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APSU Lady Govs Track and Field gets Second Place at Southern Illinois Open

Austin Peay State University Lady Govs - APSUCarbondale, IL – A trio of first- and second-place event sweeps led Austin Peay State University women’s track and field team to a second-place finish at this weekend’s SIU Open, held at the SIU Student Recreation Center.

Austin Peay Track and Field. (APSU Sports Information)
Austin Peay Track and Field. (APSU Sports Information)

The Lady Govs finished second of seven teams overall, and of three Division I schools, behind only host Southern Illinois, with 137 points.

The Salukis won the event with 248 points, while Ohio Valley Conference foe Belmont finished third with 49 points.

“Our kids came back in pretty good shape,” said head coach Doug Molnar. “We’re really pleased with the efforts up and down the board overall. It’s tough to really pick out one or two that stood out, especially on the track, since we had such a strong meet.”

Freshmen Amia Butler and Myiah Johnson finished first and second in the 60m hurdles; both were behind Southern Illinois’ Shaneice Bufford after the preliminary round, but Butler’s 8.90 mark won the final, while Johnson’s 8.94 barely eclipsed Bufford’s mark by one-hundredth of a second.

Sophomore Kymmalett Ross and freshman Terri Morris also brought home a one-two finish for Austin Peay in the 400m run. Ross won at 59.44, while Morris followed at 59.65.

Junior Jessica Gray and freshman Molly Jordan, in their second indoor events as Lady Govs after serving on the cross country team in the fall, took home the top two honors in the 800m event, with Gray’s 2:23.45 nudging her just ahead of Jordan’s 2:23.78.

Juniors Maikea Davis (25.37) and Erika Adams (25.98) narrowly missed making it a fourth sweep of the top spots, finishing second and third in the 200m dash behind Southwest Baptist’s Emma Shell. Adams also took home runner-up honors in the 60m dash with a 7.71 mark.

Two Lady Gov relay teams broke into the top-three, Saturday. Davis, Butler, Ross and Morris finished second in the 4x400m event with a 4:04.35 run, while Gray, Jordan, sophomore Antonia Stevenson and freshman Tamira Wilson were on their heels in third at 4:05.65.

In Friday night action, freshman Chancis Jones finished third in the long jump at 5.36m, winning a jumpoff against classmate Kaylnn Pitts.

Senior Xiamar Richards also had a nice showing in Illinois, placing third in the mile run with a 5:13.44 mark.

“I felt our distance group did a nice job of coming back in good shape,” Molnar said. “Hopefully, the success we had here will get everybody excited going into next week at ETSU.”

The Lady Govs head to Johnson City for the 36th annual Niswonger Invitational, beginning Friday, January 17th, at the Mountain States Health Alliance Athletics Center.

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