Feb. 12, 2015
Event: Tyson Invitational
Day, Date: Friday-Saturday, Feb. 13-14
Host: Arkansas (Fayetteville, Ark.)
Site: Randal Tyson Track Center
Complete Schedule: HERE
Heat Sheet: (Scheduled to be finalized late Thursday)
Live Results: HERE
Online Viewing: SEC Network-Plus (Saturday only, beginning at noon) HERE
The Vanderbilt track and field team will head to Fayetteville, Ark., this weekend to compete in the Tyson Invitational, which will feature many of the top athletes in the nation. The Commodores, coming off a strong showing at last weekend’s Meyo Invitational, will be looking improve their seedings for the upcoming SEC Championships. Vanderbilt head coach Steve Keith said this weekend’s meet will “basically be like the pre-nationals, from the 400 on down” and said “the level of competition will be outrageous.”
l COMPETING FOR THE COMMODORES
The Commodores are scheduled to have 20 athletes in action this weekend. The list includes: Reagan Anderson, Sara Barron, Claire Benjamin, Carmen Carlos, Skyler Carpenter, Rebecca Chandler, Simone Charley, Courtney Clayton, Maddie Criscione, Katherine Delaney, Erin Edmond, Jennifer Edobi, Janetra Gleaves, Megan Huebner, Amira Joseph, Tierney Price, Ellie Tidman, Vanessa Valentine, Faith Washington and Lily Williams.
l QUOTES FROM THE COACH
Here are a few comments from head coach Steve Keith regarding this weekend’s meet:
On the field of teams: “It’s going to be a great meet. The majority of the SEC teams will be there, along with bangers from all over the country.”
On his overall outlook for the meet: “This is our last opportunity to impact our seeding for the SECs, so this is crunch time. It’s historically a really fast track for the 400, so we’d love to run well.”
On his “lineup” for the two days: “We will have a few kids doing ‘off’ events. We’ll be kind of mixing and matching according to each individual’s needs.”
l LAST TIME OUT: The Commodores delivered a strong showing at last weekend’s Meyo Invitational, hosted by Notre Dame. Competing against roughly 50 other schools and clubs, the Commodores posted a long list of top-tier finishes while setting two new school records and tying another. Courtney Clayton set a new Vanderbilt record in the 800 with a time of 2:05.71, and Sara Barron set a new school mark in the mile with a time of 4:43:00. Simone Charley tied her own school record, which she set earlier this season, with a leap of 12.94m in the triple jump. All three Vanderbilt standouts earned top-5 finishes in their respective event, with Charley taking third, Clayton earning fourth and Barron finishing fifth. Also shining for Vanderbilt was Erin Edmond, who set the No. 3 mark on the school’s all-time performer’s list in the 400 with a personal-best time of 54.99 while earning an 11th-place finish. Edmond was also a member of Vanderbilt’s 4×400 relay team — along with Skyler Carpenter, Clayton and Jennifer Edobi — that took fifth place and set the No. 5 mark on VU’s all-time list with a time of 3:41.57. On Friday, Edobi provided one of the biggest highlights when she took fourth place in the 600 with a time of 1:31.70 — the second-best mark on Vanderbilt’s all-time performer’s list. Ellie Tidman was fourth in the high jump at 1.67m, and Claire Benjamin took ninth in the 5000 meter run with a time of 16:57.19.
l LOOKING BACK:At last year’s Tyson Invitational, Vanderbilt senior Brionne Williams highlighted the Commodores’ effort with a first-place finish in the high jump (at 5-11.5). Also, Vanderbilt’s 4×400 team — Faith Washington, Skyler Carpenter, Courtney Clayton and Erin Edmond — posted a time of 3.40.25, which was the third-best mark in school history at the time and the best mark since 1998. Vanderbilt had two top-5 finishes in the 3000, with Hannah Jumper taking third at 9.48.88 and Vanessa Valentine finishing fifth at 9:56.40. Vanderbilt’s distance medley team — Lily Williams, Jennifer Cannon, Courtney Kriegshauser and Amira Joseph — took seventh place with a time of 11:45.94, and Simone Charley was eighth in the triple jump at 12.44m.