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APSU Track and Field continues Strong Play at Ed Temple Classic

APSU Sports Information

APSU Women's Track and FieldNashville, TN – Thanks to multiple victories—including bookending the weekend with a sweep of the top three spots in the first and last individual events competed in—Austin Peay State University (APSU) track and field proved that the Christmas break was no obstacle as they returned refreshed and dominant at the 2019 Ed Temple Classic, hosted by Tennessee State.

Austin Peay Women's Track and Field puts in a dominating performance at Ed Temple Classic in Nashville. (APSU Sports Information)
Austin Peay Women’s Track and Field puts in a dominating performance at Ed Temple Classic in Nashville. (APSU Sports Information)

The weekend actually began Saturday afternoon in the Dunn Center; with space in the Gentry Center limited, the Govs hosted the pole vault on the Dunn Center’s third floor.

That part might come as a surprise; that senior Savannah Amato won the event (3.85m) and Austin Peay swept the top three spots thanks to Amato, senior Dascha Hix (second, 3.70m) and sophomore Morgan Bradley (third, 3.55m) isn’t shocking to anyone who has monitored the success of Austin Peay’s pole vaulters over the years.

Sunday got off to a good start thanks to senior Nia Gibbs-Francis—she won the high jump with a 1.61m mark, her first victory in the event since the 2017 APSU Outdoor Invitational. Sophomore Denia Hill-Tate was third in the high jump with a 1.56m leap, while freshman Jackie Verseman posted a third-place finish in the shot put with an 11.86m toss on her first attempt.

On the track, the Govs won the 55m dash and 55m hurdles. Junior Tymeitha Tolbert advanced through three rounds—this meet used a rarely-seen semifinal heat to determine the two final races—to take the top spot in the dash with a 7.02 run, while sophomore Lennex Walker’s 8.17 hurdle mark gave her the win and equaled her personal-best in the event, set at last year’s Ed Temple Classic.

More excellent outings were has the day drew on. A pair of freshmen found themselves in the top-three of a 47-runner field in the 200m dash, with Kyra Wilder (25.74) taking runner-up honors and Tiyanna Johnson (25.96) following closely in third; both were easily personal-bests for the talented newcomers. Sophomore Sabrina Richman (55.41) was runner-up in the 400m field as well, while junior Amelia Thiesing placed fourth overall (57.60) and won the second heat of the event.

“Sabrina had an outstanding run alongside an All-American (Middle Tennessee’s Abike Egbeniyi),” said Austin Peay head coach Doug Molnar. “She gave her everything she could handle, which bodes well for her and us as a team.”

After sweeping the podium in the weekend’s opening event, it was only right for the Govs to do the same in the final individual event of the weekend as well. Senior Emmaculate Kiplagat earned her seventh career win as a Gov—and her first since winning both the 3000m and mile run at last season’s Ed Temple Classic—with an 11:10.22 mark in the 3000m run, followed by senior Caroline Kiplagat (11:44.96) and freshman Sara Martin (11:54.74) to secure the sweep.

The Govs closed the weekend with runner-up honors in the 4x400m relay. Thiesing, Wilder, Richman and freshman Jessica Kelley posted a 4:01.00 mark in the event, the best of three quartets put forth by Austin Peay in relay.

“Overall, a very good meet for us,” Molnar said. “I told Coach (Valerie) Brown that I’d like to think it was a testament to our coaching but it was probably more of a testament to what our kids did during the break.

“It was one of our best—probably the best—post-break meet we’ve had in all my years here. You can tell the kids put in work and it showed in our times and our efforts.”

Austin Peay returns to action next weekend in Birmingham, Alabama—site of the 2019 Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Championships—for the UAB Invitational.

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