NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt will compete on Friday at the JDL DMR Invitational as a part of an invitational only meet in North Carolina.
“This weekend gives us an opportunity to have our ladies compete fresh against some of the nation’s best in the DMR relay,” said head coach Althea Thomas. “The goal is to compete for a position at the NCAA Championships. We are excited for this opportunity to represent Vanderbilt on this stage and look forward to the outcome.”
The Commodores will race at 6:20 p.m. in the Distance Medley Relay. Vandy will be represented by Grace Jensen, Taiya Shelby, Kaira Brown, and Caroline Eck.
Vanderbilt is coming off its final home indoor meet, the Music City Challenge. The two-day event brought former NCAA champions as well as Olympians to the David Williams II Recreation and Wellness Center. On the opening day of the meet, Jensen broke her own record in the mile at 4:38.94, resetting the top time in school history, which is also a new personal record. Jensen’s time is now fifth in the Southeastern Conference and a top-30 time in the NCAA. In the first heat of the 200 meters, Haley Bishop and Madison Fuller vied for position with other top runners from Cincinnati and Indiana. Bishop’s time of 23.85 positioned her in first place overall. Fuller reset her own personal record as well as the third spot in program history with a time of 24.11.
Vanderbilt concluded the final home indoor meet with outright victories in the 60 meter dash and 400 meter seeded. Bishop and Fuller took first and fourth in the 60 meters with times of 7.42 and 7.51 respectively. Shelby competed in the 400 meter seeded for the first time this indoor season. Not only did Shelby win the race with a time of 52.91, she solidified herself at second overall in school history with that mark. Vanderbilt’s 4×400 meter relay team (3:38.01) came just seconds behind instate conference foe Tennessee (3:36.21). Eck finished the 3,000 meter with a personal best of 9:27.21, taking the third spot in school history.
The Commodores will return to College Station, Texas for the two-day SEC Indoor Championships in one week.
