Lipham, Russum lead App State performances in Sun Belt Conference Track & Field Championships

By David Rogers. HARRISONBURG, Va. (remote) — Winning only by a proverbial “nose” in the Men’s 1500 Meters, App State junior Ethan Lipham sprinted to the lead with under 200 meters to go on May 11, then held off a late charging Joseph Patterson, a Louisiana senior, to capture his second Sun Belt Conference championship in as many days while defending the 1500-Meter title he won a year ago as a sophomore.

In the 1500, Lipham (No. 1, 3:50.83) led a quartet of App State middle distance runners who qualified for the finals out of the preliminary heats. They included freshman Rowan Gwin (No. 5, 3:52.48), junior Steven Smith (No. 8, 3:55.84), and junior Rylan Haskett (No. 9, 3:56.09). Declared the No. 2 finisher, Patterson of Louisiana was credited with a time of 3:50.85, just two one-hundredths of a second behind Lipham.

With a surprise move a day earlier, Lipham (8:58.49) rallied in the final 200 meters of the 3,000-Meter Steeplechase to claim the Sun Belt Conference title, again leading a quartet of Mountaineers, this time all finishing among the top seven runners. The event’s defending champion, App State senior Calbert Guest (9:06.29) fell down three times during the race and still salvaged a No. 4 finish. Mountaineer freshman Thomas Wlazlowski (8:03.65) was at No. 3. South Alabama senior Sacha Perrier (8:59.51) snuck into the No. 2 spot, effectively disrupting the App State sweep. The Mountaineers’ Steven Smith completed the grueling steeplechase race in the No. 7 position (9:12.88).

Mountaineer senior Emma Russum captured the Women’s 3,000-Meter Steeplechase title, finishing No. 1 (10:36.27) at the Sun Belt Conference Track & Field Championships. Russum completed the course 14 seconds ahead of No. 2 finisher Cadence Lapp (10:50.99) of Southern Miss. App State senior Regan Hodge was No. 9 (11:12.05).

Other App State Women’s Highlights

• App State sophomore Nicole Wells finished just off the podium at No. 4 (55.48) in the Women’s 400 Meters. No. 1 (53.86) in the event was Holly Mpassy of James Madison.
• Russum was just one second off becoming a double-winner, finishing No. 2 in the Women’s 5,000 Meters in 16:53.59. No. 1 went to Coastal Carolina’s Molly Jones (16:52.56, her season’s best).
• App State put two athletes in the Women’s Pole Vault’s top five, including No. 2, freshman Lilly Nichols (13-5.75, a personal best) and No. 5, junior Ava Studney (12-10). Arkansas State junior Carly Pujol recorded a personal best of 14-1.75 to capture the No. 1 spot.

Other App State Women’s Highlights:

• Parker Kinney (junior), No. 5 in the Men’s 400 Meters (47.17). The event was won by Louisiana freshman Lawson Jacobs (45.57).
• In the Men’s 5000-Meter race, Arkansas State senior Jacob Pyeatt was No. 1, setting a Sun Belt meet record at 13:50.83, but App State had a good showing with No. 4 senior Calbert Guest (14:27.33), No. 5 freshman Henry Stark (14:28.82), and No. 6 freshman Thomas Wlazlowski (14:29.50). Also in the mix were junior Ethan Turner (No. 10, 14:39.56), No. 13 senior Oliver Wilson-Cook (14:45.70) and No. 15 junior Chase Burrell (14:52.24), out of the 45 athletes competing in the race.
• App State also fared well at the 10,000-Meters’ distance, with four runners in the top seven out of 19 athletes competing. Arkansas State senior Jacob Pyeatt (29:54.18) matched Lipham’s double-win by adding the 10,000-Meters title to his weekend performance. Mountaineer top finishers included No. 2 Ethan Turner (30:07.94), No. 4 Chase Burrell (30:25.19), No. 5 Memphis Rich (30:27.98) and No. 7 Oliver Wilson-Cook (30:32.77).
• App State was No. 3 in the 4×100 Meter Relay (40.01), behind No. 1 Louisiana (39.55) and No. 2 Troy (39.79), in one of the tightest finishes of the day among the relays.
• App State sophomore Matthew Gray was No. 2 in the Pole Vault (17-7.75), behind No. 1 Bradley Jelmert of Arkansas State (17-11.75).
• Recording a personal best, App State freshman Chris Stewart finished the Shot Put at No. 5 (56-4.75). The No. 1 performance was by Southern Miss junior Piers Cameron, with a personal best of 63-9.75.

WOMEN’S TEAM SCORES

1. Texas State – 119
2. Louisiana – 108
3. Southern Miss – 97
4. Georgia Southern – 91
5. Arkansas State – 69
6. South Alabama – 68
7. Coastal Carolina – 63
8. App State – 50
9. Troy – 43
10. Marshall – 36
11. ULM – 30
12. James Madison – 30
13. Georgia State – 15

MEN’S TEAM SCORES

1. Texas State – 145
2. Arkansas State – 126
3. Louisiana – 114
4. South Alabama – 108
5. App State – 97
6. Southern Miss – 72
7. ULM – 67
8. Troy – 40
9. Coastal Carolina – 36
10. Marshall – 9