Diane Slinden is traveling in faster company this week in returning to the NCAA outdoor track and field championships.
Tennessee's senior discus thrower is accompanied by members of a Lady Vols team that has jumped seven spots to No. 14 in this week's Trackwire top-25 poll.
UT's Kameisha Bennett and Nicole Cook are among the top five qualifiers in the 800 meters. The 4x400 relay, which finished second at the SEC meet, is ranked sixth nationally.
Relay alternate Christina Billings brings the Lady Vols traveling party to six. It's the largest group since 1999.
Slinden is making her fourth trip to the NCAA meet. The last visit could be the best - for both her and a team that has scored just two points the past two years.
"I'm very excited about this program," Slinden said. "I'm excited to see us building back up to where we should be."
The Lady Vols begin their competition tonight in the 800 preliminaries at LSU's Bernie Moore Track Stadium.
The relay prelims are Thursday. The discus competition is Friday.
Slinden, a discus All-American last season with a seventh-place finish, won the SEC title earlier this month with a throw of 180 feet, one inch. The throw ranks sixth nationally.
Slinden's SEC victory was big, considering she was the top competitor going into last year's meet and finished fifth.
"It really was something I had to prove to everybody that I could do," she said.
Although she's the most experienced Lady Vol competitor, Slinden had to get hurt this season before discovering how to peak at the right time.
Slinden has been enduring back problems. The condition has cut into her workouts and perhaps allowed her to be fresher for the season's finish.
"I think I have basically relaxed and trusted myself," she said. "I've definitely used my maturity to my advantage."
Her teammates do not have the same advantage. Bennett is a junior and an indoor All-American. But she is making her first NCAA outdoor appearance. Cook and the other members of the 4 x 400 relay - Antoinette Gorham and Dee Dee Trotter - are freshmen.
These runners all have each other, however. Bennett and Cook have been each other's best advantage.
"Two years before, I didn't have anyone to train with," Bennett said. "This year I have someone to train with on days I don't feel like pushing it."
Said Cook: "If I was competing by myself, I probably wouldn't be able to run as fast."
Lately, both runners have been very fast. Cook lunged across the finish line to win the 800 at the SEC meet in a career-best time of 2 minutes, 4.40 seconds. She became the first Lady Vol since 1992 to win a running event at the SEC outdoor meet and the first Lady Vol freshman to win the 800 since Joetta Clark in 1981.
Bennett, who suffered from dehydration at the SEC meet, came back to qualify for the NCAAs with a career-best time of 2:04.10 at the Georgia Tech Invitational.
Bennett's time ranks third among the NCAA qualifiers, Cook's fifth.
"I didn't think it would happen this fast," Cook said. "But it has happened."
Slinden will encourage Cook and the rest of her teammates to make something happen this week.
"Go out there with a vengeance," Slinden said of the senior advice she will offer. "Run your race and let everyone go, 'Oh my gosh, who is that?'?"
