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Hahn, Schneble Top List of Commodores Participating in SEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships 5/13/2004 OXFORD, Miss. — Two-time All-American Josie Hahn and record-breaking distance runner Erika Schneble top the Vanderbilt contingent competing at the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships this week at the University of Mississippi. Hahn, a junior from Clinton, Tenn., is likely to contend in two events, the heptathlon and individual high jump, and could score points in a third event, the javelin. Schneble, one of the NCAA’s hottest current distance runners, will compete in the 5,000-meter run. The women’s division of the ultra-competitive meet opens Thursday with the first four events of the heptathlon. Hahn will be joined in the event by a pair of teammates, senior Kyshia Ewing and sophomore Garnetta Holloway. The meet will continue through Sunday night, with Schneble’s 5,000-meter race coming in the next-to-last event. Head Coach Lori Shepard is hoping the Commodores can gather 30 team points in the meet. The 30-point total would likely enable the team to jump into the top 10 for the first time since 1999. “I’m excited for our athletes. Several of our athletes are ready for a big performance at the meet,” Shepard said. Hahn and Schneble are looking to become individual conference champions, a rarity among Commodores. Only two Vanderbilt track and field athletes, 400-meter hurdler Ryan Tolbert in 1997 and 1998 and 3,000-meter steeplechase specialist Kylene Kownurko in 2002, have returned to campus as SEC winners. Hahn came close to winning last year, finishing second in the heptathlon with a 5,327-point performance, and fourth in the high jump with a clearance of 5’8″. She enters the meet second among all competitors in both events, having accumulated 5,241 points in the Sea Ray Relays in Knoxville last month and cleared a school-record 5’11.5″ in the high jump to win the Vanderbilt Invitational on April 18. While the high jump appears clearly up for grabs, Hahn will have difficulty winning the heptathlon where NCAA leader and record holder Hyleas Fountain of Georgia returns to defend her title. Fountain scored 6,033 points at Ole Miss last month is a favorite to make the U.S. Olympic team. Schneble could be a favorite in the 5,000 meters. Having set three team records at the distance since early April, Schneble enters the SEC Championships with the fastest time, 16:08.18. Currently ranked 12th nationally, Schneble’s effort is 20 seconds faster than the conference’s second-place runner, Maureen Scott of Arkansas. Besides Hahn, Ewing, Holloway and Schneble, the Commodore squad includes Ashleigh Wetzel, 1,500 and 5,000; Alisa Cotter and Jocelyn Theriault, both in the 1,500; Paige Roberts, pole vault; Amanda Mullins-Hall, 100-meter hurdles; Latisha Bryant, 400; Ally Sisler, javelin; Vanessa Lagios, 400-meter hurdles; Debbie Huss, 5,000; and Lauren Pence, 10,000. The Commodores also will field a 4×400-meter relay squad. |
