BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — In just her first season as a Commodore, Divine Oladipo reached the mountaintop of indoor track and field competition on Saturday night as second team All-American.
“What Divine has done for this program, representing in the shot put and the throws, particularly in indoors is something that Vanderbilt has not seen from a competitor in quite some time,” said Althea Thomas, director of cross country and track and field.
She finished the final day of the NCAA Indoor Championships at the Birmingham CrossPlex in ninth overall in the shot put with a mark of 17.15m. The Commodore competed against student-athletes from Arizona State, Ohio State, Tennessee, Arizona, Sam Houston State, Oklahoma, Georgia, Southern Illinois, Penn State, Nebraska, Miami (Florida), Bowling Green, Wisconsin, Houston and Ole Miss.
In January at the first meet of the indoor season, Oladipo set the nation’s top indoor mark on the season while breaking a Vanderbilt record that stood for more than two decades. Oladipo, making her debut with the Commodores, broke Leslie Vidmar’s record of 16.16m (53’) set in 1998. She also bested the 17.90m tossed by Olympian Jessica Ramsey who finished 12th in the Tokyo Games and competed in the Commodore Challenge as an individual.
“What Divine has done in this time for herself and for the program is just immeasurable,” Thomas said. “From not ever competing in the shot put indoors to hitting big personal bests and including today. Although she didn’t become an All-American as she expected to and we know she’s capable of, as coach (Ashley) Kovacs said, Divine had the best series of throws she’s had all year.
“And what that means in track and field is consistently being over a certain mark that shows your growth. It just really shows that this is just the beginning for Divine.”
Vanderbilt will begin the outdoor season in the two-day Black and Gold Invitational in Orlando, Florida, hosted by UCF on March 18-19.
