App State women’s track and field wrapped up the indoor regular season with 5 first-place finishes en route to a commanding team victory in the VMI Winter Classic at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia. The Mountaineers racked up 209 points in the meeting, more than double the points of the next closest competitor.
App State dominated the distance-running events, highlighted by freshman Tessa Massa winning the mile as the Mountaineers locked up the top four places in the event. Sophomore Savannah Moore set a personal-best time of 2:12.45 to win the 800-meter, while senior Addison Ollendick-Smith and Massa rounded out the podium places for the Black and Gold.
Three Mountaineers finished in the top five of the 3,000-meter, including freshman Elizabeth McCart, who won the event by over two seconds. In the 5,000-meter, sophomore Bre Budzinski placed second with a personal-record of 17:38.82, while junior Mary Biagini and sophomore Katie Johnson both grabbed top-five finishes.
In the sprint events, sophomore Ja’Naya Linder placed second in the 400-meter with a personal-best of 56.09. Sophomore Micayla Collins finished right behind her, clocking a season-best time of 56.78 to finish third.
App State continued to find success in the field events, particularly in the pole vault, where the Mountaineers swept the top three places for the third time in the meet. Sophomore Lilly Nichols captured first place with a mighty vault of 4.05 meters. Sophomore Abigail Goetz and senior Caroline Fowlkes completed the podium positions for the Mountaineers.
In the shot put, sophomore Emily Edwards, freshman Harlee Fonville and sophomore Brittany Ellis each finished in the top four, with Edwards’ best throw of 13.34 meters only 0.15 meters away from the win.
Freshman Ashlynn Wimberly soared to the win in the high jump with a leap of 1.65 meters. Sophomore Jahaila Wright captured second place in the triple jump, and the Mountaineers, led by Fonville, finished second through fifth in the weight throw.
App State tallied 31 top five finishes across all events and finished 111 points clear of second-place team Lenoir-Rhyne University, who tallied 98 points.
The Mountaineers will prepare for the Sun Belt Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships held Feb. 23-24 in Birmingham, Alabama. The meet will be streamed live on ESPN+.
