Commodores shine for home crowd at VU Invite

Jan. 30, 2016

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Event: Vanderbilt Invitational
Day, Date: Jan. 28-29
Host: Vanderbilt
Site: Vanderbilt Multi-Purpose Facility
Final Results: VU Invite Final Results Get Acrobat Reader

Although the Vanderbilt track team has been hit hard by injuries in recent weeks, the Commodores still have plenty of stars on the roster.

That was evident this weekend when Simone Charley, Sarah Bell, Katherine Delaney and Jennifer Edobi all delivered strong performances on their home track during the Vanderbilt Invitational.

The foursome combined to produce two first-place finishes, one school record and three marks that rank among the top-5 on VU’s all-time list. The highlights included:

l Charley, the All-American triple jumper, won her event with a leap of 42.6 (12.95m) while competing in her second meet of the season;
l Bell broke her own school record in the pole vault with a mark of 13-8.50 (4.18m), surpassing her previous best of 13-6.25;
l Delaney ran to a first-place finish in the 800 with a personal-best time of 2:08.9, which ranks as the No. 5 time on VU’s all-time performance list;
l Edobi took second in the 400 with a time of 54.33 on Saturday after setting the No. 3 mark on Vanderbilt’s all-time list in the 200 on Friday with a time of 24.74.

“It was a good meet and a great effort by our team,” said head coach Steve Keith. “We were happy to have a meet of this quality at this point in the season.”

On the men’s side, Vanderbilt’s Nikolaos Gkotsis set a new school record in the 3k with a time of 8:35.21.

Aside from the outstanding performances by the Commodores, there were plenty of outstanding showings by the visitors, too, with records falling throughout the weekend.

“We continue to world-leading and close to world-leading marks in this facility,” said Keith. “There were nine facility records set this weekend. Our facility is really getting a name for itself, and we are happy to provide that.”

Other highlights for Vanderbilt on Saturday included Sara Barron finishing fourth in the 800 with a time of 2:10.09. Maddie Criscione and Ginger Hutton also earned Top-10 finishes in the 800, with Criscione taking ninth at 2:12.07 and Hutton taking 10th at 2:13.47.

Lydia Witty was 13th in the 800 at 2:14.16 and Reagan Anderson was 20th at 2:17.08.

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Vanderbilt’s Megan McCabe took sixth in the pole vault at 12-5.25 (3.79m) and Sara Tsai finished 14th in her season debut with a time of 4:58.04.

On the men’s side, Vanderbilt had nine runners in the 3k. In addition to Gkotsis’ eighth-place finish, the Commodores had four others in the Top-15: Jake Van Geffen was 10th at 8:44.87, Nick French was 12th at 8:46.75 and Jason Vincze was 15th at 8:53.10.

On Friday night, Vanderbilt’s Ashlyn Hare finished 11th with a leap of 5-5.25 (1.66m).

The Commodores head to New York next week for the Armory Collegiate Invitational.

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VANDERBILT RESULTS
Saturday
Pole Vault
3 – Sarah Bell – 13-8.50 (4.18m)
6 – Megan McCabe – 12-5.25 (3.79m)
Triple Jump
1 – SImone Charley – 42.6 (12.95m)
Mile Run
14 – Sar Tsai – 4:58.04
400
2 – Jennifer Edobi – 54.33
800
1 – Katherine Delaney – 2:08.90
4 – Sara Barron – 2:10.09
9 – Maddie Criscione – 2:12.07
10 – Ginger Hutton – 2:13.47
13 – Lydia Witty – 2:14.16
20 – Reagan Anderson – 2:17.08
3K (men)
8 – Nikolaos Gkotsis – 8:35.21
10 – Jake Van Geffen – 8:44.87
12 – Nick French – 8:46.75
15 – Jason Vincze – 8:53.10
21 – Daniel Arthur – 9:02.45
27 – Sam DeFabrizio – 9:12.49
28 – Evan Suzman – 9:14.23
29 – Caleb Casolaro – 9:18.79
31 – Waqqas Fazili – 9:32.21

FRIDAY
200 meters
11 – Jennifer Edobi — 24.74
High Jump
11 – Ashlyn Hare – 5-5.25 (1.66m)

KEITH: YOUTUBE