By Katherine Jamtgaard for App State Sports. BOONE, N.C. – The App State women’s track and field team opened the 2022-23 indoor season on Friday and Saturday by hosting the John Weaver Invitational. Graduate student Hunter Robinson, seniors Jada Branch and Taylor Smith, sophomore Graysen Arnold, freshmen Ava Studney and Addison Ollendick-Smith posted first-place finishes as the Mountaineers placed first in the team standings with 145 points.
Smith clinched a pair of first-place finishes and personal bests in the women’s 55 meters and women’s long jump. Smith clocked a time of 6.99 in the 55-meters preliminary before shaving off .09 in the final for a time of 6.90. She currently stands fourth in the App State all-time list for the event. Also in the 55-meter final, sophomore Mariah McCord placed second (7.11, PR) and Robinson took third (7.13). In the long jump, Smith landed first with a leap of 6.15m (20′ 2.25″).
Branch clinched first in the women’s triple jump with a leap of 12.52m (41′ 1″) and took fourth in the women’s long jump (5.58m (18′ 3.75″)). Studney led the Mountaineers in the women’s pole vault, landing first with a personal best clearance of 3.57m (11′ 8.5″).
In the women’s weight throw, Arnold garnered gold with a personal best toss of 17.00m (55’9″) while sophomore Daiyanna Cooper placed third with her own personal best of 16.61m (54′ 6″). Cooper also recorded a third-place finish in the women’s shot put with a personal best mark of 13.27m (43′ 6.5″).
On the track, Ollendick-Smith and senior Elizabeth Fuller took first (2:17.60, PR) and second (2:20.27), respectively, in the women’s 800 meters. Robinson, senior Mariah Atwater, and graduate student Jelonnie Smith went 1-2-3 in the women’s 300 meters, clocking times of 39.20 (PR), 39.43 (PR), and 40.19, respectively.
Up Next
The Mountaineers return to the track on Jan. 14 for the Mondo College Invite in Winston-Salem, N.C.
