Feb. 27, 2016
Event: SEC CHAMPIONSHIPS
Day, Date: Friday-Saturday, Feb. 26-27
Host: Arkansas
Site: Randal Tyson Trak Center
Live Results: HERE
The Vanderbilt track and field team has made impressive strides in the past few seasons, and the Commodores continued to demonstrate their development this weekend in Fayetteville, Ark.
Competing at the SEC Indoor Championships, the Commodores produced the fourth-best performance in team history — and the best since 2004 — by scoring 24 points and taking 12th place. Vanderbilt finished two points behind 11th-place South Carolina.
Vanessa Valentine, Sara Barron and Simone Charley all scored points for Vanderbilt in their respective events on Saturday, and the Commodores’ distance medley team added to the total with a fourth-place finish.
“We’re making good progress, and we feel like this weekend’s meet was a good indication of that,” said head coach Steve Keith. “The coaching staff is very proud of everyone’s effort and we believe our team will build off this performance as we head into the outdoor season.”
The Arkansas men and women maintained their stronghold on the conference by sweeping the team titles in front of their home fans.
Saturday’s highlights for Vanderbilt included an impressive performance by the Commodores’ DMR squad. The team — comprised of Maddie Criscione, Carmen Carlos, Katherine Delaney and Jennifer Edobi — took fourth with a time of 11:22.96, which ranks No. 3 on Vanderbilt’s all-time list.
The Commodores also received big contributions from a pair of seniors, as Valentine took fifth in the 5k with a time of 16:40.6, and Barron finished fifth in the mile at 4:41.74.
Charley, the All-American triple jumper, finished sixth with a leap of 42-9.50 (13.04m) for the Commodores, who will host the SEC Championships next season.
Vanderbilt freshman Sara Tsai took ninth in the mile at 4:50.04, and Caroline Pietrzyk, also a freshman, was 11th in the 5k at 16:48.48.
On Friday, Vanderbilt’s Carmen Carlos finished second in the 3k with a time of 9:21.34. It was a six-second personal record for Carlos, who came close to breaking the school record of 9:21.05 set by Liz Anderson in 2014.
For the weekend, Vanderbilt scored points in five events while collecting its highest point total since scoring 25 points in 2004. The only other higher point totals for the Commodores came in 1998 (45 points) and 1996 (25 points).
“The SEC Championships is always a great meet,” said Keith, “and we are very excited about hosting the event next year.”
SATURDAY’S RESULTS: VANDERBILT
Women’s Mile
5 – Sara Barron – 4:41.74
9 – Sara Tsai – 4:50.04
5000 Meters Women
5 – Vanessa Valentine – 16:40.6
11 – Caroline Pietrzyk – 16:48.48
Distance Medley Relay Women
4 – Vanderbilt – 11:22.96
Pole Vault Women Final
11 – Sarah Bell – 13.0.25 (3.97m)
Triple Jump Women Prelim/Final
6 – Simone Charley – 42-9.50 (13.04m)
FRIDAY’S RESULTS: VANDERBILT
Mile Women Prelim
9 – Sara Barron – 4:44.67
10 – Sara Tsai – 4:46.74
400 Meters Women Prelim
16 – Jennifer Edobi – 54.10
36 – Faith Washington – 57.48
800 Meters Women Prelim
9 – Maddie Criscione – 2:10.48
10 – Lydia Witty – 2:10.68
14 – Katherine Delaney – 2:11.54
21 – Ginger Hutton – 2:13.50
23 – Reagan Anderson – 2:13.96
200 Meters Women Prelim
32 – Faith Washington – 25.50
3000 Meters Women Final
2 – Carmen Carlos – 9:21.34
18 – Megan Huebner – 9:51.50
21 – Courtney Kriegshauser – 10:08.09
25 – Devon Grisbaum – 10:31.19
Final Team Standings
1 – Arkansas – 110
2 – LSU – 67
3 – Georgia – 65
4 – Tennessee – 64
4 – Florida – 64
6 – Kentucky – 48
7 – Texas A&M – 44
8 – Alabama – 43
9 – Miss. State – 42
10 – Auburn – 33
11- South Carolina – 26
12 – Vanderbilt – 24
13 – Missouri – 17
14 – Ole Miss – 16
