BLACKSBURG, Va. - A new App State program and conference regular season indoor women's pole vault record highlighted the last day of competition for the Mountaineers at the Virginia Tech Invitational on Saturday. In addition to the new record, App State tallied 22 top-10 finishes on the weekend.
"This meet was a great step to the next one. I've gained valuable insights into our team and identified several areas for improvement," said director of track & field/cross country
Damion McLean. "We showcased some impressive performances in the distance areas, the short sprints and the jumps."
In her debut for the Mountaineers, freshman
Lilly Nichols shattered the App State program, Sun Belt regular season, and U20 Polish women's indoor pole vault records with a clearance of 4.26m (13' 11.73"). The previous App State program record of 4.06m (13' 3.75"), was originally set in 2004 by Suzanne Makinson and was matched last season by
Ava Studney. The Sun Belt season record of 4.20m (13' 9.25") was set by UTA's Helen Falda on Feb. 19, 2017 and the previous U20 Polish record was 4.22m (13' 10") set by Kamila Przybyła in 2015. Nichols finished fourth in Saturday's women's pole vault event.
Junior
Addison Ollendick-Smith finished fourth in the women's 800 meters, stopping the clock at 2:13.67. She currently stands fifth in the all-time list with a personal best of 2:12.82, which she set in 2024. The women's 4x400-meter relay team of sophomore
Nicole Wells, Ollendick-Smith, junior
Daye Talley, and sophomore
Jayla Adams registered a fourth-place finish with a time of 3:47.24.
In the women's 200 meters, senior
Mariah McCord and freshman
Zaniya Littlejohn clocked personal bests of 25.03 and 25.13 to place sixth and eighth, respectively. Freshman
Ja'Naya Linder placed seventh in the women's 400 meters with a personal best time of 57.69.
Friday Rewind
Friday's action saw plenty of movement in the App State all-time list. Freshman
Savannah Moore clocked a personal best of 2:57.90 to place third in the women's unseeded 1,000 meters and move to second in the App State all-time list. Joining her in the event and program top-10 was sophomore
Rhys Ammon (3:00.99), senior
Regan Hodge (3:02.49), and freshman
Ella Battel (3:06.52).
Graduate student
Noelle Meeker finished fourth with a personal best clearance of 3:86m (12' 8") in the women's unseeded pole vault. Her clearance also moved her to sixth in the App State all-time list.
In the women's 60-meter finals, sophomore
Kendall Johnson matched her personal best of 7.56 to place fourth. She originally set her personal best at the 2024 VMI Winter Classic and remains seventh in the program top-10. Freshman
Katie Johnson rounded out the top-five in the women's unseeded mile with a personal best of 5:34.92.
Up Next
App State will make an appearance at the Orange & Purple Invitational in Clemson, S.C. on Jan. 24-25. The Mountaineers will return to Blacksburg, Va. for Virginia Tech's Doc Hale Invitational on Feb. 7-8.
