Jan. 16, 2015
COMMODORE INVITATIONAL
Live Results: HERE l Schedule: HERE l Heat Sheets: HERE
Competing for the first time in 2015 — and debuting the new additions to their indoor facility — the Vanderbilt track team hosted the opening day of the two-day Commodore Invitational on Friday night.
Several of Vanderbilt’s in-state rivals are participating in the meet, along with a solid collection of schools from around the country.
The Invitational, which resumes on Saturday at 11 a.m., is the first action for the Commodores since returning from the Christmas break.
“This is a classic bust-the-rust situation for our team,” said head coach Steve Keith. “Right now, it’s all about developing a rhythm and finding a form — and those things only come when you have a couple of meets under your belt. So that’s what we are striving for.”
Ellie Tidman finished second in the high jump (5-05.25) and Sarah Goodale took sixth (5-01.25) for the Commodores, who will have a large group of athletes in action during Saturday’s full-slate of events.
“We are really using this weekend’s meet to get into the routine of competing,” said Vanderbilt’s Tierney Price. “We’re focused on the meets at the end of the season, and we are using these (early-season) meets as training for what’s ahead.”
Keith said Friday’s action — which featured a third-place finish by Vanderbilt’s 4×800 relay team (9:04.70) — was another great opportunity to introduce the Commodores’ indoor facility to a host of first-time visitors.
“It’s a great facility, and everyone that comes here seems to love it,” said Keith. “We keep upgrading each year, and we are excited about getting to host meets like this one and the bigger ones ahead.”
Price said that the scheduling of this weekend’s meet was ideal, as it allowed the Commodores to get back in routine of balancing their academic responsibilities while also maintaining their competitive fire.
“It was nice to have a couple of weeks of classes (after the Christmas break) before having this meet,” she said. “We all worked out on our own during the break, but that’s still not the same as having your coaches and teammates working with you. So it was great to have a couple of weeks of preparation before competing this weekend. And for our first two meets after the break to both be at home, that’s big for us, too.”
