BOONE, N.C. - The App State men's and women's track & field teams hosted the Mountaineer First Chance meet at the Randy Marion Track and Field facility on Friday, which was highlighted by a pair of facility records and 10 first-place finishes.
Senior
Emma Russum broke her own facility record in the women's 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:58.10. She surpassed the previous Randy Marion Track and Field facility record of 11:07.06, which she set at the 2024 App State Open meet, and moves to 10th in the App State all-time list. Freshman
Savannah Moore took third in the event with a time of 12:09.15.
App State also saw a facility record from sophomore
Rhys Ammon, who clocked a time of 4:42.06 to place first in the invitational section of the women's 1,500 meters. The previous facility record of 4:55.24 was set in 2023. Freshman
Breanna Budzinski placed fourth in the event with a time of 4:53.29.
The Mountaineers took the top-three spots in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase, led by junior
Ethan Lipham, who finished first with a time of 9:22.62. Redshirt junior
Steven Smith placed second (9:46.32) and freshman
Josh Pote took third (9:54.80). App State also took the top-three spots in the men's 5,000 meters as freshman
Memphis Rich stopped the clock at 15:11.22 to place first, junior
Tucker Sangster secured second (15:25.67), and
Chase Burrell finished third (15:27.98).
Freshman
Christopher Stewart notched a pair of first-place finishes on the day after recording a toss of 45.98m (150' 10") in the men's discus and a toss of 15.99m (52' 5.5") in the men's shot put. Junior
Jeremiah Burch Jr. took third in the men's discus with a mark of 44.34m (145' 6"). Freshman
Brittany Ellis clinched first in the women's shot put with a toss of 11.64m (38' 2.25"), while fellow freshman
Emily Edwards took third with a toss of 10.64m (34' 11").
With a time of 57.39, freshman
Ja'Naya Linder placed first in the women's 400 meters. In the men's 400-meter hurdles, junior
Christian Gore clocked a time of 57.98 to place first, while sophomore
Miller Brannen took third with a time of 59.00. Redshirt sophomore
Rylan Haskett recorded a time of 1:55.64 to place first in the invitational section of the men's 800, coming within one second of the facility record of 1:54.58, which was set in 2024 by Ryan Hastings. Freshman
Zach Makemson rounded out the top-five after stopping the clock at 1:59.54.
Junior
Corlasia Scott stopped the clock at 1:09.67 to place second in the women's 400-meter hurdles and freshman
Brandon Parker finished second in the men's 200 meters with a time of 21.45. In the invitational section of the women's 800 meters, junior
Addison Ollendick-Smith and freshman
Ella Battel took second (2:12.95) and third (2:23.11), respectively.
With a clearance of 4.20m (13' 9.25"), senior
Matthew Bigelow placed second in the men's pole vault. Junior
Caroline Fowlkes and freshman
Abigail Goetz placed second (3.49m (11' 5.5")) and third (3.34m (10' 11.5")), respectively in the women's pole vault. Goetz also registered a fourth-place finish in the women's javelin with a toss of 27.77m (91' 1").
In the women's hammer throw, sophomore
Dianna Boykin placed third with a toss of 40.82m (133' 11") and Edwards took fourth with a mark of 40.29m (132' 2"). Freshman
Dennis Mowatt Jr. took third with a toss of 45.84m (150' 5") and junior
Jake Stanley rounded out the top-five (45.46m (149' 2")).
In the women's 5,000 meters, junior
Linnea Maynard took third (17:59.70), senior
Catherine Breault placed fourth (18:16.57), and senior
Lana Farris rounded out the top-five (18:21.51). Freshman
Bryce James tied for fifth in the men's 100 meters with a time of 10.78.
Up Next
The Mountaineers will travel to Raleigh, N.C. for the Raleigh Relays on March 27-29.
