Nov. 4, 2014
By David Dawson | Subscribe to Commodore Nation
When they first arrived on campus, the athletes who formed the 2011 cross country freshman class were stamped with a variety of contrasting labels.
Talented. But untested.
Ambitious. But unacclimated.
Enthusiastic. But inexperienced.
Add up those adjectives and it equaled a considerable amount of uncertainty for Vanderbilt head coach Steve Keith, who remembers being optimistic about the group’s potential, but admits he wasn’t sure what kind of lasting impact the group would have at Vanderbilt.
“As a whole, we liked them and we were excited to have them in the program,” he said, “but we didn’t know what was going to happen. On paper, they weren’t as touted, nationally, as some of the other classes we’ve had since then.”
Four years later, the landscape looks different. The freshmen class of 2011â€â€which included Hannah Jumper, Claire Benjamin, Amira Joseph, Grace Orders and Rebecca Chandlerâ€â€has emphatically answered every question.
Together, they have played an integral role in helping the Vanderbilt program rise to unprecedented heights, and they are now hoping to close out their careers by leading the Commodores to their fourth straight appearance at the NCAA Championships. To put that in perspective, consider this: Prior to 2011, Vanderbilt had never advanced to nationals in the program’s history.
“Making it four years in a row is a very nice goal to have,” said Keith, “and that would be a true legacy for this group.”
The five seniors have led the Commodores to a bevy of success already this season, with the NCAA Regionals and NCAA Championships later this month. In September, the team placed eighth at the Roy Griak Invitational in Minnesota. Three weeks later, they tied for ninth, surpassing 12 ranked teams, including 10 teams ranked higher than them at the time.
And, just last week on Halloween, with a No. 14 national ranking, Vanderbilt finished second at the SEC Championships. Three runners earned All-SEC honors, including Benjamin as she finished 13th.
Etching out a permanent imprint on the program was essentially just a distant vision to the members of the 2011 group when they first landed at Vanderbilt.
“When you’re a freshman, you don’t necessarily have that mentality,” said Chandler. “You just say to yourself, ‘Ok, I have to survive and make my way through freshman year.’ But over the past two years, I feel like we have started to kind of take responsibility for the team in terms of being leaders. And this year, we’re even more ready to do that.”
With the veterans helping lead the way, the Commodores have roared out to a great start in 2014. They delivered dominating performances at their first two meets of the season, the Belmont Opener and the Commodore Classic, and easily won both races. The Commodores placed seven runners among the top-eight at the first race, and had five of the top seven at the second event.
Vanderbilt entered the season with a No. 23 ranking and was ranked No. 2 in the South Regionalâ€â€further proof of how the team has established itself as a national force.
“It’s been an incredible experience,” Jumper said of the Commodores’ rise in the past three years. “I don’t think any of us necessarily expected it when we were all being recruited because (the team) had never made it to nationals before.”
Naturally, each of the five girls has her own story to tell in regard to the journey that led to this point in time. In addition to a sizable list of injuries among the five, there has also been the emotional highs and lows that all cross country runners seem to inevitably encounter.
“They’ve been through the whole gamut of college experiences,” said Keith.
And yet, the group has persevered and prosperedâ€â€and their determined spirit has not been overlooked by their teammates.
“(The seniors) are huge emotional supporters for the team and they are an incredibly talented group of girls,” said junior Sara Barron. “They are all amazing in terms of their work ethic and their national talent. They have each had to face some sort of major adversity and they haven’t given up. It’s inspiring.”
The amount of hardships the group has endured has seemingly enhanced the chemistry among the five girls, who have developed a connection that goes well beyond the paint-marked boundaries of a cross-country course.
The five carry a strong bond, despite hailing from all parts of the country. Benjamin is from Richmond, Va. Chandler is a native of Jacksonville, Fla. Amira Joseph calls Portland, Ore., home. Grace Orders is also from the West Coast, growing up in Moraga, Calif. Jumper, a redshirt junior, is the lone Tennessee native, hailing from Chattanooga.
“We’re really close, even outside of running,” said Chandler. “From the time we first came in, we’ve been one of the strongest classes in terms of personality. I’d say we have a really, really strong bond. We’re all really different people outside of running, and we all have different interests. … We all have different strengths and weaknesses, but I think, in a way, that makes us stronger. We appreciate each other for who we are.”
Jumper said the Commodores’ recent run of success has resulted in a noticeable change to the team’s approach to each year.
“In the past, our goal was to make it nationals,” she said. “Now we go into the season with specific goals for what we want to accomplish once we get to nationals. So, definitely that is one thing that has changed over the years: our expectations of ourselves.”
Although Joseph is the only one among the group that has competed in the NCAA Championship in each of the past three seasons, each of the five girls in the group considers it to be a team accomplishment to advance to nationals, regardless of who participates.
“It’s a huge motivation for us,” said Jumper. “At this point, we just want to keep adding to the list of things our team has never done. Our team has obviously never made it to nationals for four straight years, so we are focused on that.”
Aside from being a close-knit class, the Commodore veterans have an open-door policy with the other girls on the roster. Whether it’s serving as a venting post during a stressful time or simply offering words of encouragement after a race, the seniors step up.
“They are such a core for our team,” Barron said. “They are always there for everybody else. When I came in as a freshman, each and every one of them became one of my closest friends and mentors. And I feel like that was true for my entire class, and last year’s freshmen and this year’s freshmen, too.”
Vanderbilt assistant coach Rhonda Riley said the impact that the five girls have had on the program is immeasurable.
“When you look at what they done, as a whole, it’s a huge accomplishment,” said Riley. “They’ve each had periods of success, individually, on their own time and that has created great momentum for the program. And in terms of leadership, this group has been as strong as any that we’ve had.”
Chandler said the leadership qualities displayed by the Vanderbilt veterans has emerged as a result of the lessons they learned while watching other seniors in previous seasons. The seniors on Vanderbilt’s 2011 team, which produced a historic season that culminated with the team’s first SEC Championship, were especially influential.
“The senior class when we were freshmen were just amazing leaders,” said Chandler. “They were really the first group of girls that started taking the team in the right direction. And I think all of us who were freshmen on that team decided that is who were going to be when we were seniors.”
The 2011 senior classâ€â€which included team captains Alexa Rogers and Louise Hannallah along with Jordan White and Erin McManueâ€â€continue to have a connection with the program. And the framework they developed during their careers is still in place today.
“We still talk to them and are still close with them,” said Chandler. “And really, we (the current seniors) are trying to emulate the things that they did.”
When the 2011 team qualified for the NCAA Championships, it enabled the freshmen on the roster to get a feel for what it is like to compete on a national level, even for those who didn’t run.
“That was great,” said Jumper, “because we all were there and we saw what this program could be.”
Although they don’t necessarily spend much time thinking about it, the Vanderbilt veterans are aware that they are in position to leave their fingerprints on the program. And they certainly aren’t taking that for granted.
“Vanderbilt is a really special placeâ€â€academically, athletically, socially. All of it,” said Jumper. “And I think one day, all of us can look back and say we made the most of our time here. And a large part of that will be just knowing that we helped build this program be the best it can be.”
