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Austin Peay Lady Govs Track and Field in Nashville, Saturday for Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships

APSU Sports: Austin Peay Women’s Track and Field

Austin Peay State University Lady GovsClarksville, TN – It’s the Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Track and Field Championship, beginning Friday, for Austin Peay State University women’s track and field team, hosted by Tennessee State at the Gentry Center.

The two-day championship features 16 events, beginning Friday with the long jump, high jump, shot put, distance medley relay and 5,000-meter finals. Also on Friday are the prelim races in the 55-meter hurdles, 800-meter run, 400-meter dash, 55-meter dash, high hurdles and 200-meter dash.

Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Track and Field Championship,
Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Track and Field Championship,

Along with the mile run, weight throw, triple jump and pole vault, the meet concludes Saturday, with championship heats.

“This is the culmination of our fall and winter training,” head coach Doug Molnar said. “We’re a well-balanced team. We aren’t super deep in any one event, but we have people in the top 10 in every event. We’ve positioned ourselves well throughout the season and now it’s just a matter of duplicating those performances.”

Chantelle GreyThe Lady Govs have spread themselves across the OVC’s Best List, holding 15 top-10 positions across the board. Chantelle Grey holds the league’s top mark in the 800-meter run (2:08.41), a time set at the SPIRE Invitational, February 10th. Grey also has the OVC’s fifth-best 400-meter time.

Xiamar Richards has two top-10 OVC times, including sixth in the 3,000-meter run and ninth in the mile run. Both Grey and Richards also are part of the Lady Govs distance medley relay team, which set the APSU school record of 12:27.66  at the Niswonger Invitational. Lauren Lyles, meanwhile, is seventh in the 60-meter hurdles and fourth in the long jump.

Xiamar RichardsAustin Peay’s strength may be in the diversity it represents across a number of events. Not only have the Lady Govs shown improvement in the track events, but also in the field, having players ranked in the top 10 in the pole vault, long and triple jump, shot put and weight throw.

Tanesha Campbell is ranked second in the shot put, with her school record 14.36m throw at the Niswonger Invitational. Campbell also is ninth in the weight throw. The Lady Govs have two players ranked in the pole vault, led by Nichole Bressner in sixth.

“We don’t need a herculean effort,” Molnar said. “We just need to execute like we’re capable of and let the chips fall where they may. This is a young team, but they’ve really bought into what we’re trying to accomplish.”

Austin Peay is one of eight OVC women’s teams competing, joining host Tennessee State, Eastern Illinois, Eastern Kentucky, Jacksonville State, Murray State, Southeast Missouri and Tennessee Tech.

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