May 17, 2004

Schneble Claims SEC 5,000-Meter Title Sunday; Commodores End Meet in 10th Place Overall

5/17/2004

OXFORD, Miss. — Vanderbilt sophomore distance runner Erika Schneble continued her impressive roll Sunday, winning the 5,000-meter run in convincing fashion at the Southeastern Conference Track and Field Championships.

Schneble, who entered the meet with the fastest 5,000, ran cautiously through the first mile, then took the lead early in the second and never looked back. Schneble did withstand a late rally by Auburn’s Angela Homan. Schneble was timed in 16:22.92, nearly two seconds ahead Holman, who won the 10,000 meters on Friday and is the reigning SEC cross country champion.

“I’m very happy for Erika because it was a difficult race to win,” Vanderbilt distance coach Jim Spivey said. “She knew the Auburn runner (Homan) was in top form after winning the 10,000, and she had to think about that for a couple of days. But she ran very hard, and had to push the pace for much of the race. I am very proud of her accomplishment.”

Schneble’s victory marks the first time that the Vanderbilt women’s squad leaves the SEC Championships with multiple winners. On Friday, junior Josie Hahn captured the heptathlon.

Lori Shepard’s squad finished 10th in the team standings with 27 points, the highest SEC accumulation by the Commodores since 1999.

For Hahn, the SEC Championships ended in more bitter fashion than it began. Nursing a sore back, Hahn failed to score points in the javelin finals Sunday, throwing a best of only 112’8″ in the preliminaries. On Friday, Hahn sealed her SEC heptathlon victory with a team-record 147’2″ javelin toss. If Hahn had duplicated that effort, she would have captured the Sunday competition by nearly nine feet. One of Hahn’s teammates, senior Ally Sisler, finished eighth with a toss of 122’0″.

Schneble entered the race on a tremendous streak. Since the last cross country race in November, the native of Hendersonville, N.C., has set a personal best in 12 straight races entering the SEC Championships.

Her excellent form continued Sunday. Schneble asserted control after running with the lead pack for the opening mile. With two laps remaining, Schneble had eliminated all but Homan, who was running six second behind. After narrowing the gap to 20 meters in the final 200 meters, Homan could get no closer.

Another Commodore distance runner, freshman Ashleigh Wetzel, did not break into the top eight of the 1,500 meters, but ran the fiftth fastest time in team history, breaking her personal best by nearly three seconds. Wetzel, the only freshman to reach the 1,500-meter final, ran 4:26.38, good for 10th overall.

Wetzel’s personal best came against an imposing field that included nine sub-4:22 1,500-meter runners. She departs the championship meet with a NCAA regional qualifying mark and two career bests in the 1,500.
Hahn Earns Fourth in SEC High Jump; Wetzel Advances to 1,500-Meter Final

OXFORD, Miss. — Junior Josie Hahn continued to pile up Commodore team points at the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships, finishing fourth in the high jump Saturday.

Hahn took fourth in the high jump with a clearance of 5’8″. The event winner was Georgia senior Hyleas Fountain at 5’9.75″.

In other action involving Commodores, freshman Ashleigh Wetzel achieved a NCAA Regional qualifying standard while advancing to the 1,500-meter finals and junior Paige Roberts raised her team record in the pole vault.

With one day remaining at the SEC Championships, Hahn has scored 15 of Vanderbilt’s 16 team points. She earned 10 points Friday by winning the SEC heptathlon. Last year, Hahn also collected 15 team points. Hahn can score more points Sunday when she competes in the javelin.

Competing in a steady rain Saturday, Hahn was unable to match her high jump performance two days earlier when she set a new Vanderbilt outdoor record of 6’0″ in the heptathlon.

Hahn started the competition with a 5’4.25″ clearance. After passing at 5’6″, Hahn cleared 5’8″ on her third and final attempt.

Wetzel became the only freshman to make the 1,500-meter finals, limited to 12 runners. She was the 11th fastest qualifier in 4:29.09.

The performance also lifts Wetzel’s burden of achieving the NCAA Regional standard of 4:29.12. During two previous races this year, Wetzel just missed the qualifying mark.

Two other Commodore 1,500-meter runners, senior Jocelyn Theriault and sophomore Alisa Cotter ran 16th and 19th respectively.

Junior Paige Roberts failed to earn team points for the Commodores, but left the meet with a Vanderbilt record in the pole vault. Roberts increased her outdoor record to 12’0″, finishing 12th overall.

Sophomore Latisha Bryant ran the fastest 400 meters of her collegiate career, 56.82, but did not advance to the finals. She was 15th overall.

Hahn Wins SEC Heptathalon With School-Record

OXFORD, Miss. — A team-record javelin throw propelled Vanderbilt’s Josie Hahn to the heptathlon title at the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships Friday at the University of Mississippi.

Hahn, a native of Clinton, Tenn., became the third Commodore to win an event at the SEC Outdoor Championships. The others to capture victories were Ryan Tolbert and Kylene Kownurko. Tolbert won the 400-meter hurdles in 1997 and 1998 while Kownurko captured the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 2002.

Hahn’s 5,492-point performance was a school record, topping her 5,444-point effort from the NCAA Championships last year. It also was gives Hahn a provisional standard for the U.S. Olympic Trials.

“I’m very happy to win the event. It was hoping to reach 5,500 points, but I’m still very pleased with the result,” Hahn said.

Chelsea Hammond of South Carolina finished second with 5,235 points, followed by Latoya McBride of Ole Miss with 5,189 points.

Two other Commodores, sophomore Garnetta Holloway and senior Kyshia Ewing, finished eighth and ninth overall with 4,712 and 4,705 points, respectively. Each total is a personal best.

During the two-day competition, Hahn set five personal bests and three school records.

Hahn’s superb showing came with disappointing efforts in the opening events both days. Starting the competition Friday with a slim lead, Hahn fell behind Hammond and or the second consecutive day, Hahn used a school-record effort one event after a sub-par performance. Holding the overall lead entering competition Friday, Hahn fell behind Hammond and McBride when she posted a sub-par long jump of just 17’1.75″.

Maintaining her composure, Hahn went straight to the javelin event and uncorked the longest throw in team history on her first attempt. Her toss of 147’2″ bettered the former record set in 1993 by Janis Rose by more than six feet.

“It was the same both days,” Hahn said. “My start was kind of disappointing both days, but I tried to use it as motivation. It definitely spurred me to do better in the other events.”

Hahn sealed the heptathlon victory in the 800 meters, finishing a close third in 2:21.3. The 800 was staged in a pouring rain.

Hahn, who earned 14 of Vanderbilt’s 19 team points last year, has an excellent chance to garner more points for the Commodores. She appears as a serious contender in the individual high jump scheduled for Saturday and is ranked as the SEC’s third best javelin throw. The javelin final will be held Sunday.

Hahn Uses Three Personal Bests to Take First-Day Lead in Heptathlon at SEC Championships

OXFORD, Miss. — Vanderbilt’s Josie Hahn used three consecutive personal best performances to earn a first-day lead in the heptathlon Thursday at the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Hahn, a junior from Clinton, Tenn., set career bests in the high jump, shot put and 200-meter dash to accumulate 3,303 points after four events. She holds a 42-point margin over talented Chelsea Hammond of South Carolina.

Kyshia Ewing, a Commodore senior, was the big surprise in the heptathlon Thursday, scoring 3,029 points to claim fourth place by a slim margin over three other competitors.

Hahn will attempt to join former Commodore athletes Ryan Tolbert and Kylene Kownurko as the only Vanderbilt participants to win an individual title at the SEC Outdoor Championships. She concludes the heptathlon Friday by competing in the long jump, javelin and 800-meter run.

A high jump clearance of 6’0″ sparked Hahn’s first-day performance. The school-record effort helped Hahn recover from a poor showing in the first heptathlon event, the 100-meter hurdles. After the high jump, Hahn concluded the day by posting a pair of career bests – 39’10.25″ in the shot put and 25.90 in the 200 meters.

Vanderbilt Head Coach Lori Shepard said Hahn used her subpar 15.24 effort in the hurdles as motivation in the final three events Thursday.

“Josie is great at making the most of those situations. As a heptathlon competitor, you can either let a poor showing negatively affect you in the next event or you can dig deeper to make sure you do better. Josie decided to dig deeper,” Shepard said.

Hahn’s 3,303-point total is the most she has ever accumulated after the first day. Last year, while finishing second to Hyleas Fountain of Georgia in the SEC heptathlon, Hahn amassed 3,178 points. She ended that competition with a personal record of 5,327 points. Hahn later set the Commodore heptathlon record of 5,444 points by finishing fourth finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Prior to the events Thursday, Hahn learned that Fountain would be defend the SEC heptathlon title.

“It has been a really good day,” Hahn said. “The hurdles didn’t go well, but I had a PR (personal record) in the high jump and shot put, and maybe the 200 meters. Overall, I feel really good about today.”

Hahn’s work to win the title is far from done. Hammond is expected to assume the lead Friday after the long jump. She enters the SEC Championships as a favorite in the event and a serious contender at the NCAA Championships. Hahn’s task is to regain the lead by outperforming Hammond in the javelin and 800 meters.

“You have to think Chelsea will get the lead. She’s a 21-foot long jumper,” Shepard said. “But I think Josie has a great chance of making up the difference because he has an outstanding javelin-800 combo.” Hahn’s javelin best of 135’0″ is fourth best in the SEC this year.

While Hahn leads, Ewing has been a pleasant surprise for the Commodores. After running the hurdles in 15.36 and clearing 5’3.75″ in the high jump, Ewing jumped six positions in the competition on the strength of a 39’8.5″ toss in the shot put and 25.89 200-meter sprint.

A third Commodore heptathlete, sophomore Garnetta Holloway, is currently tied for 13th overall with 2,819 points.

The SEC Championships continue through Sunday at the University of Mississippi. Thirteen Commodores, including 5,000-meter contender Erika Schneble, are expected to compete.