NASHVILLE, Tenn. —Vanderbilt track and field will divide and conquer this weekend as it splits to compete in the Virginia Challenge, Indiana Invitational and LSU Alumni Gold meets. The Commodores will look to build on their performance at last week’s Mt. SAC Relays, where several athletes improved their personal best marks and standings in the program and SEC rankings.
Virginia Challenge
The distance Dores will represent Vanderbilt at the Virginia Challenge in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Friday.
Two weeks ago, at the Joe Walker Invitational in Oxford, Mississippi, multiple Dores recorded personal bests. Competing in the event for the first time, Audrey Allman earned a third-place finish in the open division of the 1,500 meters with a time of 4:27.11. Four other Commodores, Emma Curry (4:28.34), Cameron Fawcett (4:29.49), Ella Lambert (4:35.81) and Julia Rosenberg (4:28.53), recorded personal-best times in the 1,500 meters.
Allman, Curry, Fawcett, Lambert and Rosenberg are scheduled to compete in the 1,500 meters at the Virginia Challenge, along with Haley Walker.
Gigi Clifford will close out Friday’s competition with the 5,000 meters, which will begin at 9:35 p.m. CT.
Indiana Invitational
Vanderbilt’s throwers, as well as members of the men’s cross country team will compete in the Indiana Invitational in Bloomington on Friday and Saturday.
Giavonna Meeks is scheduled to compete in the hammer throw, shot put and discus. She reset the school record in the hammer throw two weeks ago at the Joe Walker Invitational with a 52.51-meter toss. She also ranks fifth in the discus (45.60 meters) and sixth in the shot put (13.88 meters) on the school’s all-time performer lists.
Veronica Fraley, Vanderbilt’s school record holder in the discus (60.24 meters), will compete in that event, as well as in the shot put in Bloomington. She has won three consecutive discus competitions this season and is ranked first in the SEC and third in the NCAA in the event. Fraley is also fourth in school history in the shot put (15.18 meters).
Sarah Marvin will compete in the discus and the shot put this weekend. She is third in school history in the shot put (15.55 meters) and ranked second among freshmen and 12th overall in the SEC. Marvin finished fourth overall in the shot put at the Joe Walker Invitational.
On the men’s side, Max Beck, Phillip Metcalf and Mathew Ragsdale will run in the 3,000-meter race on Friday. Dylan Ballard, Ragsdale and David Song are scheduled to compete in the 1,500 meters. Ballard finished second overall in the 1,500 meters with a time of 3:53.23 at the Joe Walker Invitational.
LSU Alumni Gold
The Commodores’ sprinters, jumpers and hurdlers will travel to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to compete in the LSU Alumni Gold meet on Saturday.
At last weekend’s Mt. SAC Relays, Mya Georgiadis competed in the 400-meter hurdles, finishing third overall in the open division with a personal-best time of 58.99 seconds. She will compete in the 100-meter hurdles at this weekend’s LSU Alumni Gold meet, along with Santana Spearman, who is ninth in program history in the event (13.99 seconds).
Kaira Brown also competed for the Commodores at the Mt. SAC Relays, finishing with a time of 56.09 seconds in the 400 meters.
At the Joe Walker Invitational, Brooke Overholt claimed third place in the 400 meters with a time of 54.76 seconds, which is No. 7 in school history.
Ella Escobar recorded a personal-best time of 11.98 seconds in the 100 meters in Oxford, finishing in seventh place and tying for eighth in Vanderbilt history.
Jada Sims and Madison Murray finished second and eighth, respectively, in the heptathlon at the Joe Walker Invitational. Sims’ score of 5,319 points is sixth on Vanderbilt’s all-time performer list.
Friday’s events will kick off at 3 p.m. in Bloomington with the hammer throw. The Virginia Challenge will begin for the Commodores at 4:30 p.m. CT with the 1,500 meters.
Fans can follow Vanderbilt women’s track and field on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @VandyXCTrack.
