Vanderbilt Track and Field was home for the last meet of the indoor season, the Music City Invitational. The meet followed this season’s trend of first-years showing their potential and veterans proving their dominance.
Field
Junior Sarah Marvin took home first place and a season record with a 14.79-meter toss in the 4 kg shot put. Junior Marta Sivina and first-years Devyn Parham, Kayleigh Stargell and Pryncess Jackson also participated in the shot put, but none cracked the top 25. Parham hit a personal best in the event, however, throwing for 10.58 meters.
The first-years found more success in the high jump, as Jackson had a top-five leap of 1.60 meters. Sivina also had a 1.60-meter jump but fell to sixth after losing a jump off. Parham found herself in ninth place with a 1.55-meter attempt.
Stargell and Jackson tied for 11th place in the long jump with jumps of 5.33 meters — which was a personal best for Jackson. Sophomore Anaya Webster and first-year Anaya Carey participated in the triple jump. Webster jumped 11.78 meters, while Carey lept for 11.35 meters.
Track
Vanderbilt came alive on the track of the David Williams II Field House. Specifically, the Commodores dominated the 60-meter hurdles. Eight personal bests were set, with junior Falon Spearman taking home first place in the event and the fastest time in Vanderbilt program history — 8.18 seconds. Her sister and fellow junior Santana Spearman blitzed her way into third (8.32), while junior Taylor McKinnon posted the fourth-fastest performance (8.36). Parham and Sivina also participated in the race. Parham qualified for finals in the event with the fifth-fastest time in program history (8.38), while Sivina fell just short despite posting a personal best of 8.44.
Graduate student Tina Benzinger sped her way into fifth place in the 200 meters and tied the 10th-fastest time in program history with a time of 24.16.
Junior Allyria McBride finished the short to mid-distance races for the Commodores by taking third in the 400 meters with a personal best time of 53.57 — the fourth-fastest mark in program history.
The distance team opened up its weekend with six Commodores taking to the track in the 1-mile race. Senior Julia Rosenberg led the way, securing first place and a new school record of 4:37.26. Junior Audrey Allman was the next athlete to finish, securing second place and the third-fastest time in school history of 4:39.73.
Rosenberg also took first overall in the 3000 meters, finishing in 9:14.16 to set another school record. First-year Claire Petersen joined Rosenberg in the event, setting a personal record of 9:48.96 en route to a top-25 finish.
Three Vanderbilt athletes — seniors Ellie Wolski, Cameron Fawcett and Gigi Clifford — participated in the 5000-meter race. Wolski ran a personal best and placed fifth with a time of 16:47.42. Fawcett took home 10th place with a time of 16:57.61, and Clifford followed close behind with a time of 16:57.62 for 11th.
The Commodores closed their regular indoor season by sporting two teams in the 4×400 relay. Team A consisted of Wilson, McBride, F. Spearman and first-year Isabella Dagrosa. Team B was Benzinger, Sivina and first-years Anissa Moore and Kenyah Connor. Team A placed third with a time of 3:41.01, while Team B placed sixth, having run the relay in 3:44.97.
While the Music City Invitational was the last regular season meet, the Black and Gold still have the SEC Indoor Championships hosted by Texas A&M on the horizon. Director of track and field Althea Thomas hopes her team will replicate and surpass their regular season success there.
“[The meet] put us in the position where we can be confident to go to Texas A&M and put our best foot forward to anchor down for Vanderbilt,” Thomas said.
The SEC Indoor Championships will be held from Feb. 27 to March 1 in College Station, Texas.
