NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Vanderbilt women’s track and field team will begin its journey toward the NCAA D1 Outdoor Track & Field Championships in June on Thursday by competing in the NCAA East Region Preliminary Round in Jacksonville, Florida. During the Commodores last time on the track, the team recorded its best score since 1999 at the SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
A total of 12 Commodores—Kaira Brown, Caroline Eck, Veronica Fraley, Mya Georgiadis, Beatrice Juskeviciute, Sarah Marvin, Allyria McBride, Giavonna Meeks, Niki Narayani, Brooke Overholt, Taiya Shelby and Jada Sims—qualified for the meet by ranking in the top 48 in the East Region in their respective events.
With the SEC title-winning mark of 62.84 meters, Fraley is seeded first in the discus heading into this weekend’s meet. She also ranks in the top 10 in the region in the shot put, entering the competition as ninth with a winning 17.33-meter toss from the Indiana Invitational.
Marvin will compete in the shot put in Jacksonville, ranking 28th with a personal-best throw of 15.93 meters from the SEC outdoor championships.
Meeks, the second-ranked freshman and 27th overall in the hammer throw (60.77 meters), is scheduled to open competition for Vanderbilt at the regional meet.
SEC heptathlon champion Juskeviciute will compete in the 100-meter hurdles quarterfinals, ranking 30th in the region with a time of 13.34 seconds.
Shelby PRed in the 400 meters at the SEC championships, recording a time of 51.43 seconds in prelims and finishing ninth in the event final (53.11 seconds). She currently ranks fifth in the East Region.
Three Commodores will be competing in the 400-meter hurdles. Overholt, the fifth-place finisher at the SEC championships, is seeded 11th with a time of 56.64 seconds. McBride, who finished eighth in the 400-meter hurdles final (57.71 seconds) at SECs enters the competition as the second-ranked freshman and 12th overall with a time of 56.72 seconds. Georgiadis recorded a personal-best time of 58.64 seconds in the event prelims in Baton Rouge and is seeded 39th overall.
With a personal-best clearance of 1.77 meters at the SEC outdoor championships, Sims secured a spot in the regional high jump competition, ranking 28th in the region.
Two distance Dores, Eck and Narayani, will be competing in Jacksonville. Eck is seeded 38th in the 5,000 meters with a time of 16:12.14, which is a personal best and earned eighth place at…