Josie Hahn Adds Fourth in High Jump at SEC Meet; VU’s Shannon, Mullins-Hall Advance to Finals Sunday 5/17/03

Knoxville, Tenn. - Versatile Josie Hahn continued her excellent performance and two Commodore freshmen standouts impressively advanced to the finals of their specialties Saturday at the Southeastern Conference Track and Field Championships.

Hahn, a sophomore who finished second in the SEC heptathlon Friday, added a fourth place in the high jump Saturday with a clearance of 5’7.75”.

Hahn has accounted for all 13 Vanderbilt team points through three days of competition. On Sunday, Hahn competes in her last event, the javelin toss. She is likely to get help Sunday from a pair of Commodore freshmen, distance runner Caitlin Shannon and hurdler Amanda Mullins-Hall.

Shannon, a native of DePere, Wisc, needed a personal best of 4:32.65 to advance to the 1,500-meter finals. The effort was .38 seconds faster than her previous best when she won the Vanderbilt Invitational 1,500 last month in 4:33.03. Her performance was the sixth fastest 1,500 meters ever by a Commodore athlete.

Mullins-Hall continues to impress in the 100-meter hurdles. Despite running into a slight head wind, the Cincinnati native posted a 13.69 in the event. It was the second fastest time of her career, behind only the 13.51 wind-aided effort that was enough to capture the Vanderbilt Invitational. The performance is the third fastest ever by a Vanderbilt hurdler.

The SEC Championships will conclude Sunday with a busy schedule of running and field events at the University of Tennessee campus.

In other action Saturday involve Commodore participants, senior Colleen Byrne just must qualifying with Shannon in the 1,500 meters. Byrne ran her best race of the season, 4:36.02, but missed advancing by one position. Junior Vanessa Lagios, though unable to qualify for the 400-meter finals, ran to her best form, setting a career beat of 57.88 in the preliminaries. Freshman Latisha Bryant also ran her best 400 meters of the year, 58.11. Junior Vensherrie Campbell finished 10th overall in the discus despite one of the longest throws of her career, 149’10”.

Hahn, sophomore pole vaulter Paige Roberts, freshman distance runner Erika Schneble and the Commodore 4x400 relay squad are scheduled to compete Sunday on the final day of the SEC Championships.