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HomeSportsStrong start for APSU Track and Field at Vanderbilt's Indoor Opener

Strong start for APSU Track and Field at Vanderbilt’s Indoor Opener

APSU Sports Information

APSU Women's Track and Field - Austin Peay State UniversityNashville, TN – As season-debuts go, Austin Peay State University track and field head coach Doug Molnar had to be pleased with how his Governors performed, particularly in the field events, at the Vanderbilt Indoor Opener, Saturday.

When you have a team as young as Molnar’s, good starts are imperative.

Austin Peay Women's Track and Field kicks off season well at at Vanderbilt's Indoor Opener, Saturday. (APSU Sports Information)
Austin Peay Women’s Track and Field kicks off season well at at Vanderbilt’s Indoor Opener, Saturday. (APSU Sports Information)

“I thought we had a pretty good meet, especially for how young we are,” Molnar said. “This will be the youngest group we’ve had in a while, but we’re excited about what they’ll be able to do.”

Junior Keyondria Ross got the day started with a third-place, 1.60m (5-3.00) high jump mark, which was better than all but one of her high jump attempts from her sophomore campaign.

In the pole vault, sophomore Savannah Amato picked up right where she left off. Last spotted winning gold in the OVC Outdoor Championships, Amato placed sixth against a stacked field at Vanderbilt, hitting 3.60m.

The triple jump is where Austin Peay truly shined on Saturday. Freshman Maya Perry-Grimes burst onto the scene with a 12.25m (40-2.25) mark—better than any indoor mark put forth by a Governor last season—to earn runner-up honors. Seniors Kaylnn Pitts (12.10m; 39-8.50) and Chancis Jones (11.92m; 39-1.25) finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

Another freshman, Diamond Battle, had the Governors best showing on the track at Saturday’s event; her 7.69 60m dash mark in her first collegiate meet has her already within a tenth of a second of the Austin Peay record. She finished third, with Tymeitha Tolbert (7.85) and Perry-Grimes (7.87) finishing ninth and tenth, respectively.

“I thought Battle and our sprinters were really solid for a first meet,” Molnar said. “Our jumps group was great; we couldn’t have asked for a better start from Maya Perry-Grimes.”

Junior Allysha Scott showed she’s ready to step forth in the 400m dash, finishing sixth overall at 57.54, less than two-tenths of a second off her personal-best.

“We’re off and running (no pun intended) and I think it was a good start, so we’ll progress from here. We’ll take a few to Carbondale next weekend; for the rest, we’re looking forward to the time off and then getting back into it after Christmas.”

The Govs will break for the holidays before returning to action January 7th at the Gene Edmonds Invitational, hosted by Purdue. A select few will compete next weekend at Southern Illinois.

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