Vanderbilt Track and Field hosted the Music City Challenge this past weekend, where the Commodores registered 12 first-place finishes, over 30 personal and season bests and 20 marks that were added to the program’s history books to round out a regular season full of outstanding performances.
Field
Freshman Janie Ford tied Vanderbilt’s all-time No. 10 mark in the high jump after clearing the 1.71 meters and winning the open section. In the invite portion of the event, freshman Cali Bryant took home gold, following her clearance of the 1.78 meters. Bryant and Mackenzie Dagrosa, who also cleared 1.78 meters, are tied for No. 3 on the school’s all-time leaderboard.
The ‘Dores continued to sweep in both the open and invite sections of the long jump event. Kayleigh Stargell placed first in the open section following her personal best 5.85-meter jump, which was a length good enough for seventh in Vanderbilt’s history books. In the invite portion of the event, Lena Gooden recorded a jump of 6.29 meters, taking home another first place for the ‘Dores.
In the pole vault, Olivia Kosanovich and Jacqueline Rose cleared 3.87 meters. Kosanovich placed first, while Rose placed right behind her in second. Shot putter Sarah Marvin finished fourth overall to round out the weekend, throwing for a season-best 15.92 meters.
Track
On the track, Vanderbilt broke five separate school records.
Ford broke a school record in the 200 meters, as she recorded a time of 23.37 seconds, which secured her the win. Sophomore Alima Kassim and senior Falon Spearman both finished the event in 24.37, landing in the top five at the Challenge and securing Vanderbilt’s No. 8 all-time spot.
Sprinters London Jackson-Bray, Danielle Dunning and Kassim all showcased their excellence in the 60-meter dash, with respective marks of 7.56, 7.60 and 7.58 seconds. Jackson-Bray, who qualified for the finals, placed seventh overall with a time of 7.57 seconds.
Additionally, both Josie Donelson and Faith Franklin clocked in personal bests in the 400-meter dash with times of 52.91 and 53.09 seconds, respectively. Donelson’s finish is now ranked No. 3 in Vanderbilt’s record book, while Franklin is right behind her at No. 4.
The Black and Gold distance runners also showcased their talents. Lily Kriegel clocked in a personal-best mile time this weekend with a mark of 4:41.39 — good for a runner-up finish. She is now tied for the No. 5 Vanderbilt all-time spot. Freshman Betsy Jepkemei also ran a personal best, with a time of 4:47.32, placing seventh overall in the event. Meanwhile, in the 3,000-meter event, Claire Petersen and Tyla Lumley recorded respective personal bests of 9:24.64 and 9:27.66 that both rank in Vanderbilt’s all-time top 10.
For the men, junior Bradly Bliven set a new Vanderbilt record with a mile time of 4:03.41. Bliven was evidently not content with only breaking one record this past weekend, as he broke the 800-meter record with a personal best of 1:47.59, which placed him fourth overall. In the 3,000-meter and 5,000-meter events, two more school records were broken. Sam Darmanie’s 3000-meter time of 8:21.90 and Luke Churchwell’s 5000-meter mark of 14:24.22 are now in Vanderbilt’s archives.
Furthermore, Kelty Oaster, Joy Moorer, Jepkemei and Kriegel dominated the distance medley relay with a mark of 11:20.73, ranking them No. 6 in the program’s history books.
Vanderbilt Track and Field will be back in action from Feb. 26-28 in College Station, Texas, for the SEC Indoor Track & Field Championships.
