NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Another freshman found a spot in the school record book as Vanderbilt track and field closed out opening weekend at the Vanderbilt Invitational Saturday inside the Mulitpurpose Field House.
Fifth-year senior and three-time All-American Kristen Denk was the top collegian in the pole vault while freshman Kaitlyn Deutsch etched her name into the school’s all-time top 10 in her first college meet.
Denk was second overall and the only college athlete to surpass 4.05 meters (13 feet, 3 1/2 inches) while senior Margaret Ollinger was sixth at 3.95 meters (12-11.50 ft.) and senior Caleigh Lofstead tied for seventh at 3.85 meters (12-07.50 ft.). All three already rank among Vanderbilt’s top 10 and a fourth was added to the list when Deutsch also cleared 3.85 meters — just the seventh Commodore to ever clear that bar.
“It was a good day all around,” Vanderbilt associate head coach Clark Humphreys said of the vaulters. “Kaitlyn (Deutsch) is going to be a big part of our future in the pole vault and she did not disappoint today while Kristen, Caleigh and Margaret are also progressing early in their scheduled training. There were lot of positives to take away from today.”
A pair of freshmen led the Commodores in the 60-meter hurdles as Josephine Dal finished her first collegiate sprint in 9.17 seconds to place 20th and Jada Sims was just three spots back at 9.27.
In the mile, Reagan Bustamante (4:57.22), Lauren Moffett (4:58.26) and Becca Schulte (4:59.65) finished 1-2-3 in their heat and placed 10th, 12th and 14th overall while sophomore Haley Walker (5:01.47) was 17th.
Junior Anna Grace Morgan was Vanderbilt’s top finisher in the women’s 3,000 meters with a season-opening time of 10:11.69 while sophomore Nick Laning was the top Commodore on the men’s side with a 19th-place finish of 8:32.25.
To cap the weekend, the Commodores finished as the runner-up in the 4×400 relay with a time of 3:49.37.
Next up, the Commodores hit the road for the first time in 2020 and will compete at the Clemson Invitational on Jan. 24-25. The next opportunity to catch the Commodores at home is Feb. 14-15 for the Music City Challenge.
