Feb. 10, 2018
NASHVILLE – Six Commodores, including senior pole vaulter Sarah Bell, registered their top performances of the indoor season Saturday at the Music City Challenge held in the Vanderbilt Multipurpose Facility.
Bell vaulted 13-3 (4.04 meters) on her second attempt. The clearance is Bell’s top mark this winter and indicates the 2017 All-American is coming into the upcoming SEC Indoor Championships in solid form.
Bell and her Commodore teammate Caleigh Lofstead, who also cleared 13-3, both had near-misses at 13-7.25 (4.15m).
Freshman sprinter Sophia Falco and senior distance runner Megan Huebner provided the top Commodore performances on the track.
Falco established a personal best and just missed the school record in the 60-meter dash. Falco’s time of 7.65 is the second quickest ever by a Commodore, behind only a 7.64 achieved by Anna Carr-Hawkins in 2009.
Huebner, who was among four Commodore student-athletes honored during Senior Day activities earlier in the day, took nine seconds off her 3,000-meter personal best. Huebner’s sixth-place result in 9:41.57 just missed Vanderbilt’s all-time top 10 performances at the distance.
Two other 3,000-meter participants for the Commodores, Devon Grisbaum and Mailin Struck, also produced season best efforts of 9:56.03 and 9:58.98, respectively.
Sprinter Jenn Ebodi, another Commodore recognized during Senior Day activities, matched a season best in the 400 meters with a clocking of 54.66.
In other action on the track, Reagan Bustamante and Becca Schulte ran 2:10.56 and 2:10:85, respectively, in the 800. Schulte’s effort also marked a season best.
The Commodores are off next week preparing for the SEC Indoor Championships. The conference meet will be staged Feb. 24-25 at Texas A&M.
Vanderbilt Saturday results at Music City Challenge:
60 meters – Sophia Falco 7.65
400 meters – Jenn Edobi 54.66; Regan Clay 56.05
800 meters – Reagan Bustamante 2:10.56; Becca Schulte 2:10.85
Mile – Kendall Derry 4:56.32; Ginger Hutton 5:00.75;
3,000 meters – Megan Huebner 9:41.57; Devon Grisbaum 9:56.03; Mailin Struck, 9:58.98; Kacie Breeding 10:09.74; Anna Grace Morgan 10:13.20; Gillian Mortimer, 10:20.83
4×400-meter relay – 3:48.33 (Schulte, Clay, Bustamante, Edobi)
Pole Vault – Sarah Bell 13-3 (4.04m); Caleigh Lofstead 13-3 (4.04m); Kristen Denk 12-7.25 (3.79m)
Photos courtesy of Mike Strasinger
