Dec. 2, 2017
Event: Vanderbilt Indoor Opener
Date: Dec. 2, 2017
Site: Vanderbilt Multipurpose Facility
Vanderbilt opened up its 2017-18 indoor track & field season with a strong showing at the Vanderbilt Indoor Opener, capped off in exciting fashion with the Commodores taking home first place in the 4×400 meter relay. Vanderbilt sat in third place heading into the final leg, but Jenn Edobi took the baton from Reagan Bustamante for the final 400 meters and immediately closed the gap with the then-frontrunners before overtaking their lead with about 200 meters remaining and winning the race.
Watch Jenn Edobi TURN ON THE JETS in the final leg of the 4×400 relay to pass two competitors as the Commodores win their heat!??? pic.twitter.com/m6syYWtyZl
— Vanderbilt XC/TF (@vandyxctrack) December 2, 2017
The opening meet of the season also featured three additional top-three finishes by Commodore athletes, headlined by Sophomore Mailin Struck winning the 3000-meter run with a time of 10:00.85, which was four seconds quicker than the next fastest competitor.
Aside from her heroics as the anchor in the 4×400 meter relay, Edobi also captured second place in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:10.36. Edobi was one of three Commodores to place in the top seven in the 800-meter field, as she was trailed closely by teammates Kendall Derry and Ginger Hutton, who finished fourth and seventh, respectively. Derry’s time of 2:15.22 marked a new personal record for indoor competition.
Sophomore Becca Schulte was the other Commodore to finish in the top three in her event, with a third-place finish in the mile run. Her time of 5:03.36 marked a collegiate personal best and fellow sophomore Kacie Breeding also set a PR in the race with a time of 5:14.08, which was good for sixth place. Reagan Bustamante‘s mile time of 5:07.06 placed her just above Breeding at fifth overall.
A pair of freshmen made their Commodore debuts on Saturday, including Sophia Falco, who competed in the long jump and 60-meter dash, and sprinter Regan Clay (400-meter dash, 4×400 relay). Falco’s marks were both good for top-10 finishes, including placing fifth in the long jump with a leap of 18′ 4.25″ and a time of 7.70 in the 60-meters, which garnered ninth place in the race and ranks third all-time on Vanderbilt’s indoor season performance list. Clay opened up her Vanderbilt running career by taking seventh place in the 400-meter dash with a time of 57.34 and was also the opening leg of the meet champion 4×400 relay team.
Vanderbilt Track & Field will take the rest of December off from competition before returning to the William R. Frist Family Track at the Vanderbilt Multipurpose Facility on Jan. 12-13 to host the Commodore Invitational.
