APSU Sports: Austin Peay Track and Field
Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University women’s track and field team continues its indoor season, Thursday, with the UAB Blazer Invite, in Birmingham, AL, at the newly constructed Birmingham CrossPlex.
Hosted by UAB, the Blazer Invite will have athletes from more than 20 schools across the Southeast, including Ohio Valley Conference member Jacksonville State, Memphis, Western Kentucky, Georgia Southern, Mississippi State, Louisiana Tech and Bethune Cookman.
The Lady Govs showed no signs of rust in their first meet of the 2012 calendar year. Tenesha Campbell thrived in her debut, finishing second in the shot put with a school-record 13.65-meter mark. Campbell was complimented in the field events by Nicole Bressner and Molly Basch finishing first and second, respectively, in the pole vault.
While the field events were strong, Molnar expects to see improvement on the track, especially considering the facility. Lauren Lyles ran an 8.44 in the 55-meter hurdles, while Chantelle Grey was second in the 800-meter run at 2:13.11 – both times faster than any time last season in the respective events.
In fact, Grey’s 800-meter mark is not only the Ohio Valley Conference’s best time, but also ranks fourth-best in the NCAA. Campbell’s distance in the shot put also is tops in the OVC, more than two feet farther than the nearest competitor.
“Tenesha’s school record is a mark that is only going to get better,” Molnar said. “We’ve showed a lot of improvement with the middle distance and distance runners. We’re going to put together a nice (distance medley relay) this week also.”
