Jan. 15, 2011
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Vanderbilt track and field team opened the indoor season this weekend at the Kentucky Invitational and came home with several personal-best times.
In Friday’s field events, senior Katherine Hendricks finished in three-way tie for second in the pole vault, clearing a height of 12’1.5″. Junior Meagan Martin and sophomore Morgan Toone reached marks of 11’7.75″. In the high jump, Ellie Tidman moved to third all-time at Vanderbilt, with a ninth-place finish at 5’7.25″. Brionne Williams stands at fifth-all time at VU after clearing 5’5.25″.
“Ellie and Brionne had great starts to their Vanderbilt careers,” said jumps coach Clark Humphreys. “Our pole vaulters had a great performance, with each of them starting at the same spot they ended last year, which is a great sign for the season.”
Saturday’s events began with the 60-meter dash, where Anna Carr posted a time of 7.81 seconds. Josalyn White was three tenths of a second behind at 8.11 seconds. Kristen Findley finished the one-mile race in 5:07.74 and Erin McManus recorded a time of 5:26.06.
Taylor Jackson and White competed in the 200-meter dash, posting times of 26.14 seconds and 26.94 seconds, respectively. Teegan Hill finished the 800-meter run with a time of 2:22.91.
In the distance events, Vanderbilt picked up where cross country ended in the fall with several personal best times. In the 3000-meter run, four Commodores finished in the top 20, with Louise Hannallah leading the way at ninth. She finished less than a second off of her personal best with a time of 9:52.07. Allie Scalf cut 24 seconds off of her personal best as she posted a time of 9:52.72, good for 10th place. Scalf now stands eighth on the all-time performance list at Vanderbilt. Also posting a personal best was Kristabel Doebel-Hickok, who placed 12th with a time of 9:58.05. Megan Yohe clocked in at 10:26.18, good for 17th place and Adrienne DiRaddo finished with a time of 10:25.32.
“Allie [Scalf] helped with keeping the pace steady and shared the load with Louise [Hannallah] and Kristabel [Doebel-Hickok],” noted distance coach Steve Keith. “Kristabel ran a very smart race and showed good strength. We were a little nervous or uncertain what to expect because the snow and ice [in Nashville earlier in the week] held us back. The women worked hard over break and it showed in these solid efforts.”
The Commodores have two weeks off before returning to Lexington for the Rod McGravy Memorial Meet, January 28 and 29.
“We are looking forward to getting some quality work in this week,” said track and field head coach D’Andre Hill-Montgomery. “For this being our first competition of the season, we are pleased with the performance as a whole.”
