LEXINGTON, Va.– The App State women's track and field team rounded out the indoor regular season with a first-place team finish at the VMI Winter Classic on Saturday. The Mountaineers registered five individual first-place finishes, tallied 31 top five finishes, and scored 209 points on the day.
With a leap of 1.65m (5' 5"), freshman
Ashlynn Wimberly placed first in the women's high jump. She was 0.03m (0' 1") shy of matching her personal best of 1.68m (5' 6"), which she cleared at the VMI Team Challenge on Jan. 17.
App State went 1-2-3 in the women's pole vault, women's 800 meters, and women's mile. With a clearance of 4.05m (13' 3.5"), sophomore
Lilly Nichols placed first in the women's pole vault. Following Nichols, fellow sophomore
Abigail Goetz took second (3.60m (11' 9.75")) and senior
Caroline Fowlkes placed third (3.45m (11' 3.75")).
On the track, sophomore
Savannah Moore recorded a personal best of 2:12.45 to place first in the women's 800 meters. Her time moved her to fifth in the App State all-time list. Joining Moore in the top three was senior
Addison Ollendick-Smith (2:14.48) and freshman
Tessa Massa (2:20.24, PR). Massa went on to set pace for the Mountaineers in the mile, stopping the clock at 5:06.29 to place first. Junior
Rhys Ammon placed second (5:12.15), senior
Maddie Quinn took third (5:17.34), and sophomore
Ella Battel finished fourth (5:19.67). With a time of 10:22.47, freshman
Elizabeth McCart placed first in the women's 3,000 meters. Ammon and freshman
Lika Strydom clocked personal bests of 10:45.19 and 10:54.98 to join McCart in the top five.
In the women's 400 meters, sophomore
Ja'Naya Linder clocked a personal best of 56.09 to place second. Her time elevated her to sixth in the App State all-time list. Fellow sophomore
Micayla Collins placed third (56.78) and freshman
Josie Jackson placed fifth (57.95). Linder went on to round out the top five with freshman
Zaniya Littlejohn in the women's 200 meters with times of 25.12 (PR) and 25.13, respectively. Junior
Kendall Johnson, Littlejohn, and freshman
Kelly MacBride qualified for the women's 60-meter final after placing second (7.44), sixth (7.72), and eighth (7.81) in the prelims.
Sophomore
Breanna Budzinski recorded a personal best of 17:38.82 to place second in the women's 5,000 meters. Junior
Mary Biagini and sophomore
Katie Johnson joined Budzinski in the top five, clocking times of 17:59.56 (PR) and 18:16.67.
Sophomore
Jahaila Wright secured second with a leap of 11.70m (38' 4.75") in the women's triple jump. Four Mountaineers finished among the top five in the women's weight throw, led by sophomore
Harlee Fonville, who placed second with a toss of 16.14m (52' 11.5"). Sophomore
Emily Edwards placed third (15.66m (51' 4.5")), while junior
Dianna Boykin and sophomore
Brittany Ellis registered personal bests of 15.66m (51' 4.5") and 14.20m (46' 7.25") to place fourth and fifth. Edwards, Fonville, and Ellis also finished second (13.34m (43' 9.25")), third (12.73m (41' 9.25")), and fourth (12.41m (40' 8.75")), respectively, in the women's shot put.
Up Next
The Mountaineers will head to Birmingham, Ala. for the Sun Belt Indoor Track & Field Championships on Feb. 23-24. The conference championship meet will be available to stream on ESPN+.
VMI Winter Classic Women's Team Standings
1. App State – 209 points
2. Lenoir-Rhyne – 98 points
3. Tusculum – 86 points
4. Meredith – 51 points
5. Virginia Tech Club – 39 points
6. Southern Virginia – 36.5 points
7. VMI – 26.5 points
8. Emory & Henry – 22 points
9. Ferrum – 21 points
10. Methodist – 6 points
11. Mary Baldwin – 1 point
