MORE COVERAGE TO COME: In addition to the recap below, there will be more coverage of Thursday’s meet on Friday, including a photo gallery from the action and video interviews with head coach Steve Keith and junior Skyler Carpenter.
By David Dawson
Competing in their first meet of the season, the Vanderbilt women’s track team developed a rhythm at the Music City Invitational. And they did so at an upbeat tempo.
Led by outstanding performances from freshman Jennifer Edobi, junior Skyler Carpenter, senior Janetra Gleaves and several others, the Commodores delivered an impressive performance at their home facility despite operating with a roster that was thinned by injuries and illness.
Edobi, making her Commodore debut, provided one of the night’s biggest highlight’s by winning the 400 with a time of 54.00, which ranks as the second-best mark on Vanderbilt’s all-time performers list. Erin Edmond finished directly behind Edobi in second place with a time of 55.23. It was a new PR for Edmond, and represented the third-best mark on VU’s all-time list.
Carpenter added another one of the Invitational’s most memorable moments when she blasted to a victory in the 600 with a career-best time of 1:31.72. The time moved Carpenter up to No. 2 on VU’s all-time list in that event.
Also shining for Vanderbilt were Tierney Price and Gleaves, who each had strong showings in multiple events. Gleaves took second in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.64, and finished fourth in the 200 with a time of 25.69. Gleaves’ time in the 60m hurdles was a career best and represented the third-best mark on the VU all-time performers list.
Price, meanwhile, finished third in the triple jump with a mark of 39-6 — which ranks No. 3 on VU’s all-time list — and took 12th in the 200 at 26.48.
The Commodores, as expected, had an impressive showing in the pole vault. Sophomore Sarah Bell, who is coming off a record-setting freshman season, cleared 12-9.50 to take second place, and Vanderbilt teammates Katie Wells and Megan McCabe tied for ninth by clearing 10-4.0. McCabe, a freshman, notched the 10th-best mark on VU’s all-time list. (Watts ranks 8th on the list with a mark of 10-11.75 that she set last season).
Sarah Goodale, one of the most versatile athletes on the roster, finished 15th in the 200 (at 26.53) and was 17th in the 60m hurdles (9.13).
Thursday’s meet was the final competition of 2014 for the Commodores. The team’s next meet is Jan. 16-17, when Vanderbilt hosts the Commodore Invitational.
