LYNCHBURG, Va. - The App State women's track and field team capped competition at the Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational on Friday. The Mountaineers' time at the meet was highlighted by a new women's 5,000-meter record on Friday and 29 top-20 finishes.
"This was a really good tune up meet for the team as we prepare for the upcoming Sun Belt Indoor Championships," said director of track & field/cross country
Damion McLean. "I'm very excited that records and personal best are being set. I love having to rewrite the top-10 list and the records every week."
Sophomore
Jayla Adams clocked a personal best of 39.00 to finish first in the women's 300 meters. Adams rose to second in the App State all-time list for her performance. Fellow sophomore
Nicole Wells stopped the clock at 39.53 to place third and freshman
Ja'Naya Linder placed fifth with a personal best of 39.80, which elevated her to eighth in the all-time list. Sophomore
Kendall Johnson finished 12th (40.49) and freshman
Zaniya Littlejohn rounded out the top-15 (40.98). Adams and Linder had also registered eighth-place finishes in the invitational and open sections of the women's 400 meters, recording times of 56.81 (PR) and 57.70, respectively, on Friday.
Junior
Addison Ollendick-Smith clocked a personal best of 1:15.27 to place fourth in the women's 500 meters. Her time moved her to third in the App State all-time list. In the open section of the women's mile, freshman
Savannah Moore stopped the clock at 5:04.59 to place fifth overall. Sophomore
Rhys Ammon stopped the clock at 5:05.94 to place seventh and senior
Regan Hodge placed 18th with a time of 5:09.56. Moore had also registered a first-place in the open section of Friday's women's 800 meters, clocking a personal best of 2:14.91.
Freshman
Jahaila Wright rounded out the top-15 in the women's triple jump with a leap of 11.57m (37' 11.5"). Senior
Mariah McCord stopped the clock at 25.25 to place 16th in the open section of the women's 200 meters.
Friday Rewind
Friday's action was highlighted by a new program record in the women's 5,000 meters, as senior
Jasmine Donohue stopped the clock at 16:31.02 to clinch first in the invitational section of the race. The previous record was 16:39.75, which was set in 2015 by Tristin Van Ord.
"
Jasmine Donohue's performance stood out to me and exemplified her tenacity, consistency, and heart," said women's distance coach
Annie Richards. "For nearly two years Jasmine and I have talked about her goal of setting a school record in the 5,000 meters, and for the last several seasons she has been progressing steadily towards this achievement."
In addition to the new 5,000-meter record, Donohue reset the school record in the 3,000 meters with a time of 9:32.67 on Jan. 25 and was part of the distance medley relay (DMR) team that broke the program record with a time of 11:25.30 on Feb. 8. The Mountaineers have broken six indoor records this season and have broken at least one record at each meet during the 2024-25 campaign.
Friday's action also saw four Mountaineers finish in the top-10 in the open section of the women's 5,000 meters, led by freshman
Breanna Budzinski, who posted a personal best of 17:49.50 to place fourth. Following Budzinski to finish among the top-10 were seniors
Catherine Breault,
Linnea Maynard, and
Lana Farris, who finished sixth (17:58.79), eighth (18:10.12), and ninth (18:17.93, PR), respectively.
With clearances of 3.94m (12' 11") and 3.79m (12' 5"), respectively, freshman
Lilly Nichols tied for fifth and junior
Ava Studney tied for 10th in the invitational section of the women's pole vault. Graduate student
Noelle Meeker finished fourth (3.75m (12' 3.5")) and freshman
Abigail Goetz tied for 10th (3.60m (11' 9.5")) in the Open A section of the women's pole vault.
Seniors
Emma Russum and
Karsyn Kane rounded out the top-10 in the invitational and open sections of the women's 3,000 meters. Russum stopped the clock at 9:43.16 in the invitational race, while Kane stopped the clock at 10:09.78 in the open.
Up Next
The Mountaineers will compete at the Sun Belt Indoor Track & Field Championships in Birmingham, Ala. on Feb. 24-25.
