COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Day 1 of the 2022 SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships was highlighted by several record-breaking performances and championship qualifying times.
“The team really took responsibility to perform and to run at the level that this conference requires,” said Althea Thomas, director of cross country, track and field. “And, we saw that huge personal records, huge personal bests, improvements in our top-10 all-time program lists, and some good scoring opportunities for tomorrow as well.”
The day commenced with the pentathlon where Jess Creedon and Josephine Dal competed for the Commodores. Dal notched a new personal best of 9.66 meters in the shot put. She would finish the event as a whole with 3,612 points in the pentathlon, placing her sixth all-time in school history. The duo finished the event 13th (Dal) and 14th (Creedon) respectively with Creedon at 3,596 points.
Grace Jensen‘s bronze finish of 4:41.05 in the mile prelims, is a qualifying time for Saturday’s finals. Ella Lambert tabbed a personal best in the event with a time of 4:50.30, taking 15th overall.
Haley Bishop and Madison Fuller contended in the 60 meter prelims for Vandy. Bishop finished in the top-20 with a time of 7.46 and Fuller at 7.60 for 26th overall.
Ryan Tolbert’s mark of 52.75 from 1996 stands no longer as the top mark in the 400 meters, as Taiya Shelby’s 400 time of 52.40 has reset the No.1 time in school history that previously stood for 26-years. Shelby qualifies for Saturday’s finals, taking fifth on the day.
“Breaking records is something that we have been shooting for,” said Thomas. “Since day I got on campus with Taiya, her goals, and the path that she was on when I got here. We said we weren’t going to tip-toe toward them and with everything that we’ve been doing to prepare has led us to here. It is definitely amazing.”
Kaira Brown also competed in the 400 meters with a time of 55.76 for 25th overall.
Caroline Eck (16:29.82) and Niki Narayani (16:32.40) both raced in the 5000 meters for the first time in their collegiate careers. The duo finished ninth and 10th respectively.
A trio of Commodores vied for position in the 200 meter prelims in Bishop, Fuller, and Ella Escobar. Escobar’s time is a new personal record in the race at 25.04. Fuller’s mark of 24.19 placed her at 23rd in the field. Bishop reset the No.1 time in school history at 23.47, finishing 12th overall in the stacked field.
The Vanderbilt distance medley relay consisted of Haley Walker, Jordan Smith, Nicole Anderson, and McKenzie Yanek. The team finished ninth in the field with a time of 11:35.03 ahead of conference competitions Missouri, Georgia, and Mississippi State.
Day 2 of the championships begin tomorrow at 4:10 p.m. with Jensen in the Mile.
