HARRISONBURG, Va. – The App State men's and women's track & field team's final day of competition at the Sun Belt Outdoor Track and Field Championships was highlighted by junior Ethan Lipham's second conference crown of the weekend and two podium finishes. Additionally, Lipham was named one of the meet's top scorers, matching Arkansas State's Jacob Pyeatt with 20 points apiece. Over the course of competition, the Mountaineers took the conference crown in three events, medaled in eight events, and saw a pair of school records fall. The men's team placed fifth with 97 points, while the women's squad placed eighth with 50 points.
"It was not the outcome we wanted, but there were lots of bright spots for the future," said director of track & field/cross country Damion McLean. "We had a lot of season and personal bests, all-conference finishes, and a few champions, but in a meet like this it's all about place and points."
Lipham made a second trip to the podium on Saturday after stopping the clock at 3:50.83 to defend his men's 1,500-meter title. The Largo, Fla. native had won the men's 1,500-meter title at the 2024 SBC Outdoor Championships with a time of 3:52.30. Freshman Rowan Gwin and redshirt junior Steven Smith also scored for the Mountaineers in the men's 1,500 meters, placing fifth (3:52.48) and eighth (3:55.84), respectively. In the prelims, Lipham had placed second with a time of 3:51.98, Smith placed third (3:52.27), and Gwin placed fifth (3:52.53).
The Mountaineers also saw a second podium finish from senior Emma Russum and a podium finish from the men's 4x100-meter relay team. Russum secured silver with a time of 16:53.59 in the women's 5,000 meters. Freshman Brandon Parker, sophomore Armonté Ferguson, freshman Jonathan Wilson, and junior Ray Lee stopped the clock at 40.01 to earn bronze in the men's 4x100-meter relay.
Sophomore Nicole Wells placed fourth in the women's 400-meter final with a time of 54.40. She came within 0.37 of her personal best of 54.03, which she clocked earlier this season to move to second in the App State all-time list. Wells had won her heat and finished sixth overall in the prelims with a time of 55.48.
In the men's 5,000 meters, redshirt senior Calbert Guest and freshmen Henry Stark and Thomas Wlazlowski placed fourth (14:27.33), fifth (14:28.82), and sixth (14:29.50), respectively.
In the women's 100-meter final, sophomore Kendall Johnson placed fifth with a personal best of 11.33. Her time launched her to second in the App State all-time list, just shy of the program record of 11.22, which Lamonda Miller set in 1989. In the prelims on Friday, Johnson had stopped the clock at 11.50 for a then-personal best and seventh-place finish.
Junior Parker Kinney stopped the clock at 47.17 for a personal best and fifth-place finish in the men's 400-meter final. He had won his heat, placing eighth in the prelims with a time of 48.35 and remains fifth in the App State all-time list. The Black and Gold also saw a fifth-place finish from junior Addison Ollendick-Smith, who stopped the clock at 2:11.43. Freshman Savannah Moore took eighth after stopping the clock at 2:14.03 in the final. In the prelims, Ollendick-Smith and Moore placed seventh (2:13.23) and eighth (2:13.29) to advance to the women's 800-meter final.
The women's 4x100-meter relay team of freshman Zaniya Littlejohn, Wells, senior Mariah McCord, and Johnson finished sixth with a time of 45.12, while the men's 4x400-meter relay squad of freshman Brandon Parker, junior Christian Gore, sophomore Miller Brannen, and junior Parker Kinney placed sixth with a time of 3:17.15.
Sophomore Rhys Ammon placed seventh in the women's 1,500-meter final with a personal best of 4:29.76. Ammon improved upon her previous personal best of 4:33.41, which she set in Thursday's prelims, and rose to seventh in the App State all-time list.
With a time of 3:45.24, the women's 4x100-meter relay quartet of Wells, Ollendick-Smith, Littlejohn and freshman Ja'Naya Linder placed eighth.
Sun Belt Championships Rewind
The Mountaineers crowned a pair of Sun Belt Champions in the men's and women's 3,000-meter steeplechase on Friday. In the women's race, Russum stopped the clock at 10:36.27 to garner gold, while Lipham placed first in the men's race with a personal best of 8:58.49. Lipham's time moved him to sixth in the App State all-time list, while Russum remains second in the all-time list. Joining Lipham on the podium was Wlazlowski, who placed third with a personal best of 9:03.65. Also scoring for the Mountaineers was Guest, who placed fourth (9:06.29), and redshirt junior Steven Smith, who finished seventh (9:12.88, PR).
For a fourth time in his two seasons at App State, sophomore Matthew Gray set the men's pole vault program record after recording a clearance of 5.38m (17' 7.75"). He secured silver in Friday's competition and surpassed the previous program record of 5.35m (17' 6.5"), which he had shared with Patrick Freeman. Freeman placed eighth with a clearance of 5.08m (16' 8") to score for the Black and Gold.
In addition to a new men's pole vault record, freshman Lilly Nichols set a new women's pole vault program record on Thursday. Nichols secured sliver with a personal best clearance of 4.11m (13' 5.75"), surpassing the previous record of 4.04m (13' 3"), which was set by Ava Studney during the 2024 outdoor campaign. With a clearance of 3.91m (12' 10"), Studney placed fifth in Thursday's competition.
On the track, graduate student Ethan Turner finished second in the men's 10,000 meters with a time of 30:07.94. Senior Chase Burrell, freshman Memphis Rich, and senior Oliver Wilson-Cook also scored for the Mountaineers after placing fourth (30:25.19, PR), fifth (30:27.98), and seventh (30:32.77), respectively in the race.
Freshman Christopher Stewart placed fifth in the men's shot put with a personal best toss of 17.19m (56' 4.75"), which elevated him to fourth in the App State all-time list.
Up Next
App State will host the Sunday Night Qualifier at the Randy Marion Track & Field Facility on May 18.
The NCAA East Preliminary Round is slated for May 28-31 and will be hosted by North Florida in Jacksonville, Fla. The top-48 declared student-athletes in each individual event and the top-24 declared relay teams will advance to the East Prelim meet.
Final Sun Belt Outdoor Championships Team Standings
Men's Team Standings
1.Texas State – 145 points
2. Arkansas State – 126 points
3. Louisiana – 114 points
4. South Alabama – 108 points
5. App State – 97 points
6. Southern Miss – 72 points
7. ULM – 67 points
8. Troy – 40 points
9. Coastal Carolina – 36 points
10. Marshall – 9 points
Women's Team Standings
1.Texas State – 119 points
2. Louisiana – 108 points
3. Southern Miss – 97 points
4. Georgia Southern – 91 points
5. Arkansas State – 69 points
6. South Alabama – 68 points
7. Coastal Carolina – 63 points
8. App State – 50 points
9. Troy – 43 points
10. Marshall – 36 points
T11. ULM – 30 points
T11. James Madison – 30 points
13. Georgia State – 15 points
