Jan. 21, 2016
Event: Conference Clash: Power Five Invitational
Day, Date: Jan. 22-23
Host: Auburn and Tennessee
Site: Birmingham Crossplex (Birmingham, Ala.)
Start List:CC Heat Sheet 
Live Scoring: HERE
After a very impressive showing at last weekend’s Commodore Invitational, the Vanderbilt track team hits the road this weekend, traveling to Birmingham for the Conference Clash. The two-day event is being hosted by Auburn and Tennessee at the Birmingham Crossplex — the home of this season’s NCAA Indoor Championships — and the Commodores will be one of eight teams from the SEC competing against seven schools from the other Power 5 conferences. Vanderbilt is operating with a thinned-down roster — Tierney Price, Courtney Clayton and Sarah Goodale are dealing with injuries — but the Commodores still enjoyed a huge performance at last weekend’s Commodore Invitational, when they produced one school record, nine personal bests and eight times/distances that ranked among the Top-10 on VU’s all-time performer’s list. Here’s a closer look at this weekend’d meet:
l Stiff challenge: The Conference Clash will feature an extremely competitive field, as eight teams from the SEC will be matched up against seven teams from the other Power Five conferences: the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac 12. Along with Vanderbilt, the other teams representing the SEC will be: Auburn, Alabama LSU, Miss. State, Ole Miss, South Carolina and Tennessee. Representing the other Power 5 conferences will be Arizona, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Ohio State, Purdue, USC and Texas. The format for this weekend will be dual-meet scoring.
l Scheduled to compete for Vanderbilt: This weekend’s meet is scheduled to feature the season debut of All-American triple-jumper Simone Charley, who is slated to compete on Friday at 3 p.m. The Commodores will have representatives in a total of 10 events, including a handful of freshmen who will be experiencing the first road test of their college careers. See the schedule below for the full list of VU athletes who will be in action this weekend.
l Quoting the coach: Vanderbilt head coach Steve Keith discusses this weekend’s meet:
On what his team can gain from this weekend’s meet. This is a very high level meet early in the season, and it will allow us to continue to assess our progress. Also, being on the road for the first time this year will be good for the team to travel and compete together — and competing on the NCAA Indoor Championship facility will be beneficial experience.
On his team’s preparation. Training has gone well but we are still keeping a pretty high volume as we prepare for our championship meets in February and March.
l Most recent meet for VU: Returning to action for the first time since early December, the Commodores delivered an impressive performance while hosting the Commodore Invitational. During the weekend, Vanderbilt compiled one school record, nine personal bests and eight times/distances that ranked among the Top-10 on VU’s all-time list. Vanderbilt’s 4×800 relay team of Katherine Delaney, Sara Barron, Reagan Anderson and Maddie Criscione posted a school-record time of 8:59.05 on Friday night. Senior Vanessa Valentine posted a new personal record and captured first place in the mile at 4:49.98, which ranks ninth on Vanderbilt’s all-time performer’s list. Three of Valentine’s teammates joined her in the Top-5: Carmen Carlos took second at 4:51.23, Lily Williams was fourth at 4:52.56 and Courtney Kriegshauser was fifth at 4:56.29. In the pole vault, Sarah Bell took second at 13-9.25 and Megan McCabe was fifth with a lifetime PR of 12-9.50. McCabe’s mark moved her up to No. 3 on VU’s all-time list. Katherine Delaney finished third in the 800 with a time of 2:10.41 to record a new PR and set the eighth-best time on VU’s all-time list. Jennifer Edobi posted a time of 24.88 in the 200 to move into a tie for third on Vanderbilt’s all-time list.
THIS WEEKEND’S SCHEDULE
Friday, Jan. 22
2 pm Men’s High Jump
3 pm Men’s Weight Throw
Men’s Triple Jump
Women’s Triple Jump (VU: Simone Charley)
Women’s Pole Vault (VU: Sarah Bell, Megan McCabe)
5 pm Women’s Weight Throw
5:15 pm Men’s 60m Prelims
5:30 pm Women’s 60 Hurdle Prelims (VU: Erin Hardnett)
5:50 pm Men’s 60 Hurdle Prelims
6:05 pm Women’s 5000m (VU: Courtney Kriegshauser)
6:25 pm Men’s 5000m
6:45 pm Women’s 200m Prelims (VU: Jennifer Edobi, Erin Hardnett, Lydia Witty)
7:15 pm Men’s 200m Prelims
7:40 pm Women’s DMR
7:55 pm Men’s DMR
Saturday, January 23
11 am Men’s Pole Vault
Women’s Long Jump
Men’s Long Jump
11 am Women’s Shot Put
1:30 pm Men’s Shot Put
1:40 pm Women’s High Jump (VU: Ashlyn Hare)
Noon Women’s 60 Hurdle Final
12:04 pm Men’s 60 Hurdle Final
12:08 pm Women’s 60m Final
12:11 pm Men’s 60m Final
12:21 pm Women’s Mile (VU: Sara Barron, Maddie Criscione, Katherine Delaney)
12:40 pm Men’s Mile
1 pm Women’s 400m (VU: Jennifer Edobi, Erin Hardnett, Lydia Witty)
1:35 pm Men’s 400m
2 pm Women’s 800m (VU: Reagan Anderson, Ginger Hutton)
2:15 pm Men’s 800m
2:30 pm Women’s 200m Final
2:35 pm Men’s 200m Final
2:40 pm Women’s 3000m (VU; Carmen Carlos, Devon Grisbaum, Megan Huebner, Vanessa Valentine, Lily WIlliams)
3:20 pm Men’s 3000m
3:45 pm Women’s 4x400m
4:05 pm Men’s 4x400m
