Lady Vols track ranked third in preseason poll

With 16 returning letterwinners, seven of them All-Americans, from a squad that finished third at the 2007 NCAA Indoor Championship meet, the University of Tennessee women have been picked to finish third in the Preseason United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Indoor Track & Field Poll that was released Thursday.

The Lady Vols, who won an NCAA Indoor title in 2005 and finished third a year ago and fourth in 2004, are among seven Southeastern Conference schools appearing in the season’s first poll. LSU, which was the runner-up indoors last season, got the favorite’s nod over 2007 champion Arizona State. Joining LSU and UT in the poll from the SEC ranks are No. 6 South Carolina, No. 9 Arkansas, No. 13 Florida, No. 17 Mississippi and No. 23 Georgia.

The USTFCCCA Division I indoor track and field rankings are compiled solely from NCAA descending order lists. The preseason rankings are based on the final descending order list of the previous season and are compiled by Tom Lewis of Missouri.

Tennessee returns All-Americans in senior sprinters Courtney Champion (Lawrenceville, Ga.), LaTonya Loche (Bastrop, La.) and Cleo Tyson (Huntsville, Texas), senior hurdler Celriece Law (Denver, Colo.), senior thrower Shanna Dickenson (Cincinnati, Ohio), junior middle distance runner Sarah Bowman (Warrenton, Va.) and sophomore sprinter Lynne Layne (New Rochelle, N.Y.).

The Lady Vols open their indoor campaign, and defense of their 2007 SEC Indoor Championship trophy, on Jan. 11 and 12 in Lexington, Ky., as they compete in the Kentucky Invitational at Nutter Field House.