HARRISONBURG, Va. – The App State men's and women's track & field team crowned a pair of Sun Belt Champions in the men's and women's 3,000-meter steeplechase and saw another program record fall on the second day of competition at the SBC Outdoor Championships on Friday. The men's team is currently tied with South Alabama for second with 55 points apiece, while the women are fifth in the team standings with 22 points. Across two days the Mountaineers have crowned two conference championships and have tallied six podium finishes.
Senior
Emma Russum garnered gold in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:36.27. She was two seconds shy of her personal best of 10:34.13, which was set this season and moved her to second in the program all-time list. In the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase,
Ethan Lipham clinched the crown with a personal best of 8:58.49. His time moved him to sixth in the App State all-time list. Joining Lipham on the podium was freshman
Thomas Wlazlowski, who clocked a personal best of his own with a time of 9:03.65 and placed third overall. His time moved him to ninth in the all-time list. Redshirt senior
Calbert Guest placed fourth (9:06.29) and redshirt junior
Steven Smith took seventh (9:12.88, PR) to score for the Mountaineers.
Sophomore
Matthew Gray reset the App State men's pole vault record and secured silver with a clearance of 5.38m (17' 7.75"). Gray had set the program record at 5.35m (17' 6'5") alongside senior
Patrick Freeman at the 2025 App State Open. In his two seasons at App State, Gray has set the program record on four occasions. In Friday's competition, Freeman placed eighth with a clearance of 5.08m (16' 8").
Freshman
Christopher Stewart rounded out the top-five in the men's shot put with a personal best toss of 17.19m (56' 4.75"). He rose to fourth in the App State all-time list.
Advancements
With a personal best of 10.33, junior
Ray Lee won his heat and placed second overall in the men's 100-meter prelims. He advanced to Saturday's 5:30 p.m. final and moved to fourth in the program all-time list.
Sophomore
Nicole Wells stopped the clock at 55.48 to win her heat and place sixth overall in the women's 400-meter prelims, while junior
Parker Kinney won his heat and took eighth in the men's 400-meter prelims with a time of 48.35. Wells will compete in the women's final at 5 p.m. and Kinney will race in the men's final at 5:10 p.m. on Saturday.
Sophomore
Kendall Johnson advanced to the women's 100-meter finals after stopping the clock at 11.50 for a personal best in the prelims. She moved to third in the App State all-time list. The women's 100-meter final is slated for 5:20 p.m. on Saturday.
In the women's 800-meter prelims, junior
Addison Ollendick-Smith placed seventh (2:13.23) and freshman
Savannah Moore placed eighth (2:13.29) to advance to Saturday's 5:40 p.m. final.
Thursday Rewind
On Thursday, freshman
Lilly Nichols set a new program record in the women's pole vault and placed second overall with a personal best clearance of 4.11m (13' 5.75"). She surpassed previous school record was 4.04m (13' 3"), set last year by
Ava Studney. Studney placed fifth in Thursday's competition with a clearance of 3.91m (12' 10").
Graduate student
Ethan Turner also secured silver 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 placed fourth (30:25.19, PR), fifth (30:27.98), and seventh (30:32.77), respectively.
Thursday's action also saw eight Mountaineers advance to Saturday's finals in three events. Junior
Ray Lee took second in the men's 200-meter prelims with a personal best of 21.03.
Lipham, Smith, freshman
Rowan Gwin, and senior
Rylan Haskett advanced to Saturday's men's 1,500-meter finals. Lipham stopped the clock at 3:51.98 to place second. Smith took third with a time of 3:52.27 and Gwin rounded out the top-five with a time of 3:52.53. With a personal best of 3:52.64, Haskett placed seventh.
Sophomore
Rhys Ammon, Moore, and senior
Regan Hodge advanced to the women's 1,500-meter final. Ammon placed fourth in the prelims with a personal best of 4:33.41, while Moore took fifth with a time of 4:33.42. Hodge stopped the clock at 4:35.36, placing 11th overall.
Saturday's field events will start at noon and the field events are scheduled for a 4 p.m. start.
Team Standings
Men's Team Standings | 8 of 21 Events Scored
1.Arkansas State – 57 points
2. App State – 55 points
2. South Alabama – 55 points
4. Texas State – 53 points
5. Louisiana – 27 points
6. ULM – 20 points
7. Coastal Carolina – 17 points
8. Southern Miss. – 16 points
9. Troy – 10 points
10. Marshall – 2 points
Women's Team Standings | 8 of 21 Events Scored
1.Texas State – 60 points
2. South Alabama – 52 points
3. Arkansas State – 50 points
4. Louisiana – 39 points
5. App State – 22 points
6. Georgia Southern – 19 points
7. Coastal Carolina – 16 points
7. Southern Miss. – 16 points
9. Troy – 13 points
10. ULM – 10 points
11. Marshall – 9 points
12. James Madison – 6 points
- Georgia State – 0 points
