May 29, 2015
Event: NCAA East Region Preliminaries
Day, Date: Thursday-Saturday, May 28-30
Host: University of North Florida (Jacksonville, Fla.)
Site: Hodges Stadium Track & Field facility
Stadium Capacity: 9,400
Meet Home Page: HERE
Meet Schedule: HERE
Entry Lists: HERE
Live results: HERE
Rebecca Chandler closed out her outstanding career Friday as the Vanderbilt track and field team competed on Day 2 of the NCAA East Regional in Jacksonville, Fla. Chandler, who was one of three Commodores in action, finished 15th in her heat in the Steeplechase. Vanderbilt will have representatives in four more events on Saturday — including All-American Simone Charley — as the meet concludes. The top 12 finishers in each event advance to the upcoming NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon. “Our girls are all putting up a great effort,” said head coach Steve Keith. “This meet is really tough, and it’s harder emotionally than people realize. But the girls are battling hard.” Here’s a look at how Friday unfolded for the Commodores:
BATTLING IT OUT
Vanderbilt ran into some back luck on Friday in the 400-Hurdles, when Faith Washington stumbled on the last hurdle. Washington was primed for a second-place finish in her heat before the late fall. She finished 23rd overall with a time of 1:07.92. Vanderbilt’s Skyler Carpenter took 19th with a time of 59.04 Washington and Carpenter both PR’ed in the event during the preliminaries on Thursday, with Washington posting a time of 56.94 and Carpenter finishing at 58.50. Washington’s time ranked No. 2 on Vanderbilt’s all-time performer’s list, and Carpenter’s time was No. 4 on the list.
Quoting Head Coach Steve Keith: “It was a really tough break for Faith. She was running a great race before the fall. She is a little bruised emotionally, but we think she is fine physically. And she has a chance to come back strong for us (on Saturday in the 4×400). … As for Skyler, she had a really tough lane draw, but she can come back strong, too.”
LEAVING HER MARK
Chandler, the school record holder in the Steeplechase, finished 45th with a time of 10:51.58 on Friday. It was the final career race for Chandler, who left an indelible mark at Vanderbilt. The senior broke her own school record in the Steeplechase earlier this season with a time of 10:21.20, and she also took seventh place at the SEC Championships two weeks ago to score two points for the Commodores. She became the first VU distance runner to score at the conference meet in three consecutive years. Chandler was also a key contributor for the Vanderbilt cross country team that has advanced to the NCAA Championships in each of the past four seasons.
Quoting Head Coach Steve Keith: “We are really proud of her and what she’s meant to our program the past four years. We could not have possibly asked for more than she has given us during her career.”
WHAT’S AHEAD FOR VU
Here’s a look at which Vanderbilt athletes will be in action during the final day of the meet Saturday.
SATURDAY
3 pm: Triple Jump — Simone Charley
5 pm: High Jump — Ellie Tidman
5:30 pm: 1500 — Sara Barron
8:25 pm: 4×400 — Faith Washington, Skyler Carpenter, Courtney Clayton, Erin Edmond
Times listed are Central.
