April 30, 2015
After having an open date on the schedule last weekend during final exams, the Vanderbilt track and field team will be back in action Saturday, competing at the Tennessee Challenge in Knoxville. The meet — which will give the Vanderbilt athletes another opportunity to improve their seedings/rankings for the postseason — represents the Commodores’ second-to-last regular season meet. (Vanderbilt will visit Duke for a mid-week meet on May 6-7). It will be the first action for the Commodores since competing in the Virginia Challenge on April 17-18, and head coach Steve Keith said his team will use Saturday’s events “to get our feet wet again from a competitive standpoint.” Here’s a closer look at the meet:
Event: Tennessee Challenge
Day, Date: Saturday, May 2
Host: University of Tennessee (Knoxville, Tenn.)
Site: Tom Black Track at LaPorte Stadium
Meet Information: HEREÂ
Meet Schedule:Â HERE
Live Results: Link posted soon
l THE COMPETITION
Vanderbilt is one of three SEC schools, along with Auburn and host Tennessee, that will be in action this weekend. Three ACC teams — Clemson, Virginia Tech and Louisville — will also be competing, along with MTSU and numerous other teams.
l COMING IN HOT
The Commodores stormed through the month of April by delivering impressive performances at four meets — the Stanford Invitational, the Tiger Track Classic (Auburn), the Hurricane Invitational (Miami) and the Virginia Invitational. The Vanderbilt athletes posted multiple school records during that stretch, along with more than two dozen personal bests and 16 times/distances that rank among the Top-10 on the school’s all-time performers’ list. Perhaps the biggest highlight came during the meet in Miami on April 11, when the Commodore 4×400 relay team of Faith Washington, Skyler Carpenter, Courtney Clayton and Erin Edmond produced a school-record time of 3:34.98, which ranked No. 8 on the national list. The mark easily surpassed the previous school record (3:36.13) that had stood as the benchmark since 1998.
l COMPETING FOR THE COMMODORES:
Here’s a look at who is scheduled to be in action in Knoxville on Saturday for Vanderbilt:
11:30 am — Pole Vault: Megan McCabe, Sarah Bell
Noon — High jump:Â Ellie Tidman
2:30 pm — Triple jump:Â Tierney Price
12:30 pm — 4 x 100 Meter Relay: Skyler Carpenter, Faith Washington, Emma Radan, Erin Edmond
12:50 pm — 1500 Meter Run:Â Rebecca Chandler, Courtney Clayton, Vanessa Valentine, Carmen Carlos
1:40 pm — 400 Meter Dash:Â Skyler Carpenter, Erin Edmond, Faith Washington
2:30 pm — 800 Meter Run:Â Reagan Anderson, Sara Barron, Maddie Criscione, Katherine Delaney, Sarah Goodale, Megan Huebner, Courtney Kreigshauser, Lily Williams
3:00 pm — 400 Meter Hurdles:Â Skyler Carpenter, Emma Radan
3:50 pm — 3000 Meter Run:Â Claire Benjamin, Vanessa Valentine, Carmen Carlos, Rebecca Chandler
l QUOTING THE COACH
Here’s what Vanderbilt head coach Steve Keith had to say when he spoke with vucommodores.com this week about Saturday’s meet:
On the team’s first competition since completing final exams:
“This meet is all about seeing how the kids react after 10 days of finals. … And now that finals are over, I think they are excited to be able to focus exclusively on the athletic side in terms of being a student/athlete.”
On preparing for the postseason:
“At this point of the season, it’s really a matter of sharpening up and competing hard. You really want to be performing at a high level, and then you want to see that hold up throughout the month of May.”
l LAST TIME OUT
In their most recent action — two weeks ago at the Virginia Challenge — the Commodores delivered a strong showing that was highlighted by Rebecca Chandler’s school record performance in the Steeplechase with a time of 10:21.20. Chandler’s effort was one of 10 personal records that were set or tied by the Commodores during the weekend. Also, Faith Washington won the 400-meter hurdles with a personal-best time of 57.64, which ranks as the No. 3 mark on the school’s all-time performer’s list, and Vanderbilt’s 4×400 relay team — comprised of Washington, Skyler Carpenter, Courtney Clayton and Erin Edmond– took second place with a time of 3:36.84. Sara Barron took 14th in the 1500 at 4:20.41 to lead a strong cast of Commodores in that event. Katherine Delaney set a new personal best at 4:25.47, which ranks No. 9 on VU’s all-time list, and Carmen Carlos set a new PR at 4:28.39. Barron and Delaney also set new personal records in the 800, with Barron finishing 13th at 2:09.38 and Delaney taking 14th at 2:09.46. Barron and Delaney, who each won their heat, moved up to No. 7 and No. 8, respectively, on VU’s all-time list. Megan McCabe posted a personal record in the pole vault by clearing 12-6.25 (3.82m), which ranks No. 6 on VU’s all-time list.
l LOOKING BACK
In Vanderbilt’s most recent visit to Knoxville last spring, Simone Charley set a new school record in the triple jump with a leap of 41.10.75 and Skyler Carpenter took third in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 59.91, which was the fifth-best showing on Vanderbilt’s all-time list. Charley’s mark in the triple jump surpassed Vanderbilt’s previous best of 40.06.75 set in 1996 by Christina Penn. (Charley has since broken her own record on multiple occasions, including a career-best mark of 43-2.50 at the USATF Junior Championships).
