Roberts, Holloway, Capps Earn Individual Victories at TSU's Boston-Moon Invitational

Roberts, Holloway, Capps Earn Individual Victories at TSU’s Boston-Moon Invitational

4/18/2005

Nashville, Tenn. – Pole vaulter Paige Roberts, long jumper Garnetta Holloway and distance runner Shannon Capps captured individual victories at the Boston-Moon Collegiate Invitational held Saturday at Tennessee State University.

The performances by Roberts, a senior from Atascadero, Calif., Holloway, a junior from Cleveland, Tenn., and Capps, a sophomore from Knoxville, guided the Commodores to a third place team finish. The Tennessee State Tigerbelles, host of the meet, captured the team title.

The Commodores return to competition this week, hosting the Vanderbilt Invitational Friday and Saturday, April 22-23, on campus.  More than 20 teams are expected to compete at the invitational, which serves as a prelude to the Commodores hosting the prestigious Southeastern Conference Track and Field Championships on May 12-15.

In winning the pole vault, Roberts matched her Commodore outdoor record of 12’0″.  The only other competition for Roberts to reach the 12-foot barrier was the 2004 SEC Outdoor Championships at Ole Miss.

Holloway also established a personal best in the long jump, winning the competition with a 18’5″ effort.  It was the first time for Holloway to surpass 18 feet in her Vanderbilt career.  Holloway also added a sixth place finish in the javelin with a toss of 95’4″.

Capps and senior Aline Bernard led a 1-2 Commodore finish in the 3,000 meters, running 10:53.05 and 11:03.68, respectively.

In other action involving Vanderbilt athletes at the Boston-Moon Invitational:
? Senior Jenn Sims finished third in the 400-meter hurdles and fifth in the 100-meter hurdles.
? Junior Whitney Thurman and freshman Val Kazmer ran second and third in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, respectively.
? Junior Anna Morgan finished fourth in the 800.
? Senior Shawnette Adams finished sixth in the 400.
? Freshman Sydney Faulkner was seventh in the long jump and seven in the 200 meters.
? Sophomore Stephanie Tiedemann and freshman Anjarae Washington tied for fourth in the high jump.

The performances by Roberts, Holloway and Capps helped to soften a troubling showing by Commodore heptathlete Josie Hahn at the Sea Ray Relays last week in Knoxville.  Competing on a sore foot, the All-American completed the hurdles and high jump events of the heptathlon before deciding to end her quest for the Sea Ray crown. Later, Hahn competed in the 400-meter hurdles at the Sea Ray Relays, but did not finish among the top eight.

While Hahn left the Sea Ray Relays with injury concerns, fellow Commodore senior Nadiyah Humber departed Knoxville with a personal best in the 1,500 meters. Humber’s 4:40.63 effort was more than six seconds faster than her previous best set last year at the Ole Miss Invitational.