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Along came the Law ... and the Law won

Lady Vols hurdler joins elite company at relays

Every day when it's time for practice, Celriece Law sees their names on the wall: Benita Fitzgerald and LaVonna Martin.

Lady Vol record-holders. Lady Vol NCAA champions. Lady Vol Olympic medal-winners.

Friday, Law joined Fitzgerald and Martin in at least one small circle: Sea Ray Relays winners.

Law, a junior from Denver, became the first Lady Vol since Martin in 1988 to win the 100-meter hurdles at the Sea Ray Relays.

Since Sea Ray started in 1970, only Fitzgerald, Martin and now Law have nailed victories in the event for Tennessee.

"This is great company,'' Law said Friday at Tom Black Track. "Benita Fitzgerald and LaVonna Martin are people I've been looking up to since I can remember.

"I was born in '86 and every time I go through the locker room at look our board and see their records, I'm just like, 'Man, I want to be with them.'

"That's all I'm striving for.''

Fitzgerald and Martin are the hurdles royalty for UT's women. Between them they won seven NCAA titles and 28 All-America certificates.

They account for two of the three Olympic medals won by Lady Vols. Fitzgerald won gold in 1984, Martin silver in 1992.

Law, a three-time All-American, claimed her first Sea Ray title with a 13.24 clocking.

She's working with a new coach this year, Pauline Davis-Thompson, who joined the staff on a volunteer basis. The former Alabama star and Bahamian Olympian commutes from Atlanta, where she works for the government of the Bahamas.

"We don't get to spend as much time as we would like or as much as she would like,'' Law said. "But obviously, we're getting in there and getting the job done.''

Davis-Thompson won two Olympic medals for the Bahamas. One was a gold in the 4x100 relay.

The other was a silver that may become gold. Davis-Thompson finished second behind Marion Jones in the 200 meters in the 2000 games in Sydney.

Jones has forfeited all medals from Sydney after confessing to using performance-enhancing steroids. The International Olympic Committee will likely move finishers up one notch in the events in which Jones medaled.

In other events Friday:

n Tennessee ruled the men's 110 hurdles with a 1-2 finish by freshman Charlton Rolle and sophomore De'Lon Isom. It was the eighth consecutive year a Vol or ex-Vol had won the event.

n The gusty wind produced eye-catching times in the men's 100 meters. UT's Rubin Williams won in 9.96, invalid for record purposes because the wind measured 7.7 meters per second, nearly four times the legal limit.

Two women's meet and track records fell Friday.

Amber Campbell's hammer throw of 224 feet, 8 inches extended the women's Sea Ray and Tom Black Track standard by 14 inches.

Erin Asay from San Diego cleared 14-3.25 in the pole vault, bettering the old mark by four inches.

The women's 400 saw a 1-2 finish from Mary Wineburg and Dee Dee Trotter, teammates on the USA gold-medal 1,600 relay at the World Championships last summer.

Notebook: Tennessee's Janea Grimes, a transfer from Maryland, is the daughter of Jason Grimes, the school outdoor record-holder in the long jump. … Paul Babits, 47, competed in his 30th Sea Ray pole vault. He won in 1989 and '90. ... The meet was halted at 5:10 p.m. due to threatening weather. The schedule will be resumed this morning.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.

       4 Comments

Posted by copan07 on April 12, 2008 at 9:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)

From the title of the article I was sure this had to be about the football team.

Posted by KingsportVol on April 12, 2008 at 10:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)

lol copan07 I was thinking the same.

Posted by TommyJack on April 12, 2008 at 12:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I thought it was the dreaded burned out license plate tag lite....a grevious violation of public safety laws.

Posted by wewhite on April 12, 2008 at 12:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Me, too, copan07! I was thinking, "I wonder if it's a starter or a benchwarmer?"

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