BOONE, N.C. - The App State men's and women's track & field team is set to host the App State Open this Friday and Saturday. The meet marks the second collegiate meet at the Randy Marion Track & Field facility after the track opened last season. Field events will start at 10 a.m. on Friday, with events on the track starting at 7 p.m. Action will resume Saturday at 9 a.m. with track events and 10 a.m. with field events.
App State will celebrate the groundbreaking of the John Weaver Plaza at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. The plaza will honor the legacy of long time App State Athletics and USTFCCCA Hall of Fame coach John Weaver and recognize the achievements of Mountaineer track & field and cross country student-athletes throughout program history.
The Mountaineers will also honor their graduating seniors with a recognition slated for 11:30 a.m. on Saturday.
Joining App State in the field of competition will be: Anderson (S.C.), Bob Jones, Cleveland Community College, Fayetteville State, Gardner-Webb, Livingstone, Mars Hill, Montreat, Newberry, Radford, VMI, and Winthrop, as well as several regional running clubs.
Last Time Out
A pair of broken records highlighted the weekend as App State split for the Wake Forest and Georgia Tech Invitationals. At the Wake Forest Invitational on April 19, junior
Garrett Bivens kicked off the day with a new men's 5,000-meter school record, recording a personal best of 14:18.05. He placed fourth overall in the race. The previous record was 14:19.97, set in 2005 by Joe Halin. Freshman
Matthew Gray broke the men's pole vault program record at the Georgia Tech Invitational on April 20 with a personal best clearance of 5.33m (17' 5.75"). Todd Poremba set the previous school record of 5.32m (17' 5.25") in 1998.
Additionally, the Black and Gold tallied 64 top-25 finishes on the weekend. The women's 4x100-meter relay team of freshmen
Nicole Wells and
Sierra Smith, senior
Taylor Smith, and freshman
Jayla Adams placed second with a time of 44.93. In the men's triple jump, senior
Niejel Wilkins landed third with a personal best leap of 15.62m (51' 3"), which moved him to seventh in the App State all-time list. Fellow seniors
Nathan Karl and
Chris Wainscott placed third (50.62m (166' 1")) and fourth (49.24m (161' 6")), respectively, in the men's discus.
In the women's pole vault, sophomore
Ava Studney landed third with a clearance of 3.80m (12' 5.5"). The men's 4x100-meter relay quartet of Armonté Ferguson and
Kenneth Crawford II, sophomore
Harrison Robinson, and senior
Cole Krehnbrink clocked a time of 41.01 to place fourth. The Mountaineers also saw fifth-place finishes from Robinson in the men's 110-meter hurdles (14.34) and
Taylor Smith in the women's 100 meters (11.63).
Ranked Mountaineers
App State ranks among the top-50 in the NCAA in three events. Both Osaji and Gray remain in the top-50 and are joined by Wilkins. Osaji remains the women's long jump leader in the Sun Belt and Southeast Region. She also maintains her rankings of third on the NCAA East Preliminary Round qualifying list and ninth nationally. Gray maintains his rankings as second in the Sun Belt and moves up to fourth in the Southeast Region. With his new personal best and school record, he rose to 13th on the NCAA East Prelim qualifying list and 25th in the NCAA overall. With a new personal best of his own, Wilkins leads the league, ranks fourth in the Southeast Region, stands 13th on the NCAA East Prelim list, and checks in at 27th nationally in the men's triple jump.
As postseason looms closer, seven Mountaineers maintain positions on the NCAA East Prelim qualifying list with Osaji, Gray, and Wilkins. Robinson (men's 110-meter hurdles), senior
Chris Wainscott (men's shot put), and sophomore
Ava Studney (women's pole vault) hold positions in the top-48. The women's 4x100-meter relay quartet of Wells,
Taylor Smith,
Sierra Smith, and Adams also remain ranked in the top-48.
Osaji, Gray, Wilkins, Wainscott, Robinson, and the 4x100-meter relay team of Wells,
Taylor Smith,
Sierra Smith, and Adams remain ranked in the top-10 in six events in the Southeast Region.
Around the Sun Belt, 20 Mountaineers stand in the top-five in 17 events. Sophomore
Parker Kinney, senior
Jasmine Donohue, and Wainscott each rank in the top-five in two events while
Taylor Smith stands in the top-five in three events.
Up Next
The Mountaineers will gear up for postseason, starting with the Sun Belt Outdoor Track & Field Championships on May 9-11 in Monroe, La.
Senior Recognition
Men's Team
Ethan Barber - Distance, Cross Country
Jonah Bird - Distance, Cross Country
Jabari Dalton - Sprints, Hurdles
Ben Datte - Distance, Cross Country
Taylor Fox - Pole Vault
Yates Hall - Jumps
Nathan Karl - Throws
Cole Krehnbrink - Sprints
Dwayne Lillie - Distance, Cross Country
Jonah Morris - Distance, Cross Country
Braden Underwood - Pole Vault
Chris Wainscott - Throws
Niejel Wilkins - Jumps
Women's Team
Celia Agee - Pole Vault
Annie Amundsen - Distance, Cross Country
Graysen Arnold - Throws
Bianca Copeman - Distance, Cross Country
Angelina DiBlasi - Distance, Cross Country
Jasmine Donohue - Distance, Cross Country
Elizabeth Fuller - Distance, Cross Country
Ani Judd - Sprints
Claire Mason - Distance, Cross Country
Alexia Moehling - Sprints, Hurdles
Ashlee Osaji - Jumps
Megan Plummer - Throws
Hunter Robinson - Sprints
Taylor Smith - Sprints, Jumps
