March 11, 2015
Event: NCAA INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
Day, Date: Friday-Saturday, March 13-14, 2015
Host: University of Arkansas (Fayetteville, Ark.)
Site: Randal Tyson Track Center
Complete Schedule & Start List: HERE
Triple Jump schedule: Saturday, 6 p.m. (Trials/Finals)
Live Results: HERE
Online Viewing (WatchESPN): HERE
Looking to put an exclamation point on her outstanding and record-breaking sophomore season, Vanderbilt triple jumper Simone Charley will compete this weekend at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark.
Charley enters the meet with momentum on her side after earning a third-place finish two weeks ago at the SEC Championships, where she broke her own school record, earned All-SEC honors and moved into a tie for sixth on the national list with a leap of 43-5.25.
Soft-spoken, easy-going and humble, Charley is one of the premiere athletes on the Vanderbilt campus. In addition to her track accomplishments, she is also a standout player on VU’s soccer team.
This weekend, Charley will be participating in a field that includes the top 16 triple-jumpers in the nation, roughly half of whom she competed against at the SEC meet in addition to others whom she competed against at previous meets during the regular season.
Although she is only a sophomore, Charley has participated in multiple national meets during her young career at Vanderbilt. She qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships last June in Eugene, Ore., and earned Second Team All-American honors with a ninth-place finish. She also competed last summer in the USATF Junior Championships, where she set a new school record and finished third.
lQUOTES FROM THE HEAD COACH
Here are a few comments from head coach Steve Keith regarding Charley:
On what it means for Charley, and the Vanderbilt program as a whole, for her to be in this position:
“It’s an outstanding opportunity for Simone, and we are very excited for her. It’s also great for the program; great exposure. It helps build our program at the national level, and we obviously want to have more and more kids at the national meet.”
On Charley’s ability to peak at the end of the season:
“It’s exactly what you want to see. She was like that her freshman year, too. Her best jump of the year was her last one — the one that almost got her a spot on the US Junior National team.”
On the outlook for this weekend’s event:
“I know finishing in the Top-8 is the goal for Simone, and that’s the goal we all have for her, too. And the thing is, she has competed against most of the girls; she’s pretty much seen the whole field at some point this season, and she has jumped well against them — at the Tyson meet, the Notre Dame meet and at SECs. So she should have some good, positive confidence going into it.”
On Charley’s easy-going personality:
“She has a nice, calm demeanor. But I have no idea what’s going on underneath that. (Laughs) If she’s human, there’s a lot going on underneath it. But she handles it well. Controlling your emotions is obviously very important, along with being able to turn up your focus and intensity. And she can certainly do that.”
lQUOTES FROM THE ASSISTANT COACH
Here are a few comments from assistant coach Clark Humphreys regarding Charley:
On Charley’s ability to deliver at crunch time:
“She shines when the lights are on, plain and simple. That’s a hard thing to get comfortable with as an athlete, but she thrives on it.”
On Charley’s humble nature:
“Simone has an infectious personality, and it makes it very easy to root for her.”
On the strides Charley has made since joining the program:
“Her progression from last season to this one has been huge, only to be rivaled by her big smile.”
l IN THE RANKS
The SEC has a nation’s-best 16 teams ranked in the top-25 entering this weekend’s meet, according to the latest Division I Indoor Track and Field National Team Computer Rankings, announced Monday by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
The Florida men and the Arkansas women are predicted to win the 2015 NCAA Indoor Championships according to the latest computer rankings. The 2015 NCAA Indoor Championships are slated for March 13-14 at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark. The SEC boasts five teams in the top-10 on both the men’s and women’s sides. Each of the top-four spots in the latest women’s rankings belongs to SEC teams.
The USTFCCCA rankings algorithm is a holistic projection of the teams’ finishing order, taking into account not just where athletes are on the national list, but the likelihood of each athlete finishing in scoring territory. Historically, top-ranked men’s teams have fared well at the NCAA Championships. In five of the seven years of USTFCCCA Rankings, the pre-meet favorite has gone on to win the title later that week. Three of the last five women’s national champions were ranked No. 1 in the final pre-championship computations. A complete list of the rankings is below:
USTFCCCA Men’s Indoor Track and Field National Computer Rankings (March 10)
1. Florida
2. Oregon
3. Arkansas
4. Texas A&M
5. Texas
6. Georgia
7. Virginia Tech
8. LSU
9. Penn State
10. Texas Tech
11. Alabama
12. Nebraska
13. Oklahoma State
14. Tennessee
15. TCU
16. South Carolina
17. Southern California
18. Baylor
19. Colorado
20. Arizona State
21. Illinois
22. Georgetown
23. Akron
24. Iowa State
25. Washington
USTFCCCA Women’s Indoor Track and Field National Computer Rankings (March 10)
1. Arkansas
2. Florida
3. Kentucky
4. Georgia
5. Texas
6. Oregon
7. Texas A&M
8. Kansas State
9. Baylor
10. Southern California
11. Michigan State
12. Mississippi State
13. Georgetown
14. Wisconsin
15. LSU
16. Clemson
17. Providence
18. Akron
19. Missouri
20. Southern Illinois
21. Florida State
22. Texas Tech
23. Arizona State
24. Stanford
25. Notre Dame
Most Ranked Men’s Teams By Conference
SEC – 8
Big 12 – 6
MPSF – 5
Big Ten – 3
ACC – 1
Most Ranked Women’s Teams By Conference
SEC – 8
Big 12 – 4
MPSF – 4
ACC – 3
Big Ten – 2