Phoenix Women Hit Three Standards at Commodore Challenge

NASHVILLE, Tenn.--The Cumberland women's track and field team delivered a strong showing at the Commodore Challenge, hosted by Vanderbilt University, highlighted by four Top 10 finishes.

The day was converted to a one-day event after the snow and ice pushed everything back to Saturday. The Phoenix women hit three NAIA standards on the day as Praise Idamadudu and Zoe Vlk each hit NAIA "A" standards and Isabelle Aalders earned "B" standards.

Praise Idamadudu showcased her speed in the women's 60-meter prelims, qualifying for the finals with the second-fastest time of 7.52 seconds, an "A" standard mark with the second-fastest time in the NAIA. Unfortunately, a false start kept her from competing in the finals. Later, she stormed to a second-place finish in the 200 meters, clocking 24.84 seconds—just one-hundredth of a second shy of hitting the NAIA "B" standard. Isabella Lehtinin and Leesa Mutandwa each ran in the 200 claiming 15th and 21st place with times of 26.13 seconds and 27.11 seconds.

In distance events, Sarah Wilkerson led Cumberland's efforts in the mile with a time of 5:39.88, finishing 21st out of 27 runners. The Phoenix trio of Channon Cundiff, Lilah Mohler, and Alexa Rumpf competed in the 1000 meters, finishing 18th, 19th, and 20th, respectively. Leesa Mutandwa also represented Cumberland well in the 400 meters, finishing 12th with a time of 1:01.44. Lauren Crissinger and Samantha Parker each ran in the 3000m finishing in 18th and 19th place with times of 11:34.83 and 11:41.34.

In the throws, Zoe Vlk impressed with a fifth-place finish in the women's weight throw, hitting an NAIA "A" standard mark of 17.55 meters, ranking third among NAIA competitors. Daveina Watson and Vlk placed back-to-back in the shot put, finishing 10th and 11th with throws of 13.16 meters and 13.04 meters, respectively.

Isabelle Aalders cleared 1.66 meters to place fourth out of 17 competitors in the high jump, meeting the "B" standard and securing the eighth-best mark in the NAIA.

The Phoenix will be back at Vanderbilt next weekend for a two-day meet starting next Friday.

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