NASHVILLE, Tenn. — USA Track & Field has named a team of 77 athletes who will compete in the 2023 Pan American Games; one of those 77 athletes is Vanderbilt graduate student Veronica Fraley.
Originally selected as an alternate, she received an email notifying her that she would be competing with Team USA in Santiago, Chile.
“It [being selected] took me by complete surprise, but I was excited,” Fraley recalled. “I love to travel, especially for competitions, and I’m happy to go to a new place I’ve never been before.”
The 2023 Pan American Games will be Fraley’s third with Team USA. She competed in the discus at the 2022 and 2023 World Athletics Championships.
Vanderbilt on the international stage
Last season, five Vanderbilt student-athletes earned spots on their respective national teams for international competitions. After a fourth-place finish at the USATF Outdoor Championships, Fraley was selected to compete for Team USA at the 2023 World Athletics Championships. Alumna and Canadian 400-meter hurdles silver medalist Brooke Overholt joined Fraley in Hungary for the World Championships to represent Canada. A trio of U20 student-athletes, Audrey Allman, Allyria McBride and USATF and Pan American U20 hammer throw champion Giavonna Meeks qualified to compete in the Pan American U20 Championships in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, this summer.
“As a program, we set several goals to work toward,” director of cross country and track and field Althea Thomas said. “One goal was to have more Vanderbilt athletes representing their respective countries at international competitions. To have five ladies meet this goal in our second year helps confirm that we are doing things with intention and that Vanderbilt is an elite institution academically and athletically. We have a group of men and women who believe in our system and our values and who want to show, not just the SEC or NCAA, but the world how great we are.”
Tiger to Commodore
When Fraley came to Nashville as a graduate transfer from Clemson, her personal best in the discus was 56.73 meters. Almost two years later, her PR is more than 6 meters farther at 63.51 meters.
A jump like that did not come without hard work. For Fraley, Thomas identified her determination and focus as helping her accomplish such feats, describing her as someone who “knows how to display grit with grace and poise” and “elevate her environment daily with how she embraces physically difficult situations…