March 31, 2018
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Vanderbilt distance medley relay quartet of Sara Tsai, Jenn Edobi, Ginger Hutton and Megan Huebner established a new school record Saturday at the Pepsi Florida Relays.
Tsai, Edobi, Hutton and Huebner were clocked in 11:31.65 while finishing fourth overall in the 4,000-meter relay. The foursome combined to break the former team record of 11:34.58 set last year.
The distance medley was the best of three Vanderbilt relay performances Saturday at the Florida Relays. The Commodores’ sprint medley and 4×800-meter relay foursomes earned fifth-place finishes at the University of Florida complex.
Head coach Steve Keith said the new team standard, which came near the end of the last day of competition, capped an excellent weekend for his Commodore squad.
“We can definitely build off these performances as a team moving forward in the outdoor season,” Keith said. “Virtually everybody performed at a high level, from the first race Thursday to the last relay today.
“I’m particularly proud of the relays today because I thought our girls responded really well to the challenge. We asked a couple of them to contribute legs on multiple relays and they performed exactly as we hoped,” the coach added.
Tsai put the record-breaking relay unit in excellent position with an opening 1,200-meter leg of 3:32. Edobi followed Tsai with a 53-second 400-meter split. As the third runner, Hutton ran the 800-meter leg in 2:12.9, then handed the baton to Huebner, who ran the final 1,600 meters in 3:52.
A second Vanderbilt unit competing in the distance medley relay, consisting of Anna Grace Morgan, Regan Clay, Kendall Derry and Mailin Struck, finished behind their record-breaking teammates in 11:56.72.
The 4×800-meter foursome of Derry, Reagan Bustamante, Maddie Criscione and Hutton finished with a fifth-place result. They missed a top-five all-time team mark by less than a second with a time of 8:51.03.
The sprint medley unit of Sophia Falco, Clay, Edobi and Bustamante also earned a fifth-place finish with a clocking of 3:57.76.
Kristen Denk paced three Commodore pole vaulters, earning a seventh-place finish with a clearance of 12-11.50 (3.95 meters). Margaret Ollinger and Caleigh Lofstead both cleared 12-5.50 (3.80m).
The Commodores will return to competition April 6-7 for the Spec Towns Invitational in Athens, Ga.
Florida Relay results (Saturday)
Distance medley relay – 4. Vanderbilt (Sara Tsai, Jenn Edobi, Ginger Hutton, Megan Huebner) 11:31.65. 6. Vanderbilt “B” (Anna Grace Morgan, Regan Clay, Kendall Derry, Mailin Struck) 11:56.72.
Sprint medley relay – 5. Vanderbilt (S. Falco, R. Clay, J. Edobi, Reagan Bustamante) 3:57.76.
4×800-meter relay – 5. Vanderbilt (K. Derry, R. Bustamante, Maddie Criscione, G. Hutton) 8:51.03.
Pole vault – 7. Kristen Denk 12-11.50 (3.95m). 10. Margaret Ollinger 12-5.50 (3.80m). 13. Caleigh Lofstead 12-5.50 (3.80m).
