JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Six Mountaineers represented App State at the NCAA East First Round in Jacksonville, Fla. this week, which was highlighted by freshman
Lilly Nichols' advancement to the NCAA Championships in the women's pole vault. Junior
Ava Studney competed alongside Nichols in the women's pole vault competition, while graduate student
Patrick Freeman and sophomore
Matthew Gray represented the Black and Gold in the men's pole vault. Sophomore
Kendall Johnson redshirt senior
Calbert Guest competed in the women's 100 meters and men's 3,000-meter steeplechase, respectively.
"This is a meet where self-motivation comes into play," said director of track & field/cross country
Damion McLean. "I'm very proud of the first timers and the seniors. They laid it all out for App State. I'm also extremely proud of Lilly and Coach
Daniel Isaacs for punching their ticket to Eugene on their first try."
Nichols is the first App State women's pole vaulter in program history to advance to the NCAA Championships. After a weather delay cut competition short on Thursday, Nichols returned to the track to compete on Friday, where she recorded a new school record and personal best clearance of 4.24m (13' 11"). Nichols surpassed her previous program record of 4.16m (13' 7.75"), which she set at the Sunday Night Qualifier on May 18 in Boone. She finished fourth in her flight and 11th overall in Friday's event to punch her ticket to Eugene.
"I'm thrilled to have advanced to the NCAA Championships and to have achieved a season best, especially after overcoming a knee injury this indoor season," Nichols said. "I'm hoping to set a new personal record in Eugene."
"This is really exciting for Lilly and App State. Making the NCAA finals is impressive and doing it as a true freshman is especially impressive," said pole vault coach
Daniel Isaacs. "I think it's a good sign of what's to come in the future for the App State pole vault squad, as well as the entire track and field program as a whole."
The last Mountaineer to advance to the NCAA Championships was Jada Branch in 2023. Branch landed 12th in the women's triple jump with a leap of 13.09m (42' 11.5") at the 2023 NCAA East Prelim, which was also hosted by North Florida in Jacksonville, Fla.
Gray placed 15th in the men's pole vault on Thursday after clearing a bar of 5.33m (17' 5.75"). His clearance was 0.10 meters from his school and Randy Marion Track & Field Facility record of 5.43m (17' 9.75"), which he set at the Sunday Night Qualifier.
On the track, Johnson stopped the clock at 11.36 in the women's 100-meter quarterfinal on Saturday. She had placed 19th in the first round of the women's 100 meters with a personal best of 11.31 to qualify for Saturday's race. In the App State all-time list, she remains second overall.
In the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase on Friday, Guest placed eighth in his heat and 23rd overall with a time of 8:55.25. Guest broke the program record with a time of 8:42.01 at the Penn Relays this season. Additionally, he holds the App State record in the men's 10,000 meters (29:12.85).
Freeman and Studney did not clear bars in the men's and women's pole vault competitions. Freeman entered the men's competition ranked 19th in the NCAA East First Round qualifying list and caps his career in the Black and Gold ranked second in the App State all-time list with a clearance of 5.35m (17' 6.5"). Studney entered the women's competition ranked 43rd in the NCAA East First Round and closes out the season ranked second in the App State all-time list with a personal best clearance of 4.11m (13' 5.75").
Up Next
The NCAA Championships are slated for June 11-14 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. The women's pole vault is scheduled for 4:35 p.m. PT (7:35 p.m. ET) on Thursday, June 12.
Individual field events and the multi-events events will be available to stream on ESPN+ throughout the day. The meet will be available to watch on ESPN and ESPN2 starting at 4 p.m. PT (7 p.m. ET) on Wednesday and Thursday, at 5 p.m. PT (8 p.m. ET) on Friday, and 6 p.m. PT (9 p.m. ET) on Saturday.
