BOONE, N.C. - App State Director of Track & Field/Cross Country
Damion McLean has earned a contract extension that runs through the 2027-28 season, Director of Athletics Doug Gillin announced Tuesday. The extension was approved by Interim Chancellor Heather Norris and the Appalachian State University Board of Trustees.
"We are excited about the trajectory of App State Track & Field and Cross Country under Damion's leadership," Gillin said. "With momentum from men's cross country's Sun Belt title, the future is bright for our track & field and cross country programs."
"I am appreciative of this contract extension and am thankful to the Board of Trustees, Chancellor Norris, Doug Gillin and App State Athletics for their support," McLean said. "The coaching staff and I are persistently striving to elevate this program and maintain its position. Achieving Sun Belt success, which includes winning, is our ultimate objective for our programs."
In his sixth season as the Director of Track & Field/Cross Country, McLean brought in men's distance coach Brad Herbster and women's distance coach Annie Richards for a strong cross country season. Under Herbster's guidance, the men's cross country team clinched its first Sun Belt Championship title since 2019 and scored the lowest at the championship meet with 28 points. Herbster was named 2023 Sun Belt Coach of the Year. Six Mountaineers collected All-SBC honors, and three Mountaineers broke the men's 10K cross country record at the same meet. In addition to collecting first-team All-SBC honors, senior
Oliver Wilson-Cook was the only men's cross country athlete in the conference to earn three SBC Athlete of the Week honors during the 2023 season. The men's cross country squad also earned its highest regional ranking since 2007.
Success followed the Black and Gold into the women's indoor track & field season, where the 4x800-meter relay team of sophomore
Addison Ollendick-Smith, seniors
Elizabeth Fuller and
Jasmine Donohue, and freshman
Rhys Ammon clocked a time of 9:27.24, which broke a program record that had stood since 1993. Sophomore
Ava Studney matched the indoor pole vault record with a clearance of 4.06m (13' 3.75") and collected SBC Indoor Women's Field Athlete of the Week honors. At the Sun Belt Indoor Championships, five Mountaineers collected All-SBC accolades for their performances, which included a silver finish for the distance medley relay team of Ammon, freshman
Nicole Wells, Ollendick-Smith and Donohue, as well as a bronze finish from graduate student
Ashlee Osaji in the women's triple jump. Graduate student
Celia Agee was a Dr. Pepper Scholarship recipient for her hard work in the classroom.
During the outdoor season, the Mountaineers shattered five program records as well as a conference record. Osaji broke the App State and Sun Belt regular season women's long jump record with a leap of 6.54m (21' 5.5."). The previous school record was set in 1993 by Melissa Morrison, who would later become a two-time Olympic medalist. In a stellar freshman season
Matthew Gray broke and reset the App State men's pole vault record within a week's time, recording a program record clearance of 5.34m (17' 6.25") in front of the home crowd at the App State Open. The Black and Gold also saw Studney set the women's outdoor pole vault record with a clearance of 4.04m (13' 3") and junior
Garrett Bivens break the men's outdoor 5,000-meter record with a time of 14:18.05.
At the Sun Belt Outdoor Championships, the women's 4x400-meter relay team of Wells, freshman
Sierra Smith, sophomore
Daye Talley and freshman
Jayla Adams broke the school record with a time of 3:40.1. Thirteen Mountaineers collected All-SBC honors at the conference meet, and the men's team scored their most points and highest team finish (fourth) since joining the league in 2014.
Seven Mountaineers advanced to the NCAA East Preliminary Round, which is the most individual qualifiers the Mountaineers have had to the first round of the NCAA Championships in program history. The seven contenders included seniors
Niejel Wilkins and
Chris Wainscott, who made their second consecutive appearances at the preliminary round, as well as senior
Taylor Smith, who made her second appearance at the preliminary round. Freshman
Kendall Johnson and Wells also represented the Mountaineers at the USATF U20 Championships in the women's 100 meters and women's 200 meters.
2023-24 All-Conference Honorees
Men's & Women's Cross Country
Women's Indoor Track & Field
- Rhys Ammon, Second-Team All-SBC (Women's Distance Medley Relay)
Men's & Womens' Outdoor Track & Field
- Garrett Bivens, First-Team All-SBC (men's 5,000 meters)
- Ethan Lipham, First-Team All-SBC (men's 1,500 meters)
- Ashlee Osaji, First-Team All-SBC (women's long jump)
- Nicole Wells, Second-Team All-SBC (women's 4x400m relay)
- Sierra Smith, Second-Team All-SBC (women's 4x400m relay)
- Daye Talley, Second-Team All-SBC (women's 4x400m relay)
- Jayla Adams, Second-Team All-SBC (women's 4x400m relay)
- Matthew Gray, Second-Team All-SBC (men's pole vault)
- Addison Ollendick-Smith, Second-Team All-SBC (women's 800 meters)
- Oliver Wilson-Cook, Second-Team All-SBC (men's 10,000 meters)
- Jonah Bird, Third-Team All-SBC (men's 10,000 meters)
- Niejel Wilkins, Third-Team All-SBC (men's triple jump)
- Harrison Robinson, Third-Team All-SBC (men's 110m hurdles)
2023-24 Athletes of the Week
- Oliver Wilson-Cook, three-time Sun Belt Athlete of the Week selection
- Ava Studney, Sun Belt Indoor Field Athlete of the Week selection
- Taylor Smith, three-time Sun Belt Outdoor Athlete of the Week selection (twice for track, once for field)
- Ashlee Osaji, Sun Belt Outdoor Field Athlete of the Week selection
2023-24 Awards & Titles
- 2023 Sun Belt Men's Cross Country team title
- Brad Herbster, 2023 Sun Belt Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year
- Celia Agee, 2023-24 Dr. Pepper Scholarship Recipient
- Ashlee Osaji, 2024 Sun Belt Women's Outdoor Track & Field Newcomer of the Year
2023-24 Broken Program Records
