NEW ORLEANS - App State senior
Taylor Smith was named Sun Belt Women's Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week by the league on Wednesday. The accolade is Smith's first career Track Athlete of the Week nod and App State's first of the outdoor campaign.
At the Lenoir-Rhyne Open on March 16, Smith accounted for three of the Mountaineers' 20 event wins. Smith posted a personal best in the women's 100 meters, stopping the clock at 11.60 to clinch first. Her time raised her to fifth in the App State top-10 all-time list. The North Charleston, S.C. native also ran the third leg of the women's 4x100-meters, helping the quartet to a first-place finish with a time of 44.75. The quartet came within 0.02 seconds of App State's record, 44.73, which was set in 1989. She also recorded a first place finish in the women's long jump with a leap of 5.97m (19' 7").
Smith checks in at second in the Southeast Region, third in the SBC, 11th in the NCAA East Prelim qualifying list, and 19th nationally in the women's 100 meters. With Smith's contribution, the App State 4x100-meter relay team ranks second in the Southeast Region, third in the Sun Belt, 10th in the NCAA East Prelim list, and 16th in the NCAA. Smith leads the Sun Belt and ranks fourth in the Southeast Region, 18th in the NCAA East Prelim list, and rounds out the top-25 in the women's long jump category.
The Mountaineers will compete in South Carolina's Weems Baskin Relays on March 22-23 in Columbia, S.C.
