Jan. 19, 2018
NASHVILLE – The Commodores closed the first day of competition at the Vanderbilt Invitational Friday with an impressive victory in the distance medley relay.
Sophomore Kendall Derry carried the Commodores to the relay win with a strong 1,600-meter run after getting the baton from sophomore teammate Reagan Bustamante, who ran an excellent 800-meter third leg.
The foursome of Derry, Bustamante, 400-meter runner Becca Schulte and Reagan Anderson, who ran the opening 1,200-meter leg, finished in 11:51.46, comfortably ahead of Alabama and Tulane. A second Commodore squad of Gillian Mortimer, Lydia Witty, Ginger Hutton and Anna Grace Morgan finished fourth in 12:05.18.
In the final race of an abbreviated Friday schedule, sophomore Mailin Struck ran sixth in the 5,000-meter run. She finished in 17:14:24, 25 seconds quicker than she ran in a second-place finish last week at the Commodore Invitational.
In other action involving Commodores, freshmen Regan Clay and Sophia Falco produced times of 25.05 and 25.56, respectively, in the 200 meters. Clay’s effort was just .07 off her collegiate best set last week at the Commodore Invitational. Falco’s time marked a .47 improvement over her performance last week.
Falco also improved in the long jump off her Commodore Invitational performance. She finished with a leap of 18-0.25, just four inches of her seasonal best.
The second day of competition in Vanderbilt Multipurpose Facility starts Saturday at 10 a.m. Admission is $5, with Vanderbilt studio free entry with a valid I.D. Parking is free on Saturday in surface lots located off Natchez Trace directly in front of the outdoor track and field complex.
Commodore expectations on Saturday
The Commodores hope to produce excellent performances in the pole vault Saturday where senior Sarah Bell, sophomore Kristin Denk, sophomore Caleigh Lofstead and sophomore Margaret Ollinger are entered.
In other field competition, Falco is entered in the triple jump for the first time this year.
Twelve Commodores are expected in running events, including senior Jenn Edobi, who has the second fastest 400 meters in program history, and 2017 outdoor All-American Courtney Clayton.
The full list of Vanderbilt participants on Saturday follows:
Running events:
400 meters – Ebodi, Clay
800 meters – Schulte, Derry, Bustamante, Hutton
Mile run – Clayton, Anderson, Mortimer, Morgan, Sara Tsai
3,000 meters – Megan Huebner, Kacie Breeding, Devon Grisbaum
4×400-meter relay – Clay, Edobi, Schulte, Clayton.
Field events:
Pole vault – Bell, Denk, Lofstead, Ollinger
Triple jump – Falco
