APSU Sports Information
Charleston, IL – Austin Peay State University track and field picked up a third-place team finish and got a look at the facility that will host the conference indoor championships at Saturday’s John Craft Invite, hosted by Eastern Illinois at Lantz Fieldhouse.
“We had a good effort today,” said head coach Doug Molnar. “Very pleased with some of the strides we’ve made just since we’ve been back from the holiday break.”
Austin Peay got a huge day from senior Kaylnn Pitts. The two-time NCAA Regional qualifier won the triple jump with an 11.53m (37-10.0) leap, picked up third-place honors in the long jump (5.39m; 17-8.25) and tied for third with teammate Nia Gibbs-Franics in the high jump with a 1.58m (5-2.25) leap.
The Govs placed at least two competitors in the top-five of all three jump events and the pole vault, with Austin Peay nearly sweeping the top three spots in the vault thanks to a win from sophomore Savannah Amato (3.64m; 11-11.25), a runner-up for classmate Dascha Hix (3.49m; 11-5.25) and a tie for third by Gretchen Rosch (3.49m; 11-5.25) on attempts.
“Great to see Gretchen making some improvements the last few weeks,” Molnar said. “Amato and Pitts had nice days to get their wins.”
On the track, the Governors hurdle contingent put in some of its season’s finest work, with senior Myiah Johnson (8.80) and junior Sonja White (9.01) finishing third and fourth, respectively. In sprint action, freshman Diamond Battle posted a 7.73 mark in the 60m dash finals to take fourth—with classmate Garielle Netter one spot behind her at 7.80—while her 25.60 in the 200m was a personal-best that earned her runner-up honors in the event behind Illinois State’s Amanda McClain.
“Battle and Netter were solid in the 60 and continue to improve,” Molnar said. “Battle ran a nice 200 too. Johnson and White are rounding into good form the last couple of weeks.”
The Govs look to keep the momentum going next week when they travel to Marshall for the Thundering Herd Invitational.
