LAFAYETTE, La./MEMPHIS, Tenn. (3/19/22) – The Arkansas State track and field teams posted strong results to open the 2022 outdoor season, competing at the Louisiana Classics and the Rhodes Invitational.
On Friday in Lafayette, a pair of Red Wolves took event titles, as Bradley Jelmert and Grace Flowers took the men's pole vault and women's discus throw, respectively. Jelmert cleared 5.16m (16-11.0) to win, while Flowers led a 1-2 A-State finish in her event with a throw of 49.90m (163-8.0). Evangelynn Harris finished second with a toss of 47.64m (156-3.0).
Jacob Tracy also earned a runner-up finish in the men's discus throw with a mark of 49.06m (160-11.0).
In the women's javelin, A-State's Australian duo of Camryn Newton-Smith and Isabel Daines placed fifth and sixth. Newton-Smith hurled the implement 44.39m (145-7.0), while the freshman Daines moved to fifth in school history in the event with a mark of 42.43m (139-2.0).
A host of distance runners took to the track Friday evening in Memphis at the Rhodes Invitational, competing in the men's and women's 5000m. Four of five women's runners posted personal-best times to start their outdoor campaigns, led by Sophia Oury, who placed third with a time of 17:35.25. Sophie Leathers placed fourth in 17:35.49, while Kayla Wade (6th – 17:39.72) and Marina McDonough (8th – 17:49.70) earned top-10 finishes and collegiate-best marks. McKenzie Cornell rounded out the field with an 11th-place result, running a personal-best 18:21.80.
Eleven men crossed the finish for the Scarlet and Black in their race, including the top seven runners. Jacob Pyeatt posted the seventh-best time in school history, finishing in 14:46.31, while Owen Habeger moved up to ninth with his runner-up mark of 14:47.72. Seth Waters placed third in 14:52.62, while Nathan Herbst (14:54.97) and Lasse Funck (15:00.00) rounded out the top five.
Bennett Pascoe finished sixth in 15:00.30, ahead of seventh-place Dawson Mayberry, who finished in 15:03.93.
On Saturday in Louisiana, Flowers won her second event of the weekend, taking the women's hammer throw with a toss of 57.47m (188-6.0).
Aimar Palma Simo finished as the top collegiate thrower in the men's hammer throw, slinging the implement 64.94m (213-0.0) to finish second overall. Tracy placed seventh with a best throw of 51.07m (167-6.0).
In the women's shot put, Chastery Fuamatu placed second and posted the fifth-best mark in school history with a throw 15.20m (49-10.5). Harris placed fourth with a throw 14.98m (49-1.75).
Avery Shell placed second in the women's pole vault, clearing 3.80m (12-5.5), while Lauren Beauchamp finished fourth with a mark of 3.70m (12-1.5).
Frank Massey earned a runner-up finish in the men's high jump, clearing 2.05m (6-8.75). Newton-Smith leaped 1.66m (5-5.25) to place third in the women's high jump, just ahead of Megan Knowling, who placed fourth with a mark of 1.61m (5-3.25). Daines also cleared 1.61m (5-3.25) to place eighth.
NEXT UP
A-State has a busy week next week, as some athletes will travel to the Lone Star State for the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays, while others will trek to Oxford, Miss., for the Ole Miss Classic.
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.
