April 18, 2009
AUBURN, Ala. – Vanderbilt sophomore pole-vaulter Katherine Hendricks jumped into the school’s record books by clearing the 11’7.75 mark to lead the Commodore track and field squad at the War Eagle Invitational Saturday. Hendricks’ personal best mark ranks second all-time at Vanderbilt. The jump of 11’7.75 was five inches higher than her previous collegiate best.
The Commodores looked to ride the momentum into Saturday’s events after Rita Jorgensen, Jordan White and Mallory Hitt had its best performances of the season on Friday.
Vanderbilt’s Teegan Hill posted a pair of top-11 finishes in the 200 and 400-meter dashes with times of 24.60 and 56.54 respectively. Hill was the lone `Dore competing in the open 200 and 400 while Taylor Jackson clocked a 12.45 in the open 100 to finish in 26th place.
After regionally qualifying in the 1500 meter run on Friday, VU’s Jorgensen attempted to do the same in the 800 on Saturday. Jorgensen got out fast as she kept pace with Florida’s Charlotte Browning for the lead before Browning pulled away from the rest of the pack. Jorgensen finished the race with a season-high time of 2:11.68, good for second place out of 35 runners. VU’s Jordan White followed up her season-high 1500 performance with an outdoor best 2:12.95 in the half-mile, finishing in fifth place. Jillian Currie and Michelle Sauer also turned in season-high marks in the 800 Saturday, crossing the tape at 2:19.81 and 2:22.42.
Kate Southcote-Want led the Commodore trio in Saturday’s 1500-meter run with a 17th-place finish time of 4:51.28. Freshman Alexa Rogers kept pace with Southcote-Want the whole race to finish with a personal record 4:52.42. VU’s Erin McManus trimmed eight-hundrenths-of-a-second off her previous 1500 season-high by clocking a 4:59.33.
In the field events, the `Dores posted their best overall team performance of the 2009 campaign, led by Hitt’s personal record jump of 5-05.75 in the high jump. Hitt’s personal best in the high jump came just 24 hours after she had claimed her first collegiate heptathlon title.
Freshman Meagan Martin competed in the pole vault for the first time this outdoor season, clearing the 11’01.75 mark for a tenth-place finish.
Sheri Sullivan placed eighth in the long jump with a season-best leap of 18-03.00.
On the men’s side, Michael Nordlund, Thomas Davis, and Casey Howards ran to season-highs in the 1500, led by Nordlund’s 14th-place time of 3:59.84. Davis and Howards both ran six seconds faster than they did at last weekend’s Ole Miss Invite.
The Commodore trio of Bram Chisholm, Jenner Kizer and Kyle Rewick competed in their first 5000-meter runs of the outdoor season and were led by Chisholm’s 17th-place finish time of 15:49.97.
Vanderbilt’s track and field team will head to the City of Brotherly Love to partake in the Penn Relays April 23-25. Live stats of the 115th Penn Relays will be available on ThePennRelays.com.
Vanderbilt Results – Saturday, April 18, 2009
100 Meter Dash – 26. Taylor Jackson, 12.45
200 Meter Dash – 11. Teegan Hill, 24.60
400 Meter Dash – 10. Teegan Hill, 56.54
800 Meter Run – 2. Rita Jorgensen, 2:11.68, 5. Jordan White, 2:12.95, 21. Jillian Currie, 2:19.81, 23. Michele Sauer, 2:22.42
1500 Meter Run – 17. Kate Southcote-Want, 4:51.28, 19. Alexa Rogers, 4:52.42, 28. Erin McManus, 4:59.33
High Jump – 6. Mallory Hitt, 5-05.75
Pole Vault – 7. Katherine Hendricks, 11-07.75, 10. Meagen Martin, 11-01.75
Long Jump – 8. Sheri Sullivan, 18-03.00
Men’s Results
1500 Meter Run – 14. Mike Nordlund, 3:59.84, 18. Thomas Davis, 4:01.70, 26. Casey Howards, 4:20.04
5000 Meter Run – 17. Bram Chisholm, 15:49.97, 19. Jenner Kizer, 15:50.96, 23. Kyle Rewick, 16:02.50
