GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Day 2 of the Pepsi Florida Relays invitational was highlighted by graduate student Taiya Shelby’s personal best and program record–breaking time of 2:03.89 in the 800 meters. Shelby finished first among collegiate competitors and third overall in the race. Building off the team’s momentum from day one, several other Dores secured Vanderbilt top 10 marks.
“We’re putting our stamp on the conference and in the NCAA,” director of track and field Althea Thomas said. “When [Shelby] finished the race, she was best in the NCAA in the 800 meters. [Fraley] is ranked second in the NCAA in the discus. [Marvin] and [McBride] are ranked in the SEC in their events. It shows that Vanderbilt belongs and that these athletes will be contenders for top spots.”
On the field, freshman Sarah Marvin finished seventh in the open division of the shot put, recording a throw of 15.55 meters–third in Vanderbilt history. In the invite division of the same event, senior Veronica Fraley recorded the fourth-best throw in school history with her 15.18-meter toss.
Senior Jada Sims claimed third place in the high jump with a mark of 1.71 meters, her best since the Commodore Challenge in January.
In the 100-meter hurdles, freshman competitors Taylor McKinnon and Santana Spearman, earned Vanderbilt top 10 times. McKinnon clocked 13.73 seconds, which is fourth in school history, and Spearman finished the race in 13.99 seconds, which is seventh.
In the 400 meters, senior Kaira Brown posted a season-best performance, clocking 55 seconds.
To finish the meet, the Commodores’ 4×400-meter relay team of freshmen Allyria McBride and Mya Georgiadis, Shelby and Brown finished in 3:36.57, placing fifth in the Tom Jones invite division and clocking the sixth-fastest time in Vanderbilt history.
On Day 1 of the Pepsi Florida Relays invitational, three school records were set and multiple names climbed onto Vanderbilt top 10 lists. Freshman Giavonna Meeks set the program record in the hammer throw with a 51.86-meter toss. In the discus, Fraley claimed first place and bested her own school record with a throw of 60.24 meters. The Vanderbilt shuttle hurdle relay of graduate student Beatrice Juskeviciute, McKinnon, Spearman and Sims clocked 55.77 seconds, breaking the school record.
The 4×100-meter relay of McBride, Shelby, sophomore Ella Escobar and junior Rondajai Washington recorded the second-fastest time in school history (45.76 seconds). Washington’s performance in the 200 meters is fifth in program history (24.02 seconds). McBride claimed the No. 4 spot on the Vanderbilt top 10 list with her time of 57.88 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles.
“As a program, as a team and as coaches, we are continuing to build off the momentum and standard we established in the indoor season. Having finished at the SEC championships with the highest placement in recent years and [Juskeviciute] being named an All-American, I think the team has picked up where they left off at the end of the indoor season,” Thomas said. “Success, and the fact that improvement is available, has been contagious. The program is really improving. More and more of the team is taking advantage of the opportunities to be great. It’s definitely a move in the right direction.”
Next, the Commodores will compete April 7–8 in the Joe Walker Invitational, hosted by the University of Mississippi in Oxford.
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