APSU Sports Information
Columbus, OH – Austin Peay State University track and field got back to work this weekend after a much-needed week off and put together a string of strong performances at Friday’s Ohio State Tune-Up—the Governors final event before the 2017 Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Championships.
“Really pleased with the team today,” said head coach Doug Molnar. “We needed to get a few things straight before conference next week and I think we accomplished that, particularly in the pole vault and hurdles.”
Sophomore Nia Gibbs-Francis, who teamed with Hix at Fort Campbell High School, had a stellar day in the high jump, placing third with a 1.58m mark; senior Chancis Jones also picked up a third-place finish in the triple jump (11.59m) and placed fifth in the long jump with a 5.52m mark.
On the track, freshman Diamond Battle‘s runner-up mark of 25.64 in the 200m dash was the day’s best performance; she also posted a personal-best 7.64 in the 60m dash, taking fifth place and moving into sixth place among OVC runners. In addition to Battle, half of the top-10 in the 200m field came from Austin Peay, with Garielle Netter (fifth, 26.03), Sonja White (sixth, 26.27), Nyasia Saines (seventh, 26.53) and Hanna Wise (eighth, 26.78) representing the red-and-white with aplomb.
“I was glad to see our young sprinters step up again,” Molnar said. “Battle and Netter are going to be a force in the OVC the next four years; I truly believe that.”
Elsewhere on the track, Austin Peay got solid performances from junior Allysha Scott (fourth, 59.32) in the 400m dash and senior Myiah Johnson (fifth, 8.66) in the 60m hurdles.
The best of the best in the OVC will gather next week at Lantz Fieldhouse in Charleston, Illinois for the 2017 OVC Indoor Championships, hosted by Eastern Illinois.
“We’ve still got a few key individuals who we need to get healthy,” Molnar said. “But we will do everything we can in the next few days to see if we can get there.”
