RALEIGH, N.C. – The App State men's and women's track and field team closed out competition at the Raleigh Relays on Saturday, tallying 32 top-25 finishes over the course of the weekend.
"It was very exciting to be back at NC State for a meet," said director of track & field/cross country
Damion McLean. "A lot of great performances came out of this weekend, plus it felt like a home meet with some of our student-athletes being from around the area. Looking forward to returning and performing even better.
On the track, the women's 4x100-meter relay team of freshmen
Nicole Wells and
Sierra Smith, senior
Taylor Smith, and freshman
Jayla Adams stopped the clock at 45.27 for a third-place finish. Individually,
Sierra Smith rounded out the top-five in the women's 200 meters with a time of 23.67. Her time moved her to fourth in the App State all-time list. Adams and Wells also finished among the top-25, placing 14th (24.31) and 22nd (24.62), respectively. Wells and
Sierra Smith also ran the first and third legs of the women's 4x400-meter relay. Wells, sophomores
Daye Talley and
Addison Ollendick-Smith, and
Sierra Smith stopped the clock at 3:45.94 to place 11th overall. The time was a mere three seconds shy of the school record 3:42.17, set in 2023.
On the men's side, the 4x100-meter relay team of freshman Armonté Ferguson, sophomores
Kenneth Crawford II and
Harrison Robinson, and senior Cole Krenhbrink clocked a time of 41.14 to place eighth. Krehnbrink also anchored the men's 4x400-meter relay. The quartet of sophomore
Parker Kinney, senior
Jabari Dalton, freshman
Davis Hunt, and Krenhbrink stopped the clock at 3:15.40 in the men's 400-meter relay. The time was five seconds from the program record of 3:10.29 that was set in 1985.
In the women's hammer throw,
Daiyanna Cooper took seventh with a season best toss of 55.09m (180' 9"). The Mountaineers also saw seventh-place finishes in both sections of the women's pole vault. In the invitational section, sophomore
Ava Studney tied for seventh with a clearance of 3.85m (12' 7.5"). Graduate student
Celia Agee took seventh in the women's pole vault with a clearance of 3.55m (11' 7.75"), while fellow graduate student
Noelle Meeker tied for tenth with a clearance of 3.40m (11' 1.75").
Graduate student
Alexia Moehling clocked a personal best in the women's 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:02.35. She took 14th overall and moved to fifth in the App State all-time list. Senior
Jabari Dalton also clocked a personal best in the men's 400-meter hurdles with a time of 53.08, which resulted in a 16th-place finish.
In the men's long jump, freshman
Jared Hiatt landed 18th with a leap of 6.85m (22' 5.75"), while senior
Niejel Wilkins landed 24th with a leap of 6.74m (22' 1.5").
Taylor Smith recorded a leap of 5.52m (18' 1.5") to finish 19th in the women's long jump. Fellow senior
Chris Wainscott took 22nd in the men's hammer throw with a toss of 54.88m (180' 1").
In the women's 800 meters, sophomore Ollendick-Smith stopped the clock at 2:11.55 for a personal best, which keeps her at eighth in the App State all-time list. Ollendick-Smith finished 70th out of 172 competitors.
Raleigh Relays Rewind
Friday's action saw freshman
Matthew Gray garner gold in the invitational round of the men's pole vault with a personal best clearance of 5.20m (17' 0.75"), which moved him to third in the App State all-time list.
Taylor Smith clocked a personal best of 11.58 to earned bronze in the women's 100 meters. Her time keeps her at fifth in the App State all-time list. Meanwhile, Adams stopped the clock at 11.66 to take seventh. Adams' time ties her with Jennifer Claud and Breanna Alston for sixth in the program top-10.
Wilkins landed fourth in the men's triple jump with a season-best leap of 15.06m (49' 5") and graduate student
Ashlee Osaji landed sixth in the women's triple jump with a leap of 12.31m (40' 4.75"). Senior
Chris Wainscott also recorded a season best with a toss of 49.68m (163' 0") in the men's discus and rounded out the top-10 in the event. Wainscott also posted a second-place finish in the men's shot put with a toss of 17.81m (58' 5.25") on Thursday.
Robinson stopped the clock at 14.09 to finish 11th In the men's 110-meter hurdles, while Moehling clocked a season-best and top-15 finish in the women's 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.88. Her time raised her to fourth in the App State all-time list. Ferguson rounded out the top-15 in the men's 100 meters with a time of 10.55 and
Sierra Smith placed 25th in the women's 400 meters with a time of 57.05.
On Thursday,
Nathan Karl rounded out the men's shot put top-20 with a mark of 16.05m (52' 8"). Cooper recorded a season best toss of 12.96m (42' 6.25") to round out the top-25 in the women's shot put. On the track, sophomore
Ethan Lipham stopped the clock for a personal best of 3:49.93 In the men's 1,500 meters, finishing third in his section and 85th overall out of 208 competitors.
Up Next
The Mountaineers will head to Durham, N.C. on April 11-13 for the Duke Invitational.
