Clarksville, TN – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) track and field team will get its indoor season started with a quick pre-Christmas trip to Carbondale, Illinois, for the Southern Illinois-hosted Saluki Fast Start, Saturday, December 7th, 2019.
The Govs and Salukis will be joined by Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Murray State, Saint Louis, UALR and UT Martin at this event, which will feature APSU student-athletes for the third consecutive season.
It also will herald the debut outing of Valerie Brown as Austin Peay State University’s head track and field coach after taking over during the summer.
Last season, four Govs earned individual titles at this event, and two are scheduled to be in action this weekend. Sabrina Richman picked up the first 400m dash victory by a Gov since 2016 with her win last year in Carbondale, while Tymeitha Tolbert hit 7.56 in the 60m dash—one-hundredth of a second off the school record at the time, and still a mark which ranks fourth in program history in the 60m indoor event.
Austin Peay State University’s prowess on the track should lose no traction, and program stalwarts including Garielle Netter, Diamond Battle, Tiyanna Johnson, Lennex Walker, Allana Johnson and 2019 Ohio Valley Conference Outdoor Freshman of the Year Kyra Wilder, among others, will provide a steady presence in the sprints, hurdles and relays. A new wrinkle will be the addition of Shyanna Chapman and Maria Hillyard in the throws, supplementing the efforts of sophomores Jackie Verseman and Kori McDaniel.
Also new to the field, at least during indoor season, will be the lack of Savannah Amato and Dascha Hix, who exhausted their indoor eligibility last season but will return to action during the outdoor campaign. That leaves junior Morgan Bradley to carry the banner for Austin Peay State University pole vault, with freshman Karlijn Schouten looking to make a mark in her debut meet.
Walker and Maya Perry-Grimes will both be among the jumps competitors for Austin Peay State University this weekend; when Perry-Grimes last hit the runway for the APSU Govs, she won the long jump at the 2019 OVC Outdoor Championships in Cape Girardeau.
Austin Peay State University will take an extended hiatus for the winter break following this meet, returning for the Ed Temple Invitational, January 5th, 2020, in Nashville Tennessee.
