NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt track and field wrapped up its busy weekend of competition at the Indiana Invitational and LSU Alumni Gold meets on Saturday.
“It was a great showing by the Dores at the three meets,” director of track and field Althea Thomas said. “This week tested our ability to focus on the main things in our events and trust the process. We continue to see personal bests, school records and top program marks, and that’s what you want this time of year.”
At the Indiana Invitational in Bloomington, Veronica Fraley won her fourth discus competition in a row with a toss of 59.27 meters. All three competing Commodores qualified for the event final. Sarah Marvin finished first among freshmen and seventh overall with a 46.73-meter throw, which is fifth in school history. Giavonna Meeks finished in eighth place with a mark of 45.57 meters.
Allyria McBride was the first freshman and 12th athlete overall to finish in the 400 meters at the LSU Alumni Gold meet in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Her time of 53.55 seconds is fourth in program history. Brooke Overholt was not far behind, clocking 54.01 seconds—good for fifth in Vanderbilt history. In the same event, Mya Georgiadis ran a personal-best time of 55.61 seconds.
For the second meet in a row, Mackenzie Culpepper improved her personal best in the 800 meters at the LSU Alumni Gold meet, finishing the race in third place with a time of 2:10.93. She shaved more than two seconds off her previous PR.
To end the day in Baton Rouge, Overholt, Ella Escobar (24.59 seconds) and Jada Sims (24.77 seconds) recorded career bests in the 200 meters. Overholt’s time of 24.05 seconds is sixth on the school’s all-time performer list.
In Bloomington on Friday, Meeks and Fraley won the hammer throw and shot put in Bloomington. Meeks posted a throw of 60.77 meters, which reset the school record. Fraley’s performance in the shot put was a PR and No. 2 all-time in school history, reaching the 17.33-meter mark.
At the Virginia Challenge in Charlottesville, Virginia, Emma Curry (4:26.68), Julia Rosenberg (4:27.09) and Cameron Fawcett (4:28.21) turned in career-best times in the 1,500 meters.
“We are approaching our last regular-season competition with our home meet,” Thomas said. “It’s a time where we showcase our talents to the home crowd and honor our seniors while prepping for the SEC championships. We are getting in position to get in position.”
Men’s Cross Country: On Friday, members of the Vanderbilt men’s cross country team competed in the 1,500 and 3,000 meters at the Indiana Invitational. Philip Metcalf (8:44.78), Max Beck (9:01.38) and Mathew Ragsdale (9:24.18) ran the 3,000 meters. David Song (4:11.89) and Dylan Ballard (4:33.08) competed in the 1,500 meters.
Looking ahead, the Commodores will stay home and get ready to host the Music City Challenge in Nashville on April 28-29.
