COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Janie Ford’s record-setting pentathlon performance highlighted a busy first day of the 2026 SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships for the Vanderbilt track and field team.
Ford became the first freshman in SEC history to win the pentathlon, scoring a schoool-record 4,373 points across the five events to take the crown. She won the 60-meter hurdles in 8.30 seconds, which moved her to sixth in Commodore history, then placed third in the high jump after clearing 1.74 meters. That was a new personal best for her and moved her into a tie for eighth all-time. A 14th-place finish in shot put slid her down from second in the standings to seventh, but Ford came back to take second place in the long jump to put herself in gold medal contention.
Ford and teammate Marta Sivina finished first and second in the 800 meters, just 0.01 seconds apart from one another, to close out the event. The 905 points awarded to both Commodore student-athletes secured the pentathlon victory for Ford and a fourth-place finish for Sivina. The senior’s 4,269 points were a personal best in the event and locked her into third place in Vanderbilt history.
Sivina was consistent throughout the pentathlon, placing in the top 10 of all events. She was fifth in the 60-meter hurdles, set a new personal best at 1.71 meters to finish sixth in the high jump, placed seventh in shot put, 10th in long jump, and closed it out with the second-place finish in the 800 meters.
Lena Gooden scored points for the Commodores in the long jump, with her 6.20-meter best jump placing her eighth in the event.
Then, to close out the night, the distance medley relay team of Kelty Oaster, Joy Moorer, Betsy Jepkemei and Lily Kriegel posted their best performance of the season to cement their names in the Vanderbilt record book. The relay team turned in a time of 11:16.24, vaulting them to the No. 4 spot on the all-time list.
Vanderbilt sits in sixth place after Day 1 of the 2026 SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships. The Commodores return to the track on Friday, with the first event of the day starting at 11 a.m.
