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Austin Peay State University Track and Field has big day at SIU Invitational

APSU Sports Information

Austin Peay State University Lady Govs - APSUCarbondale, IL – The field events took center stage this week for Austin Peay track and field at the SIU Invitational, with a pair of Lady Gov jumpers snaring victories and the Lady Govs runners continuing to post strong marks, including a school-record.

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

All told, Austin Peay took home runner up honors in the nine-team event, behind host Southern Illinois, and finished ahead of a trio of Ohio Valley Conference squads – Southeast Missouri (third, 75 points), Murray State (fourth, 47) and Jacksonville State (ninth, 13).

“Saturday was a pretty good day for us,” said head coach Doug Molnar. “We’re starting to get on the right track with the conference meet right around the corner.”

In Friday night action, sophomore Amia Butler stole the show. The Nashville native won the long jump with a season-best 5.81m leap that vaulted her into third in the OVC. Sophomore Ashleigh Woods also took fifth in the long jump at 5.67m.

Butler also took third-place honors in the indoor pentathlon with 3,222 points. Saturday, she also earned a qualifying mark in the 60m hurdles (sixth, 9.10), as did sophomore Myiah Johnson (8.92), but both were forced to miss the final due to injury.

“Both got hurt advancing to the finals,” Molnar said. “We had to sit a couple this week, and the big thing for us going forward is getting healthy.”

In Saturday’s action, it was sophomore Kaylnn Pitts who won the triple jump, posting a season-best 12.40m mark that gave her the lead in the OVC in the event and 54th in the nation. Close behind was classmate Chancis Jones, who placed third with an 11.74m mark.

The Breigh Jones Show continued with a school-record win in the 60m dash (7.64), and also won the 200m dash with a 25.05 run. She’s the only athlete in the conference ranking in the top-five in the 60m, 200m and 400m dashes.

Jones wasn’t the only athlete to post a strong mark in the 200m; freshman Sonja White (third, 25.47) and junior LaMontra Robinson (eighth, 25.85) both picked up points for the Lady Govs in the 200m.

“Breigh really did a nice job, of course,” Molnar said. “Sonja White is really starting to get it together and looked really good, which is nice to see at this point in the year.”

Senior Jessica Gray fought tooth and nail with Southern Illinois’ Allison Gallo right to the finish line, but fell just shy of victory with a 2:15.42 mark, less than a second behind Gallo.

Jones and Gray joined junior Michaela McGhee and freshman Allysha Scott in the 4x400m relay this week, helping post a runner-up mark at 3:54.09.

Indoor action continues next week for Austin Peay at the Spire Invitational in Geneva, Ohio.

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