Findley win highlights Colonial & Florida Relays

April 5, 2013

The Vanderbilt track and field team had its third weekend of outdoor competition, with the distance runners competing at William & Mary’s Colonial Relays while the rest of the team headed to the Florida Relays. Check back for thoughts from the coaches and video.

Colonial Relays – RESULTS

1,500 Meters
The 1,500 meters saw a trio of Commodores place second, third and fourth. Sara Barron was second with a time of 4:24.09. Right behind her was Hannah Jumper in 4:24.78 and next was Lily Williams crossing the line in 4:25.37.

3,000 Meters
The 3K was the first event of the day in Williamsburg and it turned out to be one of the biggest. Kristen Findley won the race, crossing the line in a personal record of 9:42.78. Fellow senior Kristen Smith was fourth in 10:09.46.

5,000 Meters
Liz Anderson paced the Commodores in the 5K, finishing fifth in 16:19.34. The junior set a personal record, as did Jordan White. White finished 12th in 16:38.46. Allie Scalf also was in the first section and finished 18th in 17:28.31.

3,000 Meeter Steeplechase
The steeplechase saw a pair of sophomores each put their names in Vanderbilt’s top-10 list. Rebecca Chandler finished fifth in 10:42.68, the third-best time in program history. Amira Joseph was right behind her in sixth, clocking a time of 10:48.36, the sixth-best time at Vanderbilt.

Assistant Coach Rhonda Riley
On Kristen Findley’s performance…
“K-Fin was just awesome. It was a great day to test her strength. She executed the game plan perfectly, conservative the first half and then she felt good and closed really well.”

On Claire Benjamin running in her hometown…
“Clare ran fantastic. To see her run a PR of over 30 seconds in her hometown was just great to see.”

On tomorrow’s action…
“With the 4×800 and the DMR, we get to run against some great schools and get some really good work in. We’re running some relays we don’t usually get to run and we’re excited to have some team competition and represent Vandy on the east coast!”

Saturday’s Events: 4×800 meter relay, distance medley relay

Florida Relays – RESULTS

High Jump
Brionne Williams, competing for the first time in the outdoor season after earning All-America honors during the 2013 indoor campaign, finished sixth in the high jump. The junior cleared 1.76 meters (5′ 9.25″) on her third attempt. Neither Williams nor any of the other five who cleared 1.76 meters were able to clear 1.81 meters, but Williams’ three tries to clear 1.76 placed her sixth.

Ellie Tidman finished 16th, clearing 1.66 meters (5′ 5.25″).

100 Meter Hurdles
Freshman Jennifer Cannon finished 25th overall in the 100 meter hurdles, but was the 14th finisher from a school. She clocked a time of 13.99.

400 Meter Hurdles
Cannon was again Vanderbilt’s top finisher in the 400 meter hurdles, clocking a time of 1:00.99 that was 23rd overall. She was followed closely by fellow freshmen Skyler Carpenter and Faith Washington. Carpenter was 26th in 1:01.30, while Washington was 27th in 1:01.31.

Assistant Coach Clark Humphreys
On Brionne Williams
“It was another really solid performance from Brionne. She had two good attempts at 5′ 11.25″ and taking consistent jumps at high bars is what it’s all about.”

On the freshman hurdlers…
“It was a very strong showing from our freshman triple threat of Faith (Washington), Skyler (Carpenter) and Jennifer (Cannon). All three competed strong and Jennifer doubled back with a solid race after a PR in the short hurdles.”

Saturday’s Events: 4×400 meter relay, 4×100 meter shuttle hurdle