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AUBURN, Ala. - Jangy Addy said knowing 8,000 points was within reach didn't make the 1,500-meter run any longer.

Addy became the sixth active Tennessee Vol to score 8,000 points in the decathlon and defended his conference title at the SEC Outdoor Championship at Auburn's Hutsell-Rosen Track. Addy's total of 8,010 points came one day after former Tennessee standout Chris Helwick scored 8,017 at a meet in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Freshman Michael Ayers finished third in the decathlon with 7,360 points to help the Vols score 16 team points in the event. Tennessee, defending conference outdoor champion, finished the first full day in third place with

18 points.

Auburn led the men's race with 21 points, and Arkansas was second with 19.

The Lady Vols had 8 points after the first full day of competition and trail first-place Florida, which has 26. Kentucky is second with 18 and there are three teams tied for third with 15.

Addy knew he needed to run about 5 minutes, 5 seconds in the 1,500-meter run to break 8,000. He finished in 5:02.34.

"I was just trying to help the team and get those points," Addy said. "We need them to compete for the SEC championship. We need all the points we can get."

Addy has struggled with injuries throughout his career, and UT Coach Bill Webb joked that he wished he had a dime for every hour Addy has spent in the training room. But Addy has benefited from the extra time in the training room and careful handling by Webb.

Webb pulled Addy after a couple of attempts in several events to preserve his star.

"This is the result when he's relatively healthy," Webb said. "He's a terrific athlete. He has more in him. That's a score people will certainly take notice of.

"This was an 8,000 without the pedal to the metal. We want to go pedal to the metal at NCAA."

Addy said Helwick sent him a text message Friday morning to encourage him to finish the decathlon strong. Addy said he didn't have any specific motivation to score 8,000 points.

"Helwick and I both knew we had the potential to get 8,000," Addy said. "It's crazy we got 8,000 on back-to-back days."

The Lady Vols got all eight of their points from Shanna Dickenson's second-place finish in the hammer throw. It was the best finish in the event in school history.

"That was a solid performance for her," Lady Vols Coach J. J. Clark said. "she had the ability to win, but we're happy."

Former walk-on Phoebe Wright advanced to the 800 finals with the best preliminary time of 2:05.77, but Tennessee only advanced one of three 200 runners to Sunday's final.

"Phoebe Wright looked excellent," Clark said. "Hopefully, she'll come back and do it again. The sprinters struggled. We wanted to get them all through."

The Lady Vols have a full schedule of preliminaries today before Sunday's finals.

"I'm just trying to get points on the board and advance as many people as we can," Clark said. "We have to have a better day (today)."

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.