MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — The App State men's and women's track & field teams won 14 events and secured several school and meet records in their outdoor season opener at the Myrtle Beach Collegiate Challenge.
The men's team captured a season-opening title by finishing first in the team standings with a dominant point total of 198, ahead of Coastal Carolina's 93 and UNC Wilmington's 82. The App State women were second in the team standings with 160 points, behind UNCW's 182.83.
If records are made to be broken, as the saying goes, then Director of Track & Field
Damion McLean's Mountaineers are firm believers.
Records that were set or tied over the weekend in Myrtle Beach included:
"This was a great way to start the outdoor season with some great weather," McLean said. "A lot of season and personal bests and records went down this weekend."
The other nine event victories – in addition to the five records above – included:
Men:
1500m –
Thomas Wlazlowski – 3:52.98
3000m Steeple –
Ethan Lipham – 9:07.73
Shot Put –
Christopher Stewart – 16.96m/55-7.75
Discus –
Christopher Stewart – 50.88m/166-11
4x400m relay – 3:15.36 (
Brandon Parker,
Logan Bentley,
Christian Gore,
Brenden Robbins)
4x800m relay – 7:36.86 (
Rowan Gwin,
Noah Martinson,
Aidan Kneeland,
Tate Shore)
Women:
800m –
Addison Ollendick-Smith – 2:15.18
HJ –
Ashlynn Wimberly – 1.71m/5-7.25
4x100m – 46.42 (
Kelly MacBride,
Damyja Alejandro-Ortiz,
Daye Talley,
Kaitlyn McLeod)
Several performances moved App State athletes into or higher among the top 10 all-time performers in program history.
Kneeland is now the seventh-fastest Mountaineer all-time in the 800 meters.
Aaron Kidd (8:24.59) and
Memphis Rich (8:29.78) are now third and fifth in the 3000 meters. Stewart's discus toss moved into sixth place in the school record books, while
Jake Stanley moved into sixth in the javelin (54.04m/177-3).
On the women's side, Wimberly's high jump moved her into seventh in program history.
Up Next
App State will send athletes to a pair of in-state meets next weekend – the 49er Classic in Charlotte and the Bob Davidson Team Challenge in High Point. The Mountaineers won't leave their home state again until the May 14-16 Sun Belt Outdoor Championships in Mobile, Ala.
