The Vanderbilt Women’s Track and Field team closed out their season from June 7-10 by competing in the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The competition took place over the course of three days in Austin, Texas. The team finished with multiple medals and tied for 20th place as a team with 13 points ― Vanderbilt’s best score since 1997.
In the heptathlon event, Beatrice Juskeviciute won a silver medal for her score of 6,117 points ― a personal best that also set the Vanderbilt record for the event. Juskeviciute’s performance was the best placing at the NCAA Outdoor Championships since 2016, where Simone Charley placed second in the triple jump. On day two of the heptathlon, Juskeviciute set a personal record in the long jump which also reset the school record at the 6.11 meter mark. Juskeviciute threw the javelin 42.72 meters and recorded a time of 2:18.89 in the 800 meters. These impressive performances paved the way for Juskevicute to bring home the silver medal.
Brooke Overholt recorded a personal best time of 55.77 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles semifinals, which she bested in the event finals to finish with a time of 55.50 seconds. With her performance, Overholt finished fourth in the event and was awarded first-team All-American honors in the event for the second time in her collegiate career.
Jada Sims ranked 21st in the heptathlon after the first day of competition, recording 5.30 meters in the long jump. However, Sims did not compete in the remaining two events.
In the discus, Veronica Fraley recorded a throw of 52.91 meters to finish in 17th place. Additionally on Thursday, June 8, Fraley competed in the shot put where she set three personal best records over the course of six throws. Ultimately, she finished ninth in the event with a 17.84 meter mark. Fraley was also named a second-team All-American on Thursday.
Taiya Shelby ran the 400 meters in 51.63 seconds to finish 15th in the event’s semifinals. Additionally, Shelby earned second-team All-American honors for the third time in her collegiate career.
“There are marks in this meet that didn’t make the final that would make the final at most Olympic championships,” director of track and field Althea Thomas said. “And for Vanderbilt, the way these ladies performed and the way that these ladies rose up showed who they are amongst the world’s best has turned our season from emerging into greatness into being great.”
