May 26, 2011
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – In the first day of the East Preliminary Round of the NCAA Track & Field Championships, rain and wind effected many performances.
In the 1500-meter race, Jordan White finished eighth in the first heat with a time of 4:31.62. In the fourth heat, Alexa Rogers placed 10th after clocking in at 4:32.04. The Vanderbilt duo finished 33rd and 34th out of 46 competitors.
“Jordan got caught up in a tactical race,” said distance coach Steve Keith. “While she finished her second 800-meters at 2:16 (68/68), it wasn’t quite enough to advance her to the next round. Jordan and Alexa both learned great lessons and we’ll rely on these experiences for future leadership on our team.”
In the pole vault, Katherine Hendricks and Meagan Martin both bowed out of the competition after clearing 12’1.5″. They both missed all three attempts at 12’7.5″.
“The weather today has been atrocious with rain and wind,” said jumps coach Clark Humphreys. “Times are slower and marks aren’t as high. Everyone had to deal with the conditions, and I thought Katherine and Meagan handled it well. The had solid performances to end the season.”
Hendricks and Martin tied for 20th in the competition, out of 47 competitors.
Rita Jorgensen just missed out on advancing in the 800-meter race, after finishing sixth in Heat 2 with a time of 2:08.79. She was less than half a second off qualifying for Saturday’s semifinal race.
“It was tough to see Rita just miss advancing,” said Keith. “She’s been the face of or distance program for the past four years and we are so very proud of her.”
Freshman Brionne Williams will represent the Commodores in tomorrow’s competition as she is scheduled to compete in the high jump at 12 p.m. CT. Follow the team on Twitter @VandyXCTrack for updates of the event.
