NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Vanderbilt track and field team will open its outdoor season this weekend in the Island Relays Bahamas Invitational at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex in Freeport.
The Dores hope to build off their momentum from the indoor season, which included six new school records, 27 Vanderbilt top-10 performances and many career- and season-bests.
This Commodore team brings a mix of veterans and newcomers to the outdoor track and field season.
Graduate student Taiya Shelby, Second-Team All-American in the 400 meters for both indoor and outdoor last year, finished 16th at the 2022 Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships (June 23—24) in the 400-meter semifinals (52.40 seconds). Recently, Shelby earned a bronze medal for her efforts in the 800 meters (2:04.43) at the SEC Indoor Track & Field Championships (Feb. 24—25).
Graduate student Beatrice Juskeviciute transferred to Vanderbilt from Cornell. During the indoor season at Vanderbilt, she set school records in the pentathlon (4,282 points) and the 60-meter hurdles (8.23 seconds). She earned a silver medal in the pentathlon at this year’s SEC indoor championships and finished sixth overall at the NCAA D1 Women’s Indoor Track & Field Championships (March 10), earning the distinction of First-Team All-American. While competing for Cornell last outdoor season, Juskeviciute won a gold medal in the heptathlon at the Ivy League outdoor championships (May 7—8) and finished seventh overall with a personal-best score of 5,721 at the NCAA outdoor championships (June 8—11).
Senior Veronica Fraley came to Vanderbilt as a transfer from Clemson. This indoor season, Fraley earned a bronze medal in the shot put (17.25m) at the SEC indoor championships and is second on the Commodores’ all-time top-10 list for the event. During the 2021 outdoor season, Fraley set the Clemson school record in the discus (56.73m) during the opening round of the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials (June 18—19, 2021), finishing 10th overall as a finalist. She finished 11th overall in the discus (56.41m) at the 2021 NCAA outdoor championships (June 9—12), earning the distinction of Second-Team All-American.
Senior Niki Narayani finished the indoor season with two scoring performances at the SEC indoor championships, finishing fifth overall in the 5,000 meters with a personal best time of 16:17.82 and eighth overall in the 3,000 meters (9:25.36).
Senior Jada Sims also posted a scoring performance at the SEC indoor championships with her personal-best score of 3,840 in the pentathlon, which earned her eighth place. She also scored at last year’s SEC outdoor championships in the heptathlon, finishing seventh overall with her score of 4,928.
Notable newcomers to the Vanderbilt women’s track and field team include freshman Kosi Umerah, who set the school record in the weight throw (19.87m) four times over the course of four indoor meets, freshman Allyria McBride, member of the 4×400-meter relay team (3.33.23) that broke the school record and earned a bronze medal at the SEC indoor championships, freshman Sarah Marvin, who is fourth in program history in the indoor shot put (15.94m), freshman Madyson Wilson, who is sixth in school history in the 300 meters (39.85 seconds), and freshmen Santana Spearman and Taylor McKinnon, who hold the No. 6 (8.58 seconds) and No. 7 (8.61 seconds) spots, respectively, on the Vanderbilt top 10 list for the 60-meter hurdles.
The Commodores will be joined by Arizona, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas A&M and the University of the Bahamas at this weekend’s meet.
The Island Relays Bahamas Invitational will kick off on Friday at 9 a.m. CT for field events with the javelin throw, and 3:30 p.m. CT for running events with the 400-meter hurdles. Saturday’s competition will begin at 10 a.m. CT with the shot put on the field and 1 p.m. CT with the 1,500 meters on the track.
Fans can follow Vanderbilt women’s track and field on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @VandyXCTrack.
