May 12, 2017
Vanderbilt was led by a pair of pole vaulters on day two of the SEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Senior Sarah Bell and Caleigh Lofstead both cleared the bar at 13-2.25 to finish in the top eight and earn the first team points of the meet for the Commodores. Bell tied for fifth to give Vanderbilt three and a half points, while Lofstead placed seventh, which was good for an additional two points.
Senior Sarah Goodale picked up where she left off with another impressive showing in day two of the heptathlon. Goodale shattered her old personal-best mark in the long jump with a leap of 18-9.25 and also finished second among the entire 800-meter run field with a time of 2:17.02. She finished her Vanderbilt career with a lifetime-best total of 5,337 points, which placed ninth overall and was just 19 points shy of grabbing eighth.
Freshman Reagan Bustamante, who has already qualified for the 800-meter finals, nearly qualified for the 1500-meter run finals as well on Friday evening. Bustamante ran a time of 4:30.77, which would turn out to be the fastest non-qualifying time in the field. Florida’s Amber Johnson ran a time of 4:29.57, which took the final qualifying wild card spot. Freshman Kendall Derry was the next fastest Commodore runner in the 1500-meter field. Derry ran a new personal-best time of 4:33.73 and took 17th place. Maddie Criscione (4:37.68), Ginger Hutton (4:38.66) and Courtney Kriegshauser (4:44.89) also competed in the 1500-meter run.
Junior Jenn Edobi was the top Commodore finisher in the 400-meter dash with a time of 53.61, which was good for 14th place. Freshman Becca Schulte earned a personal-best time of 55.95 and finished 28th in her first SEC Championship competition.
There will be six Commodore athletes competing in two different individual finals during tomorrow’s finale of the SEC Track & Field Championships. Bustamante and Senior Courtney Clayton will both be competing in the 800-meter run finals at 4:05 p.m. (CT). Clayton ran the fastest time of all competitors during the prelims on Thursday. Vanderbilt will also have Carmen Carlos, Devon Grisbaum, Megan Huebner and Mailin Struck racing at 5:15 p.m. in the 5000-meter run. Vanderbilt will also compete in the 4×400-meter relay.
Tomorrow’s portion of the meet will be streamed live on SEC Network+ beginning at 2:10 p.m. (CT). The link to the broadcast can be found HERE.
Follow Vanderbilt track & field on twitter @vandyxctrack for updates throughout the meet.
