Charleston, IL – Kenisha Phillips led the way for Austin Peay State University (APSU) track and field to open the 2021 Ohio Valley Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships, hosted by Eastern Illinois at O’Brien Stadium.
Phillips breezed to the top qualifying spot in the 200-meter dash in the preliminary round, dusting the field with a 23.66 mark in the event, besting her own program record by nearly a tenth of a second and marking the sixth sub-24 second 200-meter mark in program history, five of which she has achieved this season.
She will enter Sunday’s final as the favorite, with only one runner in the finals qualifying within three-tenths of a second of her mark.
Two hammer throw attempts found their way into Austin Peay State University’s all-time top-10. Kori McDaniel finished 12th overall but her 43.53-meter toss is fifth-best in program history, giving her three of the program’s five best hammer tosses. Jackie Verseman also had the 10th-best hammer toss in school history at 42.72 meters.
Elsewhere in Thursday’s short outing, Lennex Walker just missed snaring Austin Peay State University’s first points of the championships; she placed ninth in the long jump with a 5.41 meter leap.
Day Two dawns at 2:30pm, Friday, with the pole vault. Action will be chronicled on Twitter (@AustinPeayXCTF) and online at LetsGoPeay.com.
