May 10, 2017
Event: SEC Championships
Dates: May 11-13
Host: University of South Carolina
The Rundown
Vanderbilt track & field is in Columbia, S.C. this weekend for the SEC Conference Championships, which will run from May 11-13 at the University of South Carolina. The will begin at 9:15 a.m. CT on Thursday and 10 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Scouting the Field
The SEC boasts 11 women’s teams ranked in the top 25 of the latest USTFCCCA poll and dominate over half of the poll’s top 10. The 11 teams featured in the poll are more than double of any other conference – the Pac-12 conference has the second most with five. The 11 ranked teams Vanderbilt will be competing against include No. 1 Texas A&M, No. 4 LSU, No. 5 Arkansas, No. 6 Kentucky, No. 7 Georgia, No. 8 Florida, No. 10 Alabama, No. 13 Auburn, No. 16 Ole Miss, No. 22 Tennessee and No. 25 South Carolina.
Vanderbilt Lineup
Seven Vanderbilt athletes will be in action on the meet’s first day and Sarah Goodale will lead the charge beginning at 10 a.m. CT with the 100-meter hurdles. The 100-meter hurdles will be the first of four heptathlon events of the day, with the final three heptathlon events taking place on Friday. Thursday will also feature five Commodores racing at 5:20 p.m. CT in the 800-meter run prelims. Courtney Clayton, Lydia Witty, Reagan Bustamante, Maddie Criscione and Ginger Hutton will all compete and try to qualify for the 800-meter finals on Saturday at 4:05 p.m. CT. Mailin Struck will round out Vanderbilt’s competitors on Thursday night in the 10000-meter run, which has a start time of 8:10 p.m. CT. Look below for the full list of scheduled competitors this weekend (all times listed are central time):
Thursday
Heptathlon (100H, HJ, Shot, 200m) – Sarah Goodale
*800-meter run (5:20 p.m.) – Courtney Clayton, Lydia Witty, Reagan Bustamante, Maddie Criscione, Ginger Hutton
10000-meter run (8:10 p.m.) – Mailin Struck
Friday
Heptathlon (LJ, Javelin, 800m) – Sarah Goodale
Pole Vault (5:15 p.m.) – Sarah Bell, Caleigh Lofstead, Margaret Ollinger
*1500-meter run (6:30 p.m.) – Reagan Bustamante, Maddie Criscione, Kendall Derry Ginger Hutton, Courtney Kriegshauser
*400-meter dash (7:20 p.m.) – Jenn Edobi, Becca Schulte
3000-meter Steeplechase (8:55 p.m.) – Kacie Breeding
Saturday
1500-meter run finals (2:45 p.m.) – TBD
Triple Jump (3:10 p.m.) – Tierney Price
400-meter dash finals (3:25 p.m.) – TBD
800-meter run finals (4:05 p.m.) – TBD
5000-meter run (5:15 p.m.) – Carmen Carlos, Devon Grisbaum, Megan Huebner, Mailin Struck
4×400-meter relay (5:50 p.m.) – TBD
* – denotes prelim
Watch the Meet
The meet with be streamed live on SEC Network+ on Friday and Saturday. Friday’s live stream will begin at 5:25 p.m. CT and can be found HERE, while Saturday’s broadcast will begin at 2:10 p.m. CT and can be found HERE.
Qualification for NCAA Regionals
The SEC Championships represent the last meet to record a qualifying mark for the NCAA Championship Preliminaries. The top 48 athletes in individual events, as well as the top 24 marks in team relays and the heptathlon will qualify for the Preliminaries in Lexington, Ky., which will run from May 26-28. Six Vanderbilt athletes currently rank in the top 48 in their events heading into the SEC Championships:
| Athlete | Event | Season-Best Mark (NCAA Rank) |
|---|---|---|
| Sarah Bell | Pole Vault | 14′ 0.50″ (5th) |
| Jenn Edobi | 400m | 53.16 (17th) |
| Courtney Clayton | 800m | 2:05.07 (12th) |
| Carmen Carlos | 5000m | 16:26.36 (47th) |
| Caleigh Lofstead | Pole Vault | 13′ 1.50″ (43rd) |
| Sarah Goodale | Heptathlon | 5,199 (14th) |
Social Media Updates
Follow Vanderbilt track & field on twitter @vandyxctrack for updates throughout the meet.