NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt will be represented at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships by Divine Oladipo and Taiya Shelby in the two-day meet.
“I’m beyond excited for a Taiya and Divine and the legacy that they’re leaving here,” said Althea Thomas, director of cross country, track and field. “First of all, as leaders on the team and as school record holders, they bring a presence and a standard to the program that will set the foundation for years. Secondly, to be able to do that and represent the university and themselves in probably the toughest indoor meet across the world, being the NCAA championships, says a lot about their standard and their body of work that they’ve done in track and field. I’m excited for them to be able to show their talents across the NCAA and people see what we’re doing here at Vanderbilt. They represent something that’s very relatable. Both of them come from very humble beginnings.”
After competing her first SEC Indoor Championships with a silver finish, Oladipo is primed for a run in the shot put event. The All-SEC second-team selection holds the program’s top mark in the event at 17.92m, set in her first meet as a Commodore. Her top mark is currently sixth nationally and second in the SEC.
Shot put will begin on Saturday at 7 p.m.
“Divine has come to a new country, experienced different conferences and consistently displays just how hard work and grit can really elevate you,” said Thomas. “Her progression in her event, particularly in the shot put in indoor, has been just utterly amazing because it has not been deemed to be her best event. She has been world ranked and NCAA second team All-American in an outdoor event, the discus. And for her to come and show what commitment looks like, what standards looks like, she represents something that Vanderbilt hasn’t seen in the event and even on the level that she’s competing in.”
At the SEC Indoor Championships, Shelby shattered a 26-year record in her signature event, the 400 meters. Her qualifying time in the 400m prelims was 52.40 which set her fifth overall heading into the finals of the event. She finished the conference championships seventh in the 400m.
“Taiya comes from Kansas City, Missouri, not being relatively known as a high school athlete on the national stage and has asserted herself in the conference as a NCAA contender,” said Thomas. “And so that representation for the team to be able to watch that every day, to witness the development, to witness the sacrifice is just invaluable. And both of them, they’re just amazing young ladies, academically, athletically, and community engagement.
The semifinals for the 400m will commence on Friday at 7:25 p.m. with the finals at 7:20 p.m. Saturday.
This is the first time that Vanderbilt will have multiple athletes competing at the NCAA Indoor Championships since 2017. Thomas stated that Oladipo and Shelby are serving as a pace maker for the program. “And it just means a lot. It means that we are getting a team to buy into a standard. These athletes are taking accountability to meet that standard and do what it is that they have been dreaming of doing their entire life. And it just shows what we are doing as a staff from every coach that I have on staff that we’ve all come in and been very consistent with being elite. And I can’t thank my staff enough for what they’ve done, even in events that may not be represented at the national championship. And so it just shows that it’s not just about the result, but it’s about the process and how we are getting there, and they’re [Shelby and Oladipo] definitely part of the process and will forever be etched in Vanderbilt’s legacy as starting consistency in these events and with the track team for years to come.“
The championships, hosted by the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the City of Birmingham, will be held March 11-12 at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Alabama.
ESPN3 will stream the championships live starting at 10 a.m. CT March 11 and starting at 10:30 a.m. March 12. A re-air of the championship will take place March 13 on ESPNU.