Kabongo is an All-American who is the defending outdoor champ in the high jump at the Southland Conference. Famous, who transferred from Georgia, won the Southland Conference indoor championship, this year.