WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. / GREENSBORO, N.C. - Matthew Gray and Thomas Wlazlowski broke school records to lead the App State men's and women's track and field teams at the Wake Forest Invitational this past weekend. The Mountaineers also sent athletes to the Aggie Invitational.
What Happened
Gray continued his dominant pole vault season, eclipsing his previous school record, which he set three weeks ago at the Raleigh Relays. At Wake Forest, he cleared a bar of 5.61m/18-4.75, catapulting him to eighth in the NCAA this outdoor season. The Bryson City native has nearly a nine-inch (0.21m) lead in the conference and holds the three best clearances in the conference this year. Winning for the third weekend in a row, Gray is undefeated in collegiate pole vault competitions this year.
Wlazlowski, a sophomore from Waxhaw, lit it up in the men's 5000 meters. He ran a time of 14:01.49, taking the top spot in App State history by nearly seven seconds and beating his personal record by 12 seconds. His time is second in the Sun Belt, just ahead of Rowan Gwin, who ran it in 14:10.78 this weekend, which helped him cruise to third in App State history. Seven of the top 10 times in the Sun Belt belong to the Mountaineers.
Noah Martinson also improved on his place in the record books, with a time of 14:15.36, moving up from seventh to fifth in school history and rounding out the top four in the conference this season.
Freshman Ashlynn Wimberly continued to impress with her jumps. She leaped to a career-best 1.75m/5-8.75 in the high jump, moving up to fourth in App State history, third in the Sun Belt, and top 70 in the NCAA this season.
Aidan Kneeland got into the action with an exhilarating time in the men's 800 meters. He hustled to a finish of 1:50.50, elevating him to fifth in App State history and pushing him to the top five in the Sun Belt this year.
To close out the weekend, Brandon Parker accelerated past the competition in the men's 100 meters, flying to a time of 10.38, a mark that elevates him to seventh in App State history and fifth in the conference this year.
Up Next
App State will host the John Weaver Invitational next weekend, April 24-April 25, at the Randy Marion Track and Field Complex.
