BOONE, N.C. - The App State women's track and field team launches the 2025-26 indoor season at the Visit Winston-Salem College Kick-Off at the JDL Fast Track on Saturday. Field events will start at 9:30 a.m., and track events are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.
Twenty-five Mountaineers return to the High Country after guiding App State to a third-place finish at the 2025 Sun Belt Indoor Championships, the best team finish for the Black and Gold since winning the title in 2016.
Lilly Nichols, who set the school, conference, and Polish U20 women's indoor pole vault record with a clearance of 4.26m (13' 11.75") in her collegiate debut, returns for her sophomore season. The Broomfield, Colo., native secured silver and earned Second-Team All-SBC honors in the women's pole vault with 4.18m (13' 8.5") at last year's indoor championship. Joining Nichols in the pole vault and returning for her senior season is
Ava Studney. Studney matched Suzanne Makinson's 2004 clearance of 4.06m (13' 3.75") during the 2024 campaign and stands tied for second on the App State all-time list. She also finished sixth at the conference championship last year with a clearance of 3.73m (12' 2.75").
Sprinters
Kendall Johnson,
Nicole Wells and
Jayla Adams return for their junior seasons. Johnson set the school record with a time of 7.42 in the women's 60-meter prelims at the SBC Championship and finished seventh overall in the final with a time of 7.51. The previous record was 7.44, set in 2005 by Jennifer Claud. Additionally, Johnson, alongside
Addison Ollendick-Smith,
Ja'Naya Linder and Adams, earned Second-Team All-SBC honors for their performance in the women's 4x400-meter relay at the conference championship. The quartet stopped the clock at 3:45.19, coming within two seconds of the program record of 3:43.85, which was set at the 2023 Sun Belt Indoor Championships.
Ollendick-Smith, who holds the program record in the women's 600 meters (1:33.95) and stands second all-time in the women's 800 meters (2:11.13), returns for her senior season, specializing in mid-distance events. In addition to helping the Mountaineers to a second-place finish in the women's 4x400-meter relay, she was a part of the women's distance medley relay team that also secured silver at the conference championship meet with a time of 11:35.52.
Junior
Rhys Ammon and sophomore
Savannah Moore return to the track for the Mountaineers' distance squad this year. The duo secured spots in both the women's 600 meters and women's 1,000 meters last winter, with Moore leading the way, ranking second all-time in the 600 meters (1:36.45) and third all-time in the 1,000 meters (2:57.90). Junior
Dianna Boykin and sophomores
Emily Edwards and
Brittany Ellis make their returns for App State's throws squad. Boykin and Ellis both recorded personal bests in the women's weight throw with marks of 14.20m (46' 7.25") and 12.86m (42' 2.25"), respectively at the SBC meet. Edwards led the team in the shot put last season with a personal best mark of 12.57m (41' 3"), which she set at the 2025 Virginia Tech Invitational.
For the 2025-26 campaign, thirteen newcomers will don the Black and Gold. Senior
Damyja Alejandro-Ortiz, who spent three seasons at Lenoir-Rhyne, and sophomore
Micayla Collins, who spent her freshman season at Virginia Tech, joins App State's sprints squad alongside freshman
Tatiana Blake. Freshmen
Alana Braxton,
Kelly MacBride, and
Ashlynn Wimberly will specialize in the jumps events this season. Distance freshmen
Josie Jackson,
Allie Kinlaw,
Tessa Massa,
Julia Mayer,
Elizabeth McCart,
Lika Strydom, and
Ashby Williams are set to step onto the track after making their collegiate debuts on the cross country course this fall. Massa, Jackson, and McCart earned All-SBC honors after helping the Mountaineer women to their second consecutive Sun Belt Cross Country team title. Additionally, Massa was tabbed as the Sun Belt Women's Cross Country Freshman of the Year for her efforts.
On Deck
App State's indoor season will resume on Saturday, Jan. 10, with the UNC Asheville Collegiate Opener at Tryon International in Mill Spring, N.C.
