April 19, 2013
NASHVILLE — The Vanderbilt track and field team scored three victories at day one of the Vanderbilt Invitational. Sara Barron was victorious in the 1,500 meters, Jordan White won the 5,000 meters and Amira Joseph won the steeplechase.
Track action for the day started with the 200 meters. Vanderbilt’s Jennifer Cannon placed eighth with a time of 24.61, which is a personal best and ties for the sixth best mark in program history. Faith Washington was 16th in the 200, crossing the line in 24.98.
Next up was the 1,500 meters. Vanderbilt’s Hannah Jumper was a rabbit in the race, pacing the field before pulling out. She paved the way for Sara Barron, Kristen Findley and Grace Orders to battle it out. Barron was able to pull ahead in the end, crossing in 4:20.36. That marks a personal best for the freshman and is the second-best time in program history.
Kristen Findley, who is the school record holder in the event, was next in 4:22.04. Harding’s Ewa Zaborowska was third (4:28.14) before another Commodore, Lily Williams, crossed the line fourth in 4:29.01.
Women’s track action for the day concluded with the 5,000 meters. The plan for Vanderbilt was again to use Jumper to set the pace early, before turning it over. The execution was again on the money, as six of the top 10 finishers were wearing black and gold.
Jordan White and Allie Scalf battled to the end, with Scalf leading most of the final lap before White overtook her at the end and won by a tenth of a second. White posted a time of 16:40.39, which is eighth in the VU record book.
After Scalf, Vanessa Valentine was fourth with a personal record of 16:53.29. Grace Orders placed eighth (16:59.95), Kristen Smith was ninth (17:06.00) and Claire Benjamin was 10th (17:06.20).
Several of the Vanderbilt men’s cross country runners had the opportunity to run in the men’s 5,000 meters.
John Ewing was 10th, finishing in 15:00.53. Nick French (15:04.96) and Matthew Cleveland (15:08.22) joined Ewing in the top 10. The times were personal bests for all three.
Day two begins with the hammer at 10:00 a.m. The remaining field and running events get underway at Noon. There will be a short ceremony to honor the graduating seniors at 11:30 a.m.
