Denk 2nd in PV, Walker 3rd in 800m

The Vanderbilt Track Team had a good start to the Spring Semester at the Vanderbilt Invitational held Friday and Saturday at the Indoor Facility.

They were led by Kristen Denk who placed 2nd in the pole vault with a mark of 13’9” and Haley Walker, a freshman runner, who placed 3rd in the 800m with a time of 2:10.42.

In Denk’s case, she was bested by unattached professional vaulter, Alina McDonald who vaulted 14’5.25”. Other Vanderbilt athletes in the vault were Margaret Ollinger (JR) who placed 6th with a jump of 12’7.25”, and Caleigh Lofstead (JR) placed right behind Ollinger at 7th with a vault at 12’7.25”. Lofstead had one miss more than Ollinger on the vault at 12’, breaking the tie for their final height.

The 800m, Vanderbilt also had Regan Bustamente, a Junior, running. She placed 7th with a time of 2:12.82. The race was won by Abike Egeniyi, a senior from MTSU ran a blistering 2:03.77.

The Vanderbilt squad is deep in the distance events and were led by Calorine Peitrzyk (JR) in the 5k. She ran a 17:22.66 falling to Emily Drouin, a senior from UAB, who ran 16:51.66.

In the mile run, Grace Jensen (FR) had the best finish for the squad at 13th with a 5:01.45 run. Senior Ginger Hutton finished 17th at 5:04.08. Not far behind in time, Lauren Moffet (JR) ran 5:09.53 and Becca Schulte (SO) ran 5:10.11 for 26th and 27th place respectively. Emily Cohen, a freshman runner, finished 45th with a time of 5:21.38, and Devon Grisbaum (SR) ran 5:32.29 for a 55th place finish

In the 3k, Gillian Mortimer ran 10:07.98, leading the Commodores to a 13th place finish. Kacie Breeding (JR) ran 10:25 for a 27th place finish. Anna Grace Morgan (SO), Jacqueline Pinon (FR), and Ana Wallace (FR) ran 10:25.35, 10:27.74, and 10:27.85 to finish 36th, 38th, and 39th respectively. The race was won by unattached runner, Maddie Alm with a time of 9:24.81.

In the sprints, Taiya Shelby, a freshman, competed in teh 60m and 200m. She finished third in her 60m heat but not advance to finals with a time of 7.82. In the 200m, Shelby placed 13th with a time of 24.97. Sophomore Regan Clay finished 19th in the deuce with a time of 25.17. The winning time was 24.08.

Next up for the Commodores is the Bob Pollock Invitational at Clemson on January 28-29.