Tennessee Volunteers women's track and field
# Tennessee Volunteers women's track and field

The Tennessee Volunteers women's track and field program represents the University of Tennessee in the sport of track and field. The indoor and outdoor programs compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Lady Vols host their home outdoor meets at the newly renovated Tom Black Track at LaPorte Stadium, located on the university's Knoxville, Tennessee campus. They formally held meets indoors at Stokely Athletic Center until the arenas demolition in 2012, but will soon have a new indoor track facility sometime in the 2020s. The team is led by current head coach Duane Ross who took over the program after the firing of Beth Alford-Sullivan in May 2022.

Along with all other UT women's sports teams, it used the nickname "Lady Volunteers" (or the short form "Lady Vols") until the 2015–16 school year, when the school dropped the "Lady" prefix from the nicknames of all women's teams except in basketball. In 2017 the university announced the return of the “Lady Volunteer” name.

Throughout the program's history, the Lady Vols have produced 23 NCAA Indoor Individual Champions, 14 NCAA Outdoor Individual Champions, won 8 conference titles, and 3 team national championships. While not as successful historically as the Tennessee men's program, the Lady Vols have appeared in 33 NCAA Indoor Championships (4th most in SEC) and 37 Outdoor Championships (3rd most in SEC). Additionally, the program has finished as national runner up 7 times in Indoor Track and 2 times in Outdoor Track, and produced 4 Olympic Medalists.

## Head coaches

Source

| # | Coach | Years | Seasons | National Championships | National Championships | Conference Championships | Conference Championships |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| # | Coach | Years | Seasons | Indoor | Outdoor | Indoor | Outdoor |
| 1 | Terry Crawford | 1974–1984 | 11 | – | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 2 | Gary Schwartz | 1985–1988 | 4 | – | – | – | – |
| 3 | Dorothy Doolittle | 1989–1997 | 9 | – | – | – | – |
| 4 | Myrtle Ferguson | 1998–2002 | 5 | – | – | – | – |
| 6 | J.J. Clark | 2003–2014 | 12 | 2 | – | 3 | – |
| 7 | Beth Alford-Sullivan | 2015-2022 | 8 | – | – | – | – |
| 8 | Duane Ross | 2023- | 0 | – | – | – | – |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 2 | 1 | 4 | 4 |

## Yearly Record

Source

| Season | Coach | NCAA | NCAA | Conference | Conference |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Season | Coach | Indoor | Outdoor | Indoor | Outdoor |
| Independent (AIAW) ||||||
| 1976 | Terry Crawford | – | 4th (AIAW) | – | – |
| 1977 | Terry Crawford | – | 4th (AIAW) | – | – |
| 1978 | Terry Crawford | – | 13th (AIAW) | – | – |
| 1979 | Terry Crawford | – | 3rd (AIAW) | – | – |
| 1980 | Terry Crawford | – | 4th (AIAW) | – | – |
| Southeastern Conference ||||||
| 1981 | Terry Crawford | 2nd (AIAW) | 1st (AIAW) | – | 1st (197) |
| 1982 | Terry Crawford | 2nd (AIAW) | 2nd (126) | – | 1st (214) |
| 1983 | Terry Crawford | 2nd (44) | 4th (87) | – | 1st (223) |
| 1984 | Terry Crawford | 2nd (48) | 2nd (124) | 1st (148.5) | 1st (207) |
| 1985 | Gary Schwartz | 6th (22) | 7th (30) | 3rd (94.5) | 2nd (109) |
| 1986 | Gary Schwartz | 2nd (26) | 4th (36) | 3rd (87.3) | 3rd (87.5) |
| 1987 | Gary Schwartz | 2nd (30) | 4th (33) | 4th (79) | 4th (80) |
| 1988 | Gary Schwartz | 10th (12) | 21st (12) | 3rd (79) | 3rd (84) |
| 1989 | Dorothy Doolittle | T-32nd (2) | 37th (6) | 2nd (100) | 3rd (91) |
| 1990 | Dorothy Doolittle | T-9th (14) | 6th (28) | 3rd (83) | 3rd (106) |
| 1991 | Dorothy Doolittle | T-6th (24) | 5th (33) | 3rd (91) | 3rd (84) |
| 1992 | Dorothy Doolittle | T-13th (12) | T-9th (21) | 4th (69) | 5th (75.5) |
| 1993 | Dorothy Doolittle | – | 18th (25) | 5th (54) | 5th (81) |
| 1994 | Dorothy Doolittle | 11th (17) | 5th (30) | 4th (73.3) | 3rd (125) |
| 1995 | Dorothy Doolittle | 18th (11) | 9th (23) | 4th (64) | 3rd (125) |
| 1996 | Dorothy Doolittle | – | T-49th (3) | 7th (83) | 9th (106) |
| 1997 | Dorothy Doolittle | – | T-18th (14) | T-7th (33) | 7th (64) |
| 1998 | Myrtle Ferguson | T-31st (7) | T-15th (15) | 6th (69) | 7th (5.5) |
| 1999 | Myrtle Ferguson | T-32nd (6) | T-20th (12) | 5th (54) | 6th (81) |
| 2000 | Myrtle Ferguson | – | – | 8th (35) | 6th (71.25) |
| 2001 | Myrtle Ferguson | T-58th (1) | T-60th (2) | 10th (64) | 9th (125) |
| 2002 | Myrtle Ferguson | T-42nd (3) | T-39th (6) | 7th (21) | 6th (52.25) |
| 2003 | J.J. Clark | T-23rd (8) | T-22nd (12) | 9th (25) | 7th (55) |
| 2004 | J.J. Clark | 4th (43) | T-7th (24) | 2nd (99.5) | 6th (78.5) |
| 2005 | J.J. Clark | 1st (46) | 4th (40) | 1st (135.5) | 3rd (108.3) |
| 2006 | J.J. Clark | T-18th (13) | 18th (15) | T-3rd (78.5) | 5th (78) |
| 2007 | J.J. Clark | 3rd (30) | T-27th (9) | 1st (120) | 4th (89) |
| 2008 | J.J. Clark | T-8th (19) | T-13th (21) | 2nd (116) | 4th (85) |
| 2009 | J.J. Clark | 1st (42) | T-10th (21) | 1st (42) | 3rd (106) |
| 2010 | J.J. Clark | 2nd (36) | T-26th (10) | 4th (77) | 7th (62) |
| 2011 | J.J. Clark | T-7th (24) | T-11th (20) | 3rd (78) | 5th (92) |
| 2012 | J.J. Clark | T-48th (3) | T-9th (21) | 4th (68) | 5th (97) |
| 2013 | J.J. Clark | – | – | 8th (29) | 9th (39.5) |
| 2014 | J.J. Clark | – | T-59th (1) | 7th (35) | 10th (28) |
| 2015 | Beth Alford-Sullivan | T-38th (5) | T-56th (3) | 10th (22) | 14th (15) |
| 2016 | Beth Alford-Sullivan | 7th (30) | T-29th (8) | T-4th (77) | 4th (62) |
| 2017 | Beth Alford-Sullivan | – | T-62nd (2) | 12th (14.5) | T-11th (27) |
| 2018 | Beth Alford-Sullivan | T-40th (4) | T-25th (11) | 11th (21) | 4th (78) |
| 2019 | Beth Alford-Sullivan | T-21st (10) | T-66th (1) | 8th (40) | 9th (45.5) |
| 2020 | Beth Alford-Sullivan | – | – | T-8th (43) | – |
| 2021 | Beth Alford-Sullivan | T-40th (3) | T-46th (5) | 9th (32) | 9th (38) |
| 2022 | Beth Alford-Sullivan | 16th (12) | T-62nd (1) | 6th (50) | 9th (34) |
| 2023 | Duane Ross | T-7th (24) | | 3rd (56.33) | 5th (67) |
| Total | Total | 2 | 1 | 4 | 4 |

Note: The 2020 season was canceled after the SEC Indoor Championships due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, the SEC Outdoor and both NCAA Championships were not held.

## NCAA Individual Event Champions

The Lady Vols have claimed 23 NCAA Indoor individual titles, 14 NCAA Outdoor individual crowns, 13 AIAW individual champions, and 3 DGWS wins.

Indoor :

| Year | Name | Event | Time/Mark |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1981 (AIAW) | Delisa Walton | 600m | 1:26.56 |
| 1982 (AIAW) | Delisa Walton | 600y | 1:17.38 |
| 1982 (AIAW) | Benita Fitzgerald | 60y Hurdles | 7.54 |
| 1982 (AIAW) | Rose Hauch | Shot Put | 55-0 |
| 1982 (AIAW) | Joetta Clark | 1000y | 2:26.70 |
| 1983 | Delisa Walton | 600y | 1:20.21 |
| 1983 | Joetta Clark | 800y | 2:06.02 |
| 1983 | Barksdale, Clark, Rattray, Walton | Mile Relay | 2:06.02 |
| 1984 | Cathy Rattray | 500m | 1:10.82 |
| 1984 | Joetta Clark | 1000m | 2:43.85 |
| 1984 | Bolden, Rattray, Barksdale, Oliver | 4x400 Meter Relay | 3:37.04 |
| 1984 | Davidson, Quelch, Harvey, Clark | 4x800 Meter Relay | 8:40.17 |
| 1986 | Ilrey Oliver | 500m | 109.68 |
| 1986 | McLaughlin, Benjamin, Martin, Oliver | 4x400 Meter Relay | 3:34.19 |
| 1987 | LaVonna Martin | 55m Hurdles | 7.57 |
| 1988 | LaVonna Martin | 55m Hurdles | 7.56 |
| 1991 | Wiegand | 3000m | 9:09.83 |
| 1991 | Johnson, Jones, Olkowski, Wiegand | 4x800 Relay | 8:36.32 |
| 2004 | Nicole Cook | 800m | 2:03.27 |
| 2004 | Novak, Trotter, Cook, Hyatt | Distance Medley Relay | 11:06.07 |
| 2005 | Tianna Madison | Long Jump | 6.78m (22-3) |
| 2008 | Sheffey, Jones, Wright, Bowman | Distance Medley Relay | 11:01.97 |
| 2009 | Sarah Bowman | Mile | 4:29.72 |
| 2009 | Wright, Jones, Price, Bowman | Distance Medley Relay | 10:50.98 |
| 2010 | Phoebe Wright | 800m | 2:02.55 |
| 2010 | Wright, Wortham, Price, Sheffey | Distance Medley Relay | 10:58.37 |
| 2011 | Jackie Areson | 5000m | 16:04.16 |
| 2016 | Felicia Brown | 200m | 22.47 |

Outdoor :

| Year | Name | Event | Time/Mark |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1969 (DGWS) | Terry Hull | 220y | 25.4 |
| 1969 (DGWS) | Terry Hull | 440y | 56.4 |
| 1970 (DGWS) | Terry Hull | 880y | 2:09.70 |
| 1977 (AIAW) | Brenda Webb | 5000m | 16:13.90 |
| 1977 (AIAW) | Jane Haist | Discus | 188-5 |
| 1979 (AIAW) | Brenda Webb | 1500m | 4:17.06 |
| 1979 (AIAW) | Brenda Webb | 3000m | 9:15.80 |
| 1980 (AIAW) | Delisa Walton | 800m | 2:04.88 |
| 1981 (AIAW) | Benita Fitzgerald | 100m Hurdles | 13.12 |
| 1981 (AIAW) | Barksdale, Fitzgerald, Rattray, Walton | 4x200m Medley Relay | 1:36.70 |
| 1981 (AIAW) | Barksdale, Clark, Rattray, Walton | 4x400m Relay | 3:31.70 |
| 1982 | Delisa Walton | 800m | 2:05.22 |
| 1982 | Kathy Bryant | 5000m | 16:10.41 |
| 1982 | Benita Fitzgerald | 100m Hurdles | 13.13 |
| 1982 | Barksdale, Clark, Rattray, Walton | 4x400m Relay | 3:28.55 |
| 1983 | Joetta Clark | 800m | 2:02.28 |
| 1983 | Benita Fitzgerald | 100m Hurdles | 12.84 |
| 1984 | Joetta Clark | 800m | 2:02.60 |
| 1986 | Alisa Harvey | 1500m | 4:17.48 |
| 1986 | Benjamin, Oliver, Martin, McLaughlin | 4x400m Relay | 3:29.35 |
| 1987 | LaVonna Martin | 100m Hurdles | 13.05 |
| 1994 | Dedra Davis | Long Jump | 22-5.75 |
| 2004 | DeeDee Trotter | 400m | 50.32 |
| 2005 | Tianna Madison | Long Jump | 21-10.25 |
| 2010 | Pheobe Wright | 800m | 2:01.40 |

## Conference Individual Event Champions

Through the end of the 2022 season, the Lady Vols have won a total of 76 SEC Indoor individual championships, and 111 SEC Outdoor individual titles.

Indoor :

| Event | Titles |
| - | - |
| 55-Meter Hurdles | 2 |
| 60-Meter Hurdles | 2 |
| 55 Meters | 1 |
| 60 Meters | 2 |
| 200 Meters | 2 |
| 300 Yards | 2 |
| 400 Meters | 2 |
| 600 Yards | 1 |
| 800 Meters | 8 |
| 1000 Meters | 4 |
| 1500 Meters | 1 |
| Mile | 5 |
| 3000 Meters | 10 |
| 5000 Meters | 4 |
| 4x400-Meter Relay | 6 |
| 4x800-Meter Relay | 4 |
| Distance Medley Relay | 8 |
| High Jump | 2 |
| Long Jump | 1 |
| Pole Vault | 1 |
| Shot Put | 6 |
| Weight Throw | 1 |
| Pentathlon | 2 |

Outdoor :

| Event | Titles |
| - | - |
| 100-Meter Hurdles | 8 |
| 400-Meter Hurdles | 6 |
| 100 Meters | 6 |
| 200 Meters | 5 |
| 400 Meters | 6 |
| 800 Meters | 11 |
| 1500 Meters | 13 |
| 3000 Meters | 3 |
| 5000 Meters | 8 |
| 10000 Meters | 2 |
| 4x100-Meter Relay | 2 |
| 4x400-Meter Relay | 5 |
| 4x800-Meter Relay | 1 |
| 800-Meter Medley Relay | 1 |
| Long Jump | 4 |
| Pole Vault | 3 |
| Shot Put | 8 |
| Discus | 9 |
| Hammer Throw | 2 |
| Javelin | 2 |
| Heptathlon | 6 |

## Tennessee Lady Volunteer Olympians

Through the 2020 Summer Olympics, 18 current and former Lady Vols have represented 8 different nations in the Olympic Games. They have brought home a total of 8 medals, including 6 gold, 1 silver, and 1 bronze medal.

### Medalists

| Athlete | Country | Olympics | Event | Medal |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Benita Fitzgerald-Brown | United States | 1984 Los Angeles | 100 m hurdles | Gold |
| Tianna Madison | United States | 2012 London | 4x100 m relay | Gold |
| Tianna Madison | United States | 2016 Rio | Long Jump | Gold |
| Tianna Madison | United States | 2016 Rio | 100 m relay | Gold |
| LaVonna Martin | United States | 1992 Barcelona | 100 m hurdles | Silver |
| DeeDee Trotter | United States | 2004 Athens | 4x400 m relay | Gold |
| DeeDee Trotter | United States | 2012 London | 4x400 m relay | Gold |
| DeeDee Trotter | United States | 2012 London | 400 m | Bronze |

### Participants

| Athlete | Country | Olympics |
| - | - | - |
| Missy Alston | United States | 1984 Los Angeles |
| Alice Annum | Ghana | 1964 Tokyo |
| Alice Annum | Ghana | 1968 Mexico City |
| Alice Annum | Ghana | 1972 Munich |
| Sharrieffa Barksdale | United States | 1984 Los Angeles |
| Joetta Clark-Diggs | United States | 1992 Barcelona |
| Joetta Clark-Diggs | United States | 1996 Atlanta |
| Joetta Clark-Diggs | United States | 2000 Sydney |
| Dedra Davis | Bahamas | 1992 Barcelona |
| Kali Davis-White | Jamaica | 2016 Rio de Janeiro |
| Veronica Findlay | Jamaica | 1984 Los Angeles |
| Jane Haist | Canada | 1976 Montreal |
| Joella Lloyd | Antigua and Barbuda | 2020 Tokyo |
| Ilrey Oliver | Jamaica | 1984 Los Angeles |
| Stamatia Scarvelis | Greece | 2020 Tokyo |
| Cathy Rattray-Williams | Jamaica | 1980 Moscow |
| Cathy Rattray-Williams | Jamaica | 1984 Los Angeles |
| Cathy Rattray-Williams | Jamaica | 1988 Seoul |
| Cathy Rattray-Williams | Jamaica | 1992 Barcelona |
| Patricia Walsh | Ireland | 1984 Los Angeles |
| Erica Witter | Canada | 2000 Sydney |
