WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.  – The App State women’s track and field team opened the 2025-26 indoor season at the Visit Winston-Salem College Kick-Off on Saturday. A new meet record, set by the 4×400-meter relay quartet of junior Nicole Wells, seniors Damyja Alejandro-Ortiz and Daye Talley, and junior Jayla Adams, punctuated the day’s action. 

“This was a great season opener for all event groups to knock the rust off from months ago. The athletes are really motivated to be back from break and start the season.” said director of track & field/cross country Damion McLean. “Expectations are high this season, so we have to stay motivated on an elite level to be competitive.” 

 

Wells, Alejandro-Ortiz, Talley, and Adams stopped the clock at 3:45.76 for a new meet record in the women’s 4×400-meter relay. The previous meet record was 3:49.07, set in 2021 by Duke’s Jenna Crean, Lauren Hoffman, Megan McGinnis, and Kiara Ekeigwe. The Mountaineers were two seconds shy of the App State school record of 3:43.85, which was set at the 2023 Sun Belt Indoor Championships. Earlier in the afternoon, Adams and Talley finished third (24.39) and fifth (24.77), respectively, in the women’s seeded 200 meters. Adams remains third in the App State all-time list with her personal best of 24.22, which she set during the 2024 campaign. In the women’s unseeded 200 meters, sophomore Kaitlyn McLeod placed fifth with a time of 25.04.

 

In her collegiate indoor debut, freshman Alana Braxton posted a pair of first place finishes in the women’s triple jump (12.32m (40′ 5″)) and women’s long jump (5.87m (19′ 3.25″)). Fellow freshman Ashlynn Wimberly landed second with a leap of 12.14m (39′ 10″) and sophomore Jahaila Wright placed sixth with a leap of 11.60m (38′ 0.75″) in the women’s triple jump. With a leap of 5.31m (17′ 5.25″) freshman Kelly MacBride rounded out the top 10 in the women’s long jump.

 

Senior Ava Studney placed first in the women’s pole vault, recording a clearance of 3.95m (12′ 11.5″). 

 

Junior Kendall Johnson placed second with a time of 7.50 in the women’s 60 meters, coming within 0.08 of her personal best and program record of 7.42, which she set at last season’s SBC Indoor Championships. Wells rounded out the top 10 in the women’s 60 meters with a time of 7.73.

 

With a time of 2:18.09, senior Addison Ollendick-Smith placed fourth in the women’s 800 meters. Ollendick-Smith, who stands second all-time in the program record book, was seven seconds shy of her personal best of 2:11.13, which she set last season.

 

With a personal best toss of 14.70m (48′ 2.75″), junior Dianna Boykin placed eighth in the women’s weight throw. Sophomore Emily Edwards placed eighth with a toss of 12.17m (39′ 11.25″) in the women’s shot put and rounded out the top 10 in the women’s weight throw with a mark of 14.03m (46′ 0.5″).

 

Up Next

The Mountaineers will resume the indoor track and field season with the UNC Asheville Collegiate Opener at Tryon International on Jan. 10.

 

Olivia Babcock didn’t realize her performance during the first round of the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament gave her the Pitt record for most kills in a season. Babcock knew she met the previous record holder, Wendy Hatlestad, during alumni weekend.

Babcock recorded 13 kills during the Panthers’ 25-10, 25-17, 25-13 win Friday night at Petersen Events Center in front of a crowd of 4,240. Babcock now has 558 kills, going past the single-season record of 555 Hatlestad set in 2003.

“I was talking to her two weeks ago,” Babcock said. “That’s crazy I just met her. But I think it says a lot about how much my team trusts me to take those big rips, and it gives me the opportunity to score and get as many kills as I do.”

Everyone had a good night hitting for the top-seeded Panthers, who advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the 10th straight season.

The Panthers committed only four attack errors against UMBC (13-12) and finished with a hitting percentage of .551.

“It’s really good to start out and to remind ourselves to maintain high standards,” Babcock said. “Obviously, all of these teams have made it into the tournament because they’re an amazing team, and everyone’s going to bring their best volleyball. I think we just need to make sure that we’re playing our best, too, because, especially in these matches, we don’t wanna slip up and give away a set or a match.”

Pitt (27-4) hasn’t dropped a set in the first round since it beat VCU, 3-1, in 2017 at Penn State.

The Retrievers qualified for the tournament after winning the America East Conference for the fifth time in the past six seasons. Pitt setter Brooke Mosher, who finished with 34 assists, said the Panthers got themselves in system thanks to their good passing.

Blaire Bayless was second for the Panthers with nine kills, and Abby Emch contributed eight.

“That made it really easy for me to spread the ball around and get the middles involved,” Mosher said. “Then, I trusted my teammates to be able to put the ball away.”

Pitt lost the first point of the match after UMBC delivered on a kill by Jalynn Brown. The Panthers responded by scoring the next three points, capping the surge with an ace by Izzy Masten.

UMBC struggled to find holes in Pitt’s defense. The Retrievers hit .129 and were led by seven kills from Hannah Dobbs.

UMBC coach Kasey Crider was happy with how they played.

“We don’t have an Olivia Babcock slayer, so, bummer,” Crider said. “I’ve been to this tournament a few times as a head coach and assistant coach, and I’ve never walked away from the tournament thinking we were the best at the end until today. It still hurts, but there were no regrets.”

Pitt will take on Michigan in the second round Saturday. The Wolverines advanced by beating Xavier. The Panthers are 3-6 all-time against the Wolverines.

Pitt’s only meeting with Michigan in the NCAA Tournament came in 2018, when the Wolverines upset Pitt in five sets at Petersen Events Center.

Mosher, who previously played in the NCAA Tournament with Illinois, said she doesn’t feel any extra pressure playing as the No. 1 seed.

“I think just being in the tournament has its own weight in itself,” Mosher said. “Every game your season is on the line, which is the same no matter who you are.”

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The St. Olaf College women’s track and field team turned in 13 performances that ranked on its all-time performers’ list at the season-opening M City Classic on Friday at the University of Minnesota Fieldhouse.

First years accounted for 11 of the 13 performances that ranked on St. Olaf’s all-time list at the unscored meet, which included teams from the NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and club levels. In addition to the top-10 list performances, senior Ella Landis posted St. Olaf’s lone first-place finish at the meet by winning the one-mile run in 5:17.28.

In her first collegiate meet, first year Evangeline Sappington broke onto the program’s all-time performers’ list in both the 60-meter dash and 200-meter dash. Sappington was the top Division III finisher and was 10th overall in the 200-meter dash (26.84), while also taking second among Division III competitors and 16th overall in the 60-meter dash. Sappington’s time in the 60-meter dash ranks second on the Oles’ all-time list – just four one-hundredths of a second off the record – and her time in the 200-meter dash is fifth.

Sophomore Izzi Jaeckle clocked in with St. Olaf’s No. 4 time in the 60-meter dash by placing 17th (8.10), while first year Ellie Semple also broke onto the list in 10th with a time of 8.28 seconds to finish 27th. Sophomore Logan Paulsen moved up to seventh on the Oles’ list with a sixth-place performance in the shot put (12.48m, 40′ 11 ½”), while first year Abigal Frei cleared 3.26 meters (10′ 8 ¼”) for a No. 5 all-time result and an eighth-place finish.

First years Svea Frantzich and Claire Stein recorded St. Olaf’s No. 8 and No. 10 scores in the pentathlon by finishing seventh (3,005) and eighth (2,993), respectively. Frantzich tied for third in the long jump (5.44m, 17′ 10 ¼”) and was sixth in the 60-meter hurdles (9.47), which both ranked on St. Olaf’s all-time list. Stein also tied for third in the long jump (5.44m, 10′ 10 ¼”) to highlight her day. First year Annika Walsh was the runner-up in the high jump (1.62m, 5′ 3 ¾”) – fifth all-time – and was seventh in the 60-meter hurdles (9.48) – ninth all-time – as part of a ninth-place finish in the pentathlon (2,881).

St. Olaf will be back in action in 2026 at the Ole Opener at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 17 at Tostrud Center.

 

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