BIRMINGHAM, Ala. –
Peighton Simmons captured the triple jump title to lead App State women's track & field on the final day of the Sun Belt Championships on Tuesday.
The Mountaineers finished ninth of 12 teams with 29 points. Arkansas State repeated as team champions with 145 points, Texas State was second with 94.5 points and Troy finished third with 90 points.
Simmons title marks App State's 16
th triple jump conference championship in program history and first since 2010, when Danielle Thorpe captured the crown.
After fouling on her first two attempts, Simmons posted a leap of 41-5.00 (12.62m) on her final jump to move into first place and advance to the finals. On her last attempt in the finals, Simmons expanded her distance to 41-7.00 (12.67m) to capture the title. The mark represents a new season best and is the first conference championship of her career.
Djamila Petersen also scored points in the triple jump for the Black and Gold with a PR leap of 39-9.25 (12.12m) to finish sixth overall.
The Distance Medley Relay tandem scored five points for App State. The team of
Kylee Frady,
Jessica Dixon,
Jasmine Donohue and
Izzy Evely combined for a fourth-place finish with a time of 12:05.75.
Frady and Evely also scored points for App State in the 3,000-meter run. Frady placed sixth in 10:04.51, which represents a PR. Evely was right behind in seventh place, crossing in 10:05.18.
Bridget Kunkel shattered her PR by nearly a minute in the 5,000-meter run to earn points for the Black and Gold. Kunkel finished with a time of 17:37.80 to place sixth overall and earn three points. Her time bettered her previous indoor PR of 18:26.56 set earlier this season.
Maya Hanks scored two points for the Mountaineers with a seventh-place finish in the long jump. Hanks covered a PR distance of 19-1.25 (5.82m) with her third jump of the day.
The Mountaineers also saw the 4x400-meter relay tandem of
Jelonnie Smith,
Samara Gibson,
Ani Judd and Dixon team up for an eighth-place finish in 4:00.06.
Team Standings
1. Arkansas State, 145
2. Texas State, 94.5
3. Troy, 90
4. Louisiana, 65.5
5. South Alabama, 64
6. Coastal Carolina, 54
7. UT Arlington, 38
8. Georgia Southern, 31
9. App State, 29
10. Georgia State, 21
11. Little Rock, 17
12. ULM, 13
