EUGENE, Ore. — On Sunday, Vanderbilt track and field wrapped up its week at the USATF Outdoor Championships in Eugene. After four days of competition, three student-athletes, Veronica Fraley, Allyria McBride and Giavonna Meeks, earned spots on Team USA for their respective events.
“This year, we set three performance goals for the team—score at the SEC Championships in all four disciplines, qualify more athletes to the NCAA Championships than last year and make international teams,” director of track and field Althea Thomas said. “Our athletes believed it, our coaching staff worked relentlessly to ensure they were ready, and our administration and support staff worked long hours to support our long season. This weekend was the result of a collaborative effort to help these athletes find and show their greatness.”
To begin the day’s events, Audrey Allman placed sixth in the 1,500 meters in the U20 division with a time of 4:29.11.
In the 400-meter hurdles final, McBride recorded a personal best and earned a spot on Team USA for the 2023 Pan Am U20 Championships. She finished second in the event final, clocking 56.40 seconds, which is the No. 3 time in program history. Mya Georgiadis came in third place in the same event, recording a personal-best time of 57.74 seconds, the sixth-fastest mark at Vanderbilt. During the semifinals, McBride finished first in her heat and second overall (58.45 seconds), and Georgiadis was second in her heat and third overall (58.87 seconds).
On the field, Fraley earned fourth place in the discus, recording a 57.90-meter mark. Volunteer assistant coach Joe Kovacs recorded a fourth-place finish in the shot put with a 21.90-meter mark. Fraley and Kovacs earned spots on Team USA and will compete at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, August 19–27.
On the first day of the USATF Outdoor Championships, Taiya Shelby closed out her collegiate career with a time of 52.64 seconds in the 400 meters. On Friday, Santana Spearman and Dylan Ballard recorded top-20 finishes in the women’s 100-meter hurdles (14.01 seconds) and the men’s 1,500 meters (4:00.18) in the U20 division. Giavonna Meeks won the U20 hammer throw title on Saturday with a 60.70-meter toss. Meeks and McBride will represent the United States at the Pan Am U20 Championships August 4–5 in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.
“Last year, we had one athlete make the USA team. This year, to have three, in Giavonna, Allyria and Veronica, is just amazing,” Thomas said. “It is the ultimate dream of any athlete to represent their country. The USA team is the hardest to make in the world, across all disciplines. These ladies and all our athletes who competed here at the USA Championships competed with such valor and confidence. They showed the nation that Vanderbilt is here. We are a track school. And now we get to show the world. I am so proud of these ladies.”
