March 29, 2018
Pepsi Florida Relays meet info // Live results
Vanderbilt track and field will travel a 19-member squad to compete at the Pepsi Florida Relays, which opens Thursday in Gainesville, Fla.
The three-day competition, staged on the University of Florida campus since 1939, continues through Saturday at the Percy Beard Track Facility.
The Commodores are coming off a solid team performance last weekend at the Black & Gold Invitational. That meet, staged at the Vanderbilt Track and Field Complex, was the team’s first competition of the outdoor season and included three Commodore individual event wins.
Head coach Steve Keith is looking for another strong early-season showing from his squad.
“We enjoyed a nice outdoor opener on campus last weekend and we want to continue that momentum,” Keith said. “I’m also looking forward to seeing how we compete in a number of relays and in several open running events. I think our [pole] vaulters are looking forward to the meet.”
Three distance runners – juniors Devon Grisbaum and Caroline Pietrzyk and freshman Gillian Mortimer – will be the first Commodores to compete. They are scheduled to run the 5,000 meters late Thursday.
Several Commodores, including sprinter Jenn Edobi, distance runner Reagan Bustamante and vaulter Kristen Denk, will take part in individual competitions Friday.
Edobi is entered in her specialty, the 400-meter run, after opening the outdoor season with an impressive 24.47 effort in the 200 meters at the Black & Gold Invitational. A redshirt junior from Union, N.J., Edobi finished seventh in the 400 at the SEC Indoor Championships and owns an outdoor personal record of 52.75 at the distance.
Bustamante, a sophomore from Springfield, Va., is scheduled to race in the 800 meters where she owns a career-best time of 2:07.26. Bustamante is fresh off an excellent performance at the Black & Gold Invitational where she captured the 800 and 1,500 meters. Junior teammate Ginger Hutton will join Bustamante in the 800.
Denk, a redshirt sophomore, will be joined by sophomores Caleigh Lofstead and Margaret Ollinger in the pole vault. Denk won the Black & Gold Invitational with a clearance of 13-3.50. Loftstead and Ollinger enter with outdoor career-bests of 13-4.25 and 13-2.25, respectively.
Kacie Breeding, who ran a personal-best last weekend in the 2,000-meter steeplechase, will return to compete in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. The 1,500-meter run will also feature junior Sara Tsai, senior Maddie Criscione and senior Reagan Anderson.
Freshman jumper/sprinter Sophia Falco is entered in the 100-meter dash and long jump.
The Commodores are entered in three relay competitions – the sprint medley, 4×800-meter relay and distance medley relay.
Two four-hour segments of the Pepsi Florida Relays will stream live on SEC Network+. The segments are Friday and Saturday. A link to the live stream is here.
The list of Vanderbilt probable competitors at the Florida Relays follows:
Thursday, March 29
8:00 p.m. – 5,000-meter run: Devon Grisbaum, Caroline Pietrzyk and Gillian Mortimer
Friday, March 30
12:15 p.m. – 100-meter dash: Sophia Falco
12:25 p.m. – 400-meter dash: Jenn Edobi
1:15 p.m. – 800-meter run: Reagan Bustamante, Ginger Hutton
4:00 p.m. – Long jump: S. Falco
7:20 p.m. – 1,500-meter run: Reagan Anderson, Maddie Criscione, Sara Tsai
8:20 p.m. – 3,000-meter steeplechase: Kacie Breeding
Saturday, March 31
11:30 a.m. – Sprint medley relay: J. Edobi, S. Falco, Regan Clay, R. Bustamante
3:15 p.m. – 4×800-meter relay: G. Hutton, Kendall Derry, M. Criscione, R. Bustamante
4:25 p.m. – Distance medley relay: (Unit 1) S. Tsai, J. Edobi, K. Derry, Megan Huebner; (Unit 2) Anna Grace Morgan, R. Clay, M. Criscione, Mailin Struck
