Vanderbilt Track and Field traveled to Gainesville, Florida, to participate in the Pepsi Florida Relays. The Commodores exceeded expectations for the second time this season, as four athletes added their names to the list of top-10 performances in program history. 

Field

The Commodores only participated in the discus and high jump at the relays. Sophomore Marta Sivina was the sole Commodore to jump and she cleared 1.62 meters. That performance was her season record but landed her in 16th place overall. In the discus, the Commodores failed to crack the top 20, as junior Sarah Marvin’s 41.65-meter toss landed her in 21st place.

Track

Vanderbilt Track and Field only sported sprinters and mid-distance runners this time around. The team entered individual athletes in the 400- and 800-meter runs, as well as the 100- and 400-meter hurdles. The ‘Dores also started a team in both the 4×100- and 4×400-meter relays. 

First-year Josie Donelson and junior Ella Escobar competed in the 400-meter race. Donelson’s time of 53.58 was the sixth-fastest in program history and fast enough for her to place 19th overall. Meanwhile, Escobar finished in 42nd place with a time of 55.77. Only sophomore Eva Gautreaux raced for the Black and Gold in the 800 meters. Her time of 2:14.34 was a personal best and landed her in 42nd overall in the competition.

The Commodores’ hurdlers had a strong showing in Florida, continuing the season’s trend. Junior Falon Spearman, her sister Santana Spearman and Taylor McKinnon raced in the 100-meter hurdles. In the preliminaries, McKinnon ran a personal best of 13.62 — the sixth-fastest performance in program history. Santana ran a 13.54, which was the 18th-fastest time in the field. Falon ran the fourth-fastest time in the preliminaries with a 13.16, which matched her personal best and school record. In the final, Falon was 0.04 seconds slower, with a time of 13.20, and she finished in fourth.

The Commodores packed the field for the 400-meter hurdles, as junior Allyria McBride, sophomores Joy Moorer and Mya Georgiadis and first-years Madyson Wilson and Devyn Parham competed in the event. Georgiadis ran a 1:01.5, which was good for 34th place. Parham ran into 28th place with a personal best of 1:00.54. Wilson also raced a personal best with a 59.93, putting her in the top-25 performances of the weekend. Moorer’s time of 59.31 was a personal best and placed her 18th overall. McBride brought the Commodores their second top-10 finish of the weekend with a time of 57.13, good enough for sixth place.

The Black and Gold also started in the 4×100 and 4×400 relays. The 4×100 team consisted of graduate Tina Benzinger, first-year Alima Kassim, Donelson and Escobar. Together, they ran a 45.68, a top-10 time in program history, but they failed to qualify for the finals. Donelson and Escobar continued their relay performances by participating in the 4×400 team with Gautreaux and Moorer. The team raced its way into the meet’s top 10 with a time of 3:39.29.

Next, Vanderbilt Track and Field will send athletes to the Bryan Clay Invitational and Mt. SAC Relays from April 16-19 and the Georgia Tech Invitational from April 18-19.