BOONE, N.C. - The App State men's and women's track team is set to host the App State Open this Friday and Saturday at the brand new Randy Marion Track & Field Facility at the Appalachian 105 Complex on High School Road off Highway 105. It will be the first time since 2018 that the Mountaineers have hosted an outdoor meet in the High Country.
The App State Open will start at 10 a.m. on Friday with a rolling schedule for the men's and women's javelin and hammer throw. The ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating the grand opening of the track facility is scheduled for 4 p.m. Action will resume on Saturday at 10 a.m.
There will also be a live DJ and food trucks at the track. Admission to the App State Open is free. Following the meet, App State track and field alumni are invited to a social and fundraiser on Saturday.
Last Time Out
The Mountaineers split for a trio of invitationals last week, making appearances in Atlanta, Ga., Hickory, N.C., and Winston-Salem, N.C.
At the Georgia Tech Invitational in Atlanta, Ga., the women's 4x400-meter relay team of seniors
Jelonnie Smith,
Jada Branch, graduate student
Hunter Robinson, and senior
Mariah Atwater clinched first with an App State school record of 3:43.03. The previous program record was 3:43.69, set in 2014.
Branch also garnered gold in the women's triple jump with a personal best leap of 13.13m (43' 1"), which moved her to third in the App State all-time list. Fellow senior Djamila Peterson landed third (12.01m (39' 5")) and sophomore Jasmine Posey rounded out the top-five (11.95m (39' 2.5")) in the women's triple jump.
In the men's pole vault,
Matthew Bigelow cleared a height of 4.70m (15' 5") to place third and junior
Braden Underwood took fourth with an equal height of 4.70m (15' 5"). Senior
Celia Agee recorded a clearance of 3.56m (11' 8") to place fourth in the women's pole vault. Junior
Chris Wainscott placed fourth in the men's shot put (8.11m (190' 7")) and fifth in the men's hammer throw (58.11m (190' 7")).
Freshman
Harrison Robinson took fifth in the men's 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.36, while the men's 4x400-meter relay team of freshman
Christian Gore, junior
Cole Krehnbrink, and freshmen
Parker Kinney and
Jayvion Johnson stopped the clock at 3:15.89 to place sixth.
At the LR Bears Invitational in Hickory, N.C., junior
Megan Plummer took third in the women's discus (37.7m (122' 73")) and fifth in the women's shot put (11.15m (36' 7")). Sophomore
Graysen Arnold recorded fourth-place finishes in the women's discus (36.93m (121' 2")) and women's shot put (11.55m (37' 10.75")).
Junior
Calbert Guest clocked a personal best of 8:57.83 in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase for a sixth-place finish at the Wake Forest Invitational in Winston-Salem, N.C. Guest's time moved him to fifth in the App State all-time list.
Ranked Mountaineers
In this week's Sun Belt rankings, 23 Mountaineers rank in the top-10 in 18 individual events. Guest, who earned Sun Belt Track Athlete of the Week accolades for his performance at Wake Forest, leads the league in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase category. Branch remains steady at second in the women's triple jump while Wainscott remains second in the men's shot put. Wainscott also rises to fourth in the men's hammer throw and ranks sixth in the men's discus. Senior
Oliver Wilson-Cook checks in at fourth in the men's 10,000 meters, with junior
Ryan Teuscher checking in at fifth. Junior
Dwayne Lillie rounds out the top-five in the men's 5,000 meters. In the USTFCCCA weekly conference rankings, the men's squad moves up to fifth as a team.
Around the Southeast Region, 11 Mountaineers stand in the top-25 in 10 individual events. Branch checks in at third in the women's triple jump, while Wainscott remains eighth in the men's shot put and moves to 18th in the men's hammer throw and 21st in the men's discus categories. Senior
Taylor Smith rounds out the top-10 with junior
Siby Yao and Branch following at 12th and 13th in the women's long jump. Guest stands 11th in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase category while
Harrison Robinson moves to 15th in the men's 110-meter hurdles. The women's squad ranks 24th while the men rank 27th in the USTFCCCA Southeast Region team rankings.
Guest joins
Taylor Smith, Wainscott and Branch in the top-48 of the NCAA East Prelim qualifying list and NCAA top-100 rankings this week. Branch moves up to 12th in the East Prelim list and 22nd nationally in the women's triple jump category. In the men's shot put category, Wainscott moves to 31st in the East Prelim list and 66th nationally. Guest checks in at 36th in the East Prelim list and 85th nationally in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase category while
Taylor Smith ranks 45th in the East Prelim list and 83rd nationally in the women's long jump category.
App State's women's triple jump squad climbed to 11th in this week's USTFCCCA Event Squad Rankings.
Up Next
The Sun Belt Outdoor Championships are set for May 11-13 in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The meet will be available to stream on ESPN+.
