OXFORD, Miss. — On Day 2 of the Joe Walker Invitational, Vanderbilt track and field saw a broken facility record, a trio of event wins and several top collegiate finishes, program all-time top 10 marks and personal bests.
“Another great weekend is in the books for the Dores,” director of cross country and track and field Althea Thomas said. “We had several event winners, top collegian and Vandy top 10 performances, personal bests and even a facility record.”
On the throws field, Veronica Fraley won the discus and broke the Ole Miss stadium record with a 59.42-meter mark. She was also third in the shot put where she recorded a 16.60-meter throw. Sarah Marvin registered a 43.80-meter toss in the discus and a 15.50-meter mark in the shot put, a season best. In the shot put, Sarah Omoregie’s throw of 16.13 meters placed seventh.
Joslin Blair and Johna Grisik came in sixth and seventh in the 1,500 meters with respective times of 4:37.37 and 4:38.84. Grisik’s mark is a personal best.
Mackenzie Culpepper led the Dores in the 800 meters, placing fourth with a time of 2:12.17. Audrey Allman was not far behind, coming in sixth and turning in a time of 2:12.92.
Men’s cross country team members Brady Bliven and Dylan Ballard also competed in the 800 meters. Bliven was the third overall finisher with a time of 1:52.01. Ballard’s time was 1:55.19.
In the sprint events, Haley Bishop and Ella Escobar registered top five finishes in the 100 and 400 meters, respectively. Bishop’s 11.79-second time in the 100 meters is a season best and was third overall. Escobar crossed the finish line fourth in 56.22 seconds. Also in the 400 meters, Nicole Anderson turned in a personal-best time of 57.44 seconds.
Falon Spearman PRed and picked up a win in the 400-meter hurdles, recording a time of 59.19 seconds. It is ninth all-time at Vanderbilt.
In the final event of the day, the 4×400-meter relay team of Escobar, Culpepper, Eva Gautreaux and Anderson finished first with a time of 3:51.21.
Day 1 Notes
• Kosi Umerah PRed in the hammer throw and now ranks second on Vandy’s all-time list with a 57.04-meter mark. She was the second freshman, eighth overall finisher.
• For the first time in five years, Fraley competed in the hammer throw, recording the No. 4 mark in program history, 49.06 meters.
• In the long jump, Alix Still (5.89m) and Anaya Webster (5.86m) finished first and second among collegians.
• Still and Webster’s marks rank seventh and eighth, respectively, on the all-time performers list.
• Bishop placed first among collegians and second overall in the 200 meters with a time of 24.19 seconds
• In the 1,500 meters, Allman recorded a 4-second personal best, finishing third with a time of 4:23.65.
• At the Lee Fast Break Athletics Invitational, Gigi Clifford placed third in her first 10,000-meter race, recording a time of 35:54.67.
“As we finish the first half of the outdoor season and enter the second half of our schedule, we are putting ourselves in position to perform our best at championship meets,” Thomas said. “The focus and intent remain at the forefront of our coaches and athletes’ minds, and it is showing in our performances. It was a good meet for the Dores, and we are looking forward to the rest of the season with this crew.”
Vandy heads west to Azusa, California, for its next road meet, the Bryan Clay Invitational April 11-13.
