April 27, 2007
Des Moines, Iowa – Commodore fifth-year senior distance runner Erika Schneble continued to show strong form Thursday, prepping for the upcoming Southeastern Conference Championships with a solid finish in the Drake Relays 5,000-meter run.
Returning to the scene of one of her finest collegiate races, Schneble finished seventh in the 5,000 meters with a season best 16:34.33 performance. The effort was Schneble’s fastest outdoor 5,000 in nearly three years.
The Drake Relays race marks Schneble’s last prep for the SEC Championships, scheduled May 10-12 in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Schneble ranks among the Commodores’ top achievers at the conference meet, winning the 5,000 meters in 2004 and finishing second last year.
“Erika continues to improve. Little by little, we’re getting Erika ready for the SECs and (NCAA) regionals,” Vanderbilt distance coach Steve Keith said after the race. “Erika still hasn’t put together a complete race together this year, but she’s getting closer. If she continues to improve, we have a chance to have fun at the upcoming meets.”
Schneble entered the race with great memories of the Drake Relays. In 2004, she became the first Commodore to ever win an individual event at the prestigious competition, running the 5,000 in 16:26.87.
Facing a stronger field Thursday, Schneble ran with the lead pack of mostly Big Ten participants through the first mile. Late in the race, after struggling to keep pace with the leaders during the second mile, Schneble finished strongly, rallying to overtake three competitors.
“I was really happy with the way Erika finished. We missed two or three splits midway through the race, but Erika came back on a large group late and ended up beating several of them,” Keith said.
The performance lowers Schneble’s best this year by six seconds. She holds the team record at 5,000 meters, having run 16:08.18 in 2004 at Palo Alto, Calif. She also is the recent recipient of the 2007 SEC McWhorter Award, given to the SEC’s top female student-athlete.
Schneble, who now is the SEC’s second fastest runner at 5,000 meters, appears to be one of several Commodore runners with hopes of scoring points at the SEC meet. Sophomore teammate Carmen Mims is training well and currently ranks sixth in the conference among 5,000-meter runners.
Senior Ashleigh Wetzel appears to be a contender in the 3,000-meter steeplechase based on her personal-record performance last week at the Vanderbilt Invitational. Wetzel’s 10:39.59 effort is just five seconds off a team record and ranks fourth in the league.
In the 1,500-meter run, Brittany Sizer has been performing at a high level in her senior campaign. Sizer, currently ranked No. 10 in the conference, likely needs a personal record to score at the SEC meet.
The Commodores will also look to versatile Garnetta Holloway for points at the conference championships. Holloway, who returned to action two weeks ago, is the SEC’s defending champion in the heptathlon.
