App State track and field recorded its highest finishes at the Sun Belt Championships in program history. The men’s track team finished second with 128 points while the women’s finished third with 80.5 points.
The men’s runners-up finish was the program’s best conference outdoor result since winning the Southern Conference title in 2012. The women beat their best Sun Belt finish from finishing fourth in 2017.
Junior pole vaulter Matthew Gray continued his undefeated outdoor season by clearing 5.84 meters to get the Sun Belt title while breaking the conference record in the pole vault. This record is the best in the NCAA this season, ranking him 13th in the world.
App State redshirt sophomore distance runner Derek Waite earned the 1500-meter with a personal best of 3:45:82. Redshirt freshman distance runner Noah Martinson finished second, and sophomore distance runner Rowan Gwin placed third to complete the podium sweep.
Senior distance runner Ethan Lipham in the 3000-meter steeplechase set a facility record of 8:49:64, placing first. Sophomore distance runner Thomas Wlazolowski placed second, beating Waite and taking another three podium finish.
The men’s distance group continued piling up points in the 5000-meter as Wlazlowski led five runners into the top seven. Redshirt freshman distance runner Aaron Kidd placed third, Martinson finished fourth, Gwin ended fifth and freshman distance runner Aidan Morrow came in seventh.
Kidd and sophomore distance runner Memphis Rich also finished second and third in the 10,000-meter. Senior sprinter Parker Kinney finished second in the 400-meter with a personal best of 46:75.
The women’s team also had multiple podium finishes. Freshmen jumpers Ashlynn Wimberly and Alana Braxton finished second and third in the triple jump. Braxton also earned fifth in the long jump, while Wimberly got sixth place in the high jump.
Mountaineers 4×400 relay team of junior sprinter Nicole Wells, senior sprinter Damyja Alejandro-Ortiz, senior sprinter Daye Talley and junior sprinter Jayla Adams finished the meet by setting a new outdoor record with a time of 3:38:19 to place third.
Sophomore pole vaulter Lilly Nichols finished third in the women’s pole vault after clearing 4.03 meters, and senior pole vaulter Ava Studney followed with a fifth-place finish. Sophomore distance runner Savannah Moore placed third in the 1500-meter, and freshman distance runner Josie Jackson followed with a fourth-place finish.
Junior sprinter Kendall Johnson placed fifth in the 100-meter, and senior sprinter Addison Ollendick-Smith finished with a fourth-place finish in the 800-meter. Sophomore thrower Harlee Fonville placed sixth in the women’s discus. Sophomore thrower Christopher Stewert finished fifth in the discus and finished seventh in the shot put event.
App State will now head on to Lexington, Kentucky, for the NCAA East First Round from May 27-30.