May 14, 2015
Event: SEC CHAMPIONSHIPS
Day, Date: Thursday-Saturday, May 14-16
Host: Mississippi State (Starkville, Miss.)
Site: Mike Sanders Track Complex
Meet Home page: HERE
Schedule: HERE
Full SEC Release: HERE Â
Results: HERE
Viewing: SEC Network-PlusÂ
Friday: HERE
Saturday: HERE
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DAY 1 RECAPÂ
With Courtney Clayton and Vanessa Valentine both delivering outstanding performances, the Vanderbilt track and field team got off to a running start on the opening day of the SEC Championships in Starkville, Miss., on Thursday.
Clayton set a new school record in the 800 with a time of 2:05.52 while finishing third in the preliminaries and earning a spot in the finals. Clayton’s time easily surpassed her previous personal record of 2:07.05, and eclipsed the school record of 2:05.54 set by Rita Jorgensen in 2011.
Later, in the final event of the night, Valentine capped the Commodores’ efforts with a sixth-place finish in the 10000-meter run, setting a personal-best time of 35:34.41 and scoring three points. Valentine, who surged past several competitors down the stretch, recorded the fifth-best time on Vanderbilt’s all-time performance list and beat her previous PR by more than a minute.
“It was a good first day for us,” said head coach Steve Keith. “This conference is a real buzzsaw, and if you are not on your game, it can be a rough day. So all in all, I felt like it was a real good day for us.” (For more from Keith, see video below).
Other highlights for the Commodores included freshman Maddie Criscione finishing 11th in the 800 with a personal-record time of 2:09.61, which set the No. 10 mark on VU’s all-time list, along with Top-15 finishes from Skyler Carpenter (12th in the 400-hurdles at 59.77), Faith Washington (13th in the 400-hurdles at 1:00.03) and Reagan Anderson (15th in the 800 at 2:12.42).
The Commodores will look to continue the momentum on Friday, when they will have representatives in six events, including school record-holders Sarah Bell (pole vault) and Rebecca Chandler (Steeplechase).
Thursday’s Results (Vanderbilt)
Women’s 800
3 – Courtney Clayton – 2:05.52
11 – Maddie Criscione – 2:09.61
15 – Reagan Anderson – 2:12.42
Women’s 200
27 – Erin Edmond – 24.69
Women’s 400 Hurdles
12 – Skyler Carpenter – 59.77
13 – Faith Washington – 1:00.03
19 – Emma Radan – 1:02.04
Women’s 1000-meter
6 – Vanessa Valentine – 35:34.41
13 – Claire Benjamin – 36:48.33
UPCOMING SCHEDULE (Vanderbilt)
FRIDAY
11 am Heptathlon — Sarah Goodale
4 pm Pole Vault — Sarah Bell, Megan McCabe
4 pm 1500 — Reagan Anderson, Sara Barron, Maddie Criscione, Katherine Delaney, Megan Huebner, Courtney Kriegshauser, Lily Williams
4 pm High Jump — Ellie Tidman
5:35 pm 400 — Erin Edmond
6:45 pm Steeplechase — Becca Chandler
SATURDAY
1 pm Triple Jump — Simone Charley, Tierney Price
1 pm 1500, 400, 800, 400H Finalists
6 pm 5K — Carmen Carlos, Vanessa Valentine
6:35 pm 4×400
