Huebner's 5000-Meter Victory Highlights Strong First Day for Vandy T&F

Jan. 20, 2017

The Vanderbilt Invitational began on Friday night and the Commodores started and finished the first day of the meet strong. Senior Tierney Price opened up the meet for the Commodores with a new personal-best in the long jump with a leap of 18′ 8″, which was good for 14th overall. In the last women’s race of the day, Megan Huebner won the 5000-meter run crown with a time of 17:02.63 and was followed closely behind by Mailin Struck in second with a time of 17.05.92 and Carmen Carlos in third with a time of 17:13.79.

On the men’s side of the 5000-meter run, Vanderbilt had four runners competing, including Nikos Gkotsis who placed second with a time of 14:51.47. Jake Van Geffen (15:14.21) and Evan Suzman (15:41.47) also finished in the top-10 for the Commodores, placing seventh and 10th, respectively. Harrison Thomas finished just behind Suzman, placing 11th with a time of 15:58.80.

The Commodores also had two teams compete in the distance medley relay. The team of Reagan Bustamante, Courtney Clayton, Ginger Hutton and Maddie Criscione finished fourth with a time of 11:48.73. Vanderbilt’s other entry included Lauren Moffett, Lydia Witty, Kendall Derry, and Birdie Hutton, who finished sixth with a time of 12:09.27. Sophomore Erin Hardnett competed for the Commodores on Friday night with a time of 26.43 seconds in the 200-meter dash.

Meet Records:
Julienne McKee (Unattached) broke her own Vanderbilt Invitational record in the long jump with a leap of 21′ 1.25″. McKee just missed her facility record mark of 21′ 1.5″, which she set in February 2016 at the Music City Challenge.

What’s Next:
The Vanderbilt Invitational will conclude tomorrow with the first event beginning at 9:45 a.m. (CT). Here is the full list of Commodores scheduled to compete tomorrow:

Saturday

Field Events
10:30 AM Pole Vault (First Section) — Megan McCabe, Margaret Ollinger, and Katie Watts
1:30 PM Pole Vault (Second Section) — Caleigh Lofstead
2:00 PM Triple Jump — Simone Charley and Tierney Price

Running Events
9:45 AM 3000-Meters (W) — Kacie Breeding and Birdie Hutton
10:15 AM 3000-Meters (M) — Caleb Casolaro, Sam DeFabrizio, and Jason Vincze
10:55 AM Mile Run (M) — Waqqas Fazili and Andrew Irvine
1:00 PM 60-Meter Hurdles — Erin Hardnett
2:20 PM Mile Run (W) — Courtney Clayton
3:55 PM 800-Meters (W) — Skyler Carpenter, Maddie Criscione, Jenn Edobi, Reagan Bustamante, Kendall Derry, Ginger Hutton, Lauren Moffett, and Lydia Witty
4:10 PM 800-Meters (M) — Nikos Gkotsis
4:25 PM 3000-Meters (W) — Courtney Kriegshauser
4:55 PM 4×400 Relay (W) — Team Entries