JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Vanderbilt women’s track and field freshman Haley Bishop tied a school record while juniors Grace Jensen and Taiya Shelby each advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals at the NCAA East Regionals on Friday.
“What better time than at this level of meet and in this environment to run a lifetime best,” Vanderbilt head coach Steve Keith said. “We were super pumped to see everyone represent Vandy so well today and now we look to take that next step on Saturday.”
On Saturday, the top 12 quarterfinalists will advance to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon, on June 9-12.
Jensen got the Commodores started at the University of North Florida’s Hodges Stadium with the second-fastest 1,500 meters in school history. She cut several tenths off her previous best with a finish of 4:16.47.
She was sixth among the 48 competitors and earned an automatic spot into the quarterfinals as one of the top five finishers in her heat. She’ll race for a spot in the NCAA semifinals at 4:45 p.m. CT Saturday.
Shelby advanced in the 400 meters with a second-place finish in her heat. She also improved on her second-place standing in school history with a personal-best finish of 52.46. That was seventh overall among the field of 48 and earned her a spot in Saturday’s NCAA quarterfinals at 6:20 p.m. CT.
“Grace and Taiya were composed and confident,” Keith said. “Now the next challenge is Saturday to try to replicate or improve a little bit and see where that puts us.
Bishop matched the school standard in the 100 meters. She cut nearly a full tenth of a second off her previous best and stopped the clock at 11.52 to tie sophomore teammate Madison Fuller who hit that time at the Miami Invite in April. Bishop finished 28th overall, while Fuller was 43rd.
Bishop also competed in the 200 meters and finished 48th overall at 23.84.
Vanderbilt’s 4×400 relay team of Kaira Brown, Jordan Smith, Fuller and Shelby will race at 8:15 p.m. CT on Saturday. Nicole Anderson is the Commodore alternate.
Including Bishop’s school record and a pair of No. 2 times, Vanderbilt has now set five school records and recorded 31 top-10 performances during the 2021 outdoor season.
