By MARLON SCOTT
Senior Staff Writer
Not including superheroes, it is hard for most people to clear anything in a single bound or run against the wind. But the breezy conditions did not hold back the Lady Govs as they hosted the Governor’s Invitational, the second meet of the outdoor track and field season, Saturday, April 3.
“I thought we competed very well. The girls really got after it today,” said head coach Doug Molnar. “It started as a rainy day and a little bit windy. There were some good teams here and I thought we did an outstanding job today.”
The Lady Govs competed against six schools including Tennessee State, Western Kentucky and Taylor and earned top spots in multiple field events.
Senior vaulter Carrie Burggraf cleared 3.88 meters (12’ 8.75”) to take first in the pole vault. It was her first meet of the outdoor season due to an injury and she qualified for the NCAA Regionals.
Teammate sophomore vaulter Brianna Lococo finished third in the event.
The Lady Govs continued to out jump the competition in the high, triple and long jumps. Freshman Leigha Tolliver earned first place in the long jump with a 5.34 meter (17’ 6.25”) distance. She also placed second in the 100 meter hurdles. New team member freshman Zakia Alcantara took first in the triple jump.
Senior Amanda McCoy continued her consistent success this season with first place in the high jump and the 100-meter hurdles. McCoy said she tried to break the school record in the high jump.
“Overall season so far, especially outdoors, has been amazing. I didn’t think I would do this well. Because of coaches, I am,” McCoy said. “We started really well. Today in hurdles we had a big headwind. But all of us, including myself and the rest of the Austin Peay girls, did really well today. I was impressed with everybody and how they have been competing.”
In addition to McCoy, the Lady Govs earned three of the top five spots in the high jump. Junior Latoya Monger tied for second place and freshman Jessica Runyon-Davis placed third. In her first time running the 200 this season, junior Chiamaka Obi took first place in 25.14 seconds. Obi was also part of the first place 4×400 relay team that also included freshman Ashley Carson and juniors Candace Cullors and Candace Johnson.
Sophomore Janelle Avery had solid finishes in both the 800 and 1500. In the 1500 she finished third and in the 800 she finished second, just ahead of her teammate Arianne Clark.
“We did pretty well considering we had a hard practice this week. But we stuck to it,” Avery said. “We finished strong and we raced strong. I was pretty excited about it.”
Clark added the team as a whole is stronger this year.
“I feel like the team is really strong. This is one of the strongest teams we’ve had in a couple of years,” Clark said. “I am really excited to see how we finish up this season with the PRs (personal records) and things like that, which we have been producing this year.”
Clark is not the only one excited about the team this season.
Coach Molnar said he likes the way his team is working and is looking forward to qualifying more members for the NCAA Regionals.
“We are really excited about this season. We have a great group of gals and they work really hard everyday. They get better and better each week,” Molnar said. “Our mantra for the year, for this outdoor season, has been ‘Get out of your comfort zone.’ And I think we continually continue to do that in the meets and in the practice, and it shows up on the track.”
