BOONE, N.C. - The App State men's and women's track team will split this weekend, making appearances in Atlanta, Ga. for the Georgia Tech Invitational, Hickory, N.C. for the LR Bears Invitational, and Winston-Salem for the Wake Forest Invitational.
The Mountaineers will compete in the Georgia Tech Invitational on Friday and Saturday in Atlanta. Action is slated for a 12:30 p.m. start on Friday and a noon start on Saturday.
Also on Friday and Saturday, sophomores
Regan Hodge,
Graysen Arnold,
Cierra Woods, and junior
Megan Plummer, will compete at the LR Bears Invitational, hosted by Lenoir-Rhyne in Hickory. Hodge will race in the women's 800 meters, which is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. on Friday. Arnold, Woods, and Plummer will compete in women's discus, which is part of Friday's 2 p.m. field event session, and well as the women's hammer throw, which is part of Friday's 4 p.m. field event session. Arnold, Woods, and Plummer will return on Saturday for the women's shot put, which is slated for noon.
Senior
Oliver Wilson-Cook and junior
Calbert Guest will compete at the Wake Forest Invitational in Winston-Salem on Friday. Guest will run in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase, slated for 8:15 p.m. and Wilson-Cook will run in the men's 10,000 meters at 11 p.m.
Last Time Out
The Mountaineers totaled 11 event wins and 51 top-five finishes at the Southside Power & Fitness Invitational, hosted by Lenoir-Rhyne in Hickory, N.C. on April 14-15.
The Black and Gold took the top-three spots in the men's 1,500 meters and men's pole vault. Freshman
Tucker Sangster, sophomore
Rylan Haskett, and junior
Calbert Guest placed first (3:58.00, PR), second (3:59.04), and third (4:00.79, PR), respectively in the men's 1,500 meter race. In the men's pole vault, sophomore
Matthew Bigelow clinched first with a personal best clearance of 4.75m (15' 7"), while juniors
Braden Underwood and
Taylor Fox took second and third, respectively, with clearances of 4.65m (15' 3").
App State also swept the top-four spots in the women's triple jump with senior
Djamila Petersen landing first (11.62m (38' 1.5")), sophomore
Jazmine Posey and junior
Siby Yao tying for second (11.53m (37' 10")), and senior
Breah Taylor taking fourth (11.15m (36' 7")).
Freshmen
Ava Studney and
Nadiyah Byard garnered gold in the women's pole vault (3.75m (12' 3.75"), PR) and women's high jump (1.65m (5' 5")), respectively. Junior
Chris Wainscott collected wins in the men's hammer throw (52.49m (172' 3")) and men's shot put (17.89m (58' 8.25"), PR), while sophomore
Daiyanna Cooper collected wins in the women's hammer throw (55.93m (183' 6"), PR), and women's shot put (12.64m (41' 5.75m)).
On the track, junior
Bianca Copeman stopped the clock at 4:51.19 for a personal best and first-place finish in the women's 1,500 meters. The women's 4x100-meter relay squad of senior
Jelonnie Smith, graduate student
Hunter Robinson, and seniors
Taylor Smith and
Mariah Atwater also clinched first with a time of 45.60.
Ranked Mountaineers
Around the Sun Belt, 22 Mountaineers rank in the top-10 in 17 individual events. Senior
Jada Branch remains second in the women's triple jump. Wainscott remains second in the men's shot put, fifth in the men's hammer throw, and sixth in the men's discus. Guest stays steady at second in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase. Five Mountaineers stand in the women's 10,000 meters top-10, led by senior
Madison Christy and sophomore
Linnea Maynard, who maintain their positions at third and fourth, respectively. Four Mountaineers rank in the men's 5,000 meters top-10, led by junior
Dwayne Lillie, who keeps his spot at third in the league. Wilson-Cook remains third in the men's 10,000 meters. Three Mountaineers rank in the women's long jump top-10, led by
Taylor Smith, who stands fifth. Atwater checks in at fourth in the women's 400 meters and fifth in the women's 200 meters. The men's squad also ranks sixth as a team in the USTFCCCA conference rankings.
Fourteen Mountaineers stand in the top-25 in 12 individual events in the Southeast Region. Branch maintains her spot in second in the women's triple jump category, while Wainscott moves to eighth in the men's shot put, 18th in the men's discus, and 19th in the men's hammer throw categories.
Taylor Smith ranks ninth, Yao ranks 11th, and Branch ranks 12th in the women's long jump. Guest rounds out the top-10 in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase category. Freshmen
Harrison Robinson and
Christian Gore check in at 14th in the men's 110-meter hurdles and men's 400-meter hurdles, respectively. In the USTFCCCA Southeast Region team rankings, the women's squad ranks 25th while the men rank 26th.
Taylor Smith joins Wainscott and Branch in the top-48 of the NCAA East Prelim qualifying list and NCAA top-100 rankings. In the women's triple jump category, Branch moves to 15th in the East Prelim list and 30th nationally. Wainscott climbs to 29th in the East Prelim list and 64th nationally in the men's shot put category.
Taylor Smith checks in at 40th in the East Prelim list and 73rd nationally in the women's long jump category.
App State's women's triple jump squad ranks 15th in this week's USTFCCCA Event Squad Rankings.
Up Next
The Mountaineers return to Boone for the grand opening of the Randy Marion Track & Field Facility and App State Open meet on April 28-29 at the Appalachian 105 Complex on High School Road off Highway 105. There will be a ribbon cutting ceremony at 4 p.m. and a live DJ on April 28. The public is invited to attend the ribbon cutting ceremony in addition to the meet and admission is free.
App State track and field alumni are also invited to a social and fundraiser on April 29 following the conclusion of the App State Open.
