|
Hahn Tops Commodore Entries at SEC Indoor Championships 2/24/2005 Vanderbilt senior Josie Hahn, recently recognized as the state’s 2004 amateur female athlete of the year, will attempt to capture her second Southeastern Conference individual title at the SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships this weekend at the University of Arkansas. Hahn, a three-time All-America selection who competed at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials, leads 19 Commodore athletes into the ultra-tough SEC indoor meet. Last year, the Commodores totalled 25 points at the meet, equalling the team’s second highest point total ever at the SEC Indoor Championships. The squad tied Alabama for ninth overall. Hahn looms as the Commodores’ best hope for an individual title. She is an early favorite in the pentathlon and is a likely contender in the individual high jump. One year ago at the meet, she finished third in the pentathlon with a 3,917-point total and second in the high jump with a clearance of 5’10.5″. Two weeks later, at the NCAA Indoor Championships, Hahn set team records in both events to earn All-America honors. Hahn, a holder of five school records, has continued her excellent form this winter. Her best high jump this year, 5’10” last month at Kentucky, ranks second in the conference entering the indoor championships. Only Florida senior Krystle Moss, with a 5’11.5″ clearance, has jumped higher. Hahn also accumulated 3,730 points in an early season pentathlon competition at the University of Illinois. Though the mark is more than 300 points behind her school record, only two SEC competitors – Arkansas senior Beyonka McDowell and Ole Miss senior LaToya McBride – have managed higher pentathlon totals this winter. While McDowell gets to compete in front of a home crowd, Hahn could benefit from several competing Commodores. Vanderbilt Head Coach Lori Shepard will attempt to gain an early advantage at the meet by inserting junior Garnetta Holloway, junior Latisha Bryant and freshman Anjarae Washington into the pentathlon. While Holloway earned team points with an eighth place heptathlon finish at the SEC Outdoor Championships last year, Bryant and Washington will be competing in their first collegiate pentathlon. The pentathlon, a multi-event competition that includes the 60-meter hurdles, long jump, shot put, high jump and 800-meter run, will be held Friday evening. Preliminaries and finals for all other events are scheduled either Saturday or Sunday. Besides the four competing pentathletes, other Commodores entered at the SEC meet include freshman Andrea Rosemond, 60-meter and 200-meter dash; freshman Amani Floyd, 400-meter dash; freshman Lauren Fortson, 800-meter run; sophomore Ashleigh Wetzel, junior Alisa Cotter, junior Brittany Sizer and junior Caitlin Shannon, mile; senior Nadiyah Humber, 3,000 meters; freshman Julie Eckerly, 5,000 meters; senior Paige Roberts, pole vault; and sophomore Kasi Foster, shot put and weight throw. |
