Feb. 25, 2018
COLLEGE STATION, Texas Â- Jenn Edobi registered an impressive 400-meter final effort and helped the Vanderbilt distance medley relay to a fifth-place finish to highlight the Commodores’ performance Sunday at the Southeastern Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Edobi, a senior from Union, N.J., notched a seventh-place finish in the 400-meter dash with a 53.88 performance. It marked Edobi’s highest individual result ever at the conference meet.
In one of the final competitions Sunday, Edobi joined teammates Reagan Bustamante, Becca Schulte and Ginger Hutton to add team points for the Commodores in the distance medley relay. The Vanderbilt unit finished the 4,000-meter relay in 11:24.94.
“This team was a little depleted by injuries entering the meet, but they really fought yesterday and today. I’m really happy for all of them,” head coach Steve Keith said. “They wanted to come here and compete and I think they did exactly that.
“I was proud of Jenn and thought she gave us a tremendous lift. Then, to see that nice effort by everybody in the DMR was really pleasing. It was a good way to conclude the meet.”
Edobi ran a courageous 400-meter final. After falling behind in the opening 200 meters, Edobi came on strong in the closing 100 meters, edging Lendysse Dyer of Tennessee in her final stride for seventh place. Edobi was clocked in 53.88 in the final.
Edobi advanced into the Sunday final by running the best indoor 400 of her life Saturday, cutting .02 seconds off her previous best with a 53.45 effort.
Vanderbilt’s effort in the distance medley relay marked another season-best. With Bustamante running 1,200 meters, Edobi with a 400-meter leg, Schulte running 800 meters and Hutton anchoring in the final 1,600-meter Âsplit, the Commodores ran their fastest DMR in two years. It represents the team’s fourth-fastest time ever at the distance.
Kendall Derry, a sophomore from Fair Oaks, Calif., could not duplicate her mile performance from Saturday when she earned her way into the finals with a personal-best of 4:52.22. Facing a highly-competitive finals field, Derry just missed adding team points for the Commodores with a 10th place finish. She ran 4:57.83 Sunday.
Sophia Falco posted a competitive personal-best for the second consecutive day. A freshman from Lakewood Ranch, Fla., Falco registered the No. 4 indoor triple jump ever by a Commodore with a leap of 11.90 meters (39-0.50). It bettered Falco’s previous collegiate best by nearly 11 inches.
Sophomore Mailin Struck also competed in the 5,000 meters. A native of Germany, Struck finished 21st overall with a time of 17:25.15.
Vanderbilt results from Day 2 of the SEC indoor meet follows –
400 meters – 7. Jenn Edobi 53.88.
Mile – 10. Kendall Derry 4.57.83.
5,000 meters – 21. Mailin Struck 17:25.15.
Distance medley relay – 5. Reagan Bustamante, J. Edobi, Becca Schulte, Ginger Hutton 11:24.94.
Triple jump – 20. Sophia Falco 11.90m/39-0.50.
