JONESBORO, Ark. (1/28/22) – A strong indoor season for the Arkansas State track and field teams continues, as the Red Wolves head up to the Bluegrass State for the PNC Lenny Lyles Invitational, hosted by Louisville.
The meet, held at the Norton Healthcare Sport and Learning Center, begins at 9 a.m. CT with the women's weight throw. A-State's final even of the day, the men's 3000m, is slated for a 5:45 p.m. CT starting gun.
A-State will face a few ranked opponents this weekend, including 15th-ranked Notre Dame and No. 24 Louisville on the men's side, as well as 22nd-ranked Vanderbilt on the women's side.
THE COMPETITION: Cincinnati, Eastern Kentucky, Illinois, Illinois State, Indiana State, No. 24 (men) Louisville (host), Marshall, Memphis, Middle Tennessee, No. 15 (men) Notre Dame, South Florida, Southern Illinois, No. 22 Vanderbilt (women only), Western Kentucky
3 THINGS TO KNOW:
1. TWICE IS NICE: The A-State men's squad swept this week's Sun Belt Conference Athletes of the Week honors, as Seth Waters (Track) and Carter Shell (Field) picked up the weekly awards. Waters claimed the honor after breaking his own school record and the Sun Belt record in the mile, while Shell posted the third-best long jump mark in school history, leaping 7.69m (25-2.75) last weekend at Vanderbilt.
2. SUN BELT LEADERS: Several A-State athletes enter the week at the top of the conference in their respective events. On the men's side, Seth Waters (mile), Dawson Mayberry (5000m), Carter Shell (long jump), Jacob Tracy (shot put) and Aimar Palma Simo (weight throw) lead the individual events, while the Red Wolves also own the best DMR time in the conference as well at 9:58.83, which is seventh in the NCAA.
On the women's side, Sophie Leathers (5000m), Grace Shaffer (pole vault) and Evangelynn Harris (shot put) lead the way, while A-State holds the top women's DMR mark at 11:56.81.
3. KEEPING SCORE: Saturday's meet will feature a wrinkle compared to the last few competitions, as it will be a scored meet. However, what won't be different is the scoring format, which is the same Sun Belt Conference Championships and NCAA Championships. The top 8 finishers in each individual event will score in a 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 format.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For the latest on the A-State track and field program, follow @AStateTrack on Twitter and @Arkansas_State_Track on Instagram, while also liking the team's Facebook page at Facebook.com/AStateTrackAndField.
