The Vanderbilt Track and Field team traveled to Baton Rouge, La. to compete in the LSU Alumni Gold meet this past Saturday, April 20. The Commodores turned in a solid performance complete with numerous top-10 placements, multiple season bests and personal records and improvements to individual NCAA ranked performances.
In the hammer throw, both Commodores competing placed within the top 10 in a field of 16 athletes, as freshman Kosi Umerah’s 56.42 meter throw was good for eighth and Veronica Fraley’s 51.74 meter throw, a personal best, was good for ninth.
The shot put event saw all three competing Commodores turn in top-half finishes. Sarah Marvin placed sixth with a season best 15.80 meter throw, and Fraley placed second with a 16.73m attempt. In first was senior Sarah Omoregie, whose 17.79 meter throw was a personal record and a No. 11 ranked performance on the 2024 NCAA DI College Outdoor Rankings list for the women’s shot put event.
The discus throw saw another strong performance from senior Fraley, as she turned in a 61.37 meter throw to place first and earn a No. 4 NCAA ranked performance in the event. Marvin scored a season best 15.80 meter throw to place ninth.
Vanderbilt’s first track event saw its 4×100-meter relay team of Ella Escobar, Haley Bishop, Nicole Anderson and Allyria McBride finish 13th with a time of 46.15 seconds, a season best. Vanderbilt had three athletes competing in a crowded 1500-meter race, in which senior Lainey Phelps placed fourth with a season best time of 4:32.92. Vanderbilt’s Joshlin Blair finished 12th and Ashlee Gallegos finished 18th.
The 100-meter hurdles was another packed event with over three dozen competitors. Taylor McKinnon, the only Commodore competing, finished 23rd with a season best time of 13.91 seconds. In the 400-meter race, senior Escobar finished 18th with a personal record of 55.26 seconds in a field of 37 athletes, while teammate Anderson finished 34th.
Both Vanderbilt athletes finished within the top 10 in the 800-meter event, as sophomore Audrey Allman placed eighth with a personal best time of 2:09.96 and Mackenzie Culpepper earned a ninth-place finish with a season best time of 2:10.58. In the 400-meter hurdles, Vanderbilt’s McBride finished second with a season best time of 56.63 seconds, which earned McBride a No. 10 NCAA ranked performance. In the 200-meter race, Bishop finished 32nd and Eva Gautreaux placed 49th in a field of over 50 athletes. Lastly, the 4×400-meter relay concluded with the Commodore team of Escobar, Falon Spearman, Anderson and McBride earning a fifth-place finish with a time of 3:44.14.
Next, Vanderbilt will compete in the Music City Challenge at the Vanderbilt Outdoor Track on Friday, April 26 and Saturday, April 27.
