Feb. 26, 2009
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt’s track and field team returns to Lexington, Ky., for the third time this spring for the 2009 Southeastern Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships. With 64 percent of the 2009 squad underclassman, the Commodores enter the conference meet led by a bundle of young talented runners, aiming to improve on last year’s 12th place finish at the SEC indoors.
So far this season the Commodores have been led by the sprinting trio of Teegan Hill, Anna Carr and Taylor Jackson and distance runners Rita Jorgensen, Jordan White, Louise Hannallah and Kristabel Doebel-Hickok. Those seven Commodores seem to be the foundation of second-year head coach D’Andre Hill’s program.
Both Hill and Carr have recorded times this indoor season that rival some of the school’s all-time elite sprinters. In the first meet of the indoor season, Carr set the school record in the 60-meter dash, running a 7.642 at the Kentucky Invitational. Carr’s mark topped Autumn Smith’s previous record of 7.68, in which she set during the 2002 season. Carr holds the team’s top 60-meter time in three of the four indoor meets this season. The Destin, Fla., standout didn’t compete at the Iowa State Classic on the weekend of Feb. 13-14.
Hill comes into the weekend running her top 400-meter times of the indoor season. In the four meets prior to the SEC indoors, Hill has improved her 400 time at every meet this season, including a team and season-best 55.73 at the Iowa State Classic two weeks ago. Hill’s mark of 55.73 sits in third place all-time in the school’s record books, trailing only Amanda Helberg and former NCAA champion Ryan Tolbert. Hill, a former two-time Texas High School state champion, holds season best performances of 25.07 (200-meter) and 7.82 (60-meter). The Lancaster, Texas native has already posted three top-10 400-meter finishes this year.
Jackson, the team’s top returning sprinter from a season ago, heads into her second SEC indoor meet running at the top of her game. The Cleveland, Ohio is coming off a season-best performance in the 200-meter dash at the ISU Classic, recording a 25.22, placing 31st out of 131 runners.
Fellow sophomore Rita Jorgensen looks to return to the SEC finals at the conference indoor meet this weekend after placing sixth last season in the one-mile run with a 4:48.41. The cross country standout is coming off a 3000-meter personal record 9:37.14 at the ISU Classic. Jorgensen’s mark shattered Erika Schneble’s previous school-record of 9:39.07. The Memphis, Tenn., native’s time is the sixth fastest time recorded by an SEC runner this season. Jorgensen also holds the team’s fastest mile run performance this year, turning in a 4:53.50 at the Rod McCravey Invitational on Feb. 7.
Freshman Jordan White has been a huge addition to the Commodore squad this indoor season, becoming the team’s top 800-meter performer. White recorded an impressive top-three finish at the Rod McCravey Invite, crossing the finish line at the 2:13.46 mark. White was also apart of the team’s top distance medley relay team at the ISU Classic, turning in 11:40.28.
Vanderbilt’s DMR time at the ISU Classic is the third fastest time recorded by an SEC team this season and ranks in the top-six all-time at Vanderbilt.
Distance runner Louise Hannallah ran the final 1600 meters of the season-best distance medley relay, finishing with a personal record time of 5:02.00 to keep the `Dores in the front of the pack.
Doebel-Hickok appears to be the team’s top long distance runner so far this season, holding the team’s first and third-best 5000-meter and 3000-meter times. The sophomore posted a top-four finish in the 5000-meter at Gladstein Invitational, turning in a personal-high and team-high time of 17:36.18. In cross country last fall, Doebel-Hickok earned the team’s Most Improved Runner Award after earning All-SEC Freshman Recognition.
Live stats of the 2009 SEC Indoor Track & Field Championships will be available via www.ukathletics.com or by clicking here.
Final results and a recap from each day of the SEC Indoor Championships will be posted online at vucommodores.com.