APSU Sports: Austin Peay Women’s Track and Field
Columbus, OH – Austin Peay State University women’s track and field team saw several athletes move up on the conference best lists at Friday’s Buckeye Tune-Up at French Field House.
“With the conversion (from the unbanked track), that mark goes down quite a bit,” said head coach Doug Molnar. “We had a lot of really good times today that look even better once they’re converted. It was a really great meet overall.”
In the 400m dash, Jones had a huge personal-best with a 56.63 run. After conversion, that mark becomes a 55.89 mark, which not only leads the OVC but is four-hundredths of a second behind Chiamaka Obi’s 2010 school record.
Junior Xiamar Richards should finish the weekend with a big leap up the conference standings in the 3000m run. She placed third with a personal-best 10:19.30 run (10:14.04 with the conversion), which moves her from 15th to sixth in the OVC in the event.
Sophomore Erika Adams placed third in the 60m dash with a personal-best 7.70 mark; that mark moves her into sixth among OVC athletes based on marks entering competition, Friday.
Ross and Adams both earned top-five marks in the 200m dash; Ross finished fourth (25.73), with Adams (25.81) right behind her in fifth. Ross now sits ninth in the OVC, with her converted mark of 25.34 less than two-tenths of a second behind a top-eight position.
Grey broke the school record in the 600m run, a non-regulated NCAA Championship event, with a 1:32.91 mark.
Senior Lauren Lyles had two top-eight finishes, Friday. Her 9.03 hurdles mark placed her seventh in the 60m event, and she followed that with a third-place, 5.59m long jump. She led the long jump after the first round of attempts.
Senior Cenitra Hudson’s 11.53m mark in the triple jump was a season-best that placed her fourth in Columbus.
“There were some really quality teams at this meet,” Molnar said. “Ohio State, Ohio and Wright State gave this meet a really deep field, and I think we competed well. That’s a great confidence-builder for us going into next weekend.”
The Lady Govs hit the track looking for a big day at next weekend’s OVC Indoor Track and Field Championships, which begin Friday at Eastern Illinois’ Lantz Fieldhouse.
