CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Austin Peay State University’s track and field team begins its 2025-26 season at Vanderbilt’s Commodore Winter Challenge, Saturday, at the David Williams II Recreation & Wellness Center in Nashville.

The meet is Austin Peay’s first of five in the indoor campaign’s regular season and also the first of three times the Govs will travel to the Music City ahead of the spring’s outdoor season.

Led by third-year head coach Asha Gibson-Smith, the Governors return 21 athletes including Taylin Segree who was a four-time ASUN Freshman of the Week and qualified for the USATF U20 Championships last season.

Gibson-Smith also welcomed six veteran newcomers in transfers Holly Harding (Lindenwood), Mallory Hodge (Eastern Kentucky), Laure Marie Kidakula (Georgia State), Mariah Mitchem (Coker University), Raven Payne (Bellarmine), and Zoe Spann-McDonald (West Virginia State). The Govs’ newcomer class features a quartet of freshmen, with Emily Bey, Molly Brown, China Giaimo, and Te’Onja Hinds set to begin their collegiate careers at Vanderbilt’s meet.

Saturday’s events begin in the field at 8:30 a.m. with Marcia Dejesus, Giaimo, and Emma Tucker competing in the weight throw. At the same time, Ja’Kyah Montgomery will be competing in the high jump. APSU concludes the day at 3:55 p.m. with Taylah Upshaw competing in the 1,000-meter.

Saturday’s meet will be streamed live on SEC Network+ with Jake Lyman on the call. Live results are available at the link atop this article.

Up Next

Austin Peay returns to action in mid-January when it returns to Nashville to the Vanderbilt Invitational, Jan. 16-17, at the David Williams II Recreation & Wellness Center

Austin Peay Competition List

Weight Throw (8:30 a.m.) – Marcia Dejesus, China Giaimo, Emma Tucker

High Jump (8:30 a.m.) – Ja’Kyah Montgomery

Pole Vault (10 a.m.) – Myra Eriksson

Long Jump (11:30 a.m.) – Denim Goddard, Madelyn Kocik

60m Hurdles Prelims (12 p.m.) – Molly Brown, Nevaeh Schmeling, Zoe Spann-McDonald

Shot Put (12:30 p.m.) – Marcia Dejesus, China Giaimo, Emma Tucker

Triple Jump (2:30 p.m.) – Denim Goddard, Madelyn Kocik, Ja’Kyah Montgomery

300m (2:35 p.m.) – Isis Banks, Alijanae Cole, Seven Pettus

600m (3:15 p.m.) – Alexis Arnett, Mia McGee, Taylin Segree

1000m (3:55 p.m.) – Taylah Upshaw

Follow the Govs on Socials

For news and updates throughout the 2025-26 track & field season, follow the Governors on X and Instagram (@GovsXCTF) or check back at LetsGoPeay.com

Men’s Track and Field | 12/5/2025 6:55:00 PM

Findlay, Ohio – First-place finishes in shot put and 1,000 meter helped senior Justin Tharayil grab third-place in the heptathlon with 3,900 points at the 2025 Oiler Opener and Multi, hosted by Findlay University. He finished behind Camden St.John of Findlay and first-place Nick Farfoglia of conference foe Wittenberg, who had 4,556 points.

Tharayil posted first-place finishes in shot put (10.89m), and 1000 meter (3:02.56), and took second in high jump (1.80m). His high jump and shot put marks make it a career-best for the senior. He also had a 3.10m mark in pole vault to help solidify his third-place ranking. His 3,900 points is a career-best in the heptathlon.

Scored Events

• 60m – 7.91 (4th)
• Long Jump – 5.86m (3rd)
• Shot Put – 10.89m (1st)
• High Jump – 1.80m (T-2nd)
• 60m Hurdles – 9.84 (3rd)
• Pole Vault – 3.10m (3rd)
• 1000m – 3:02.56 (1st)

Up Next for the Big Red

Denison travels to Springfield, Ohio to compete in the Tiger Opener hosted by Wittenberg University tomorrow Saturday, December 6.

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. The Hartford Men’s Track and Field team is eager to start the upcoming indoor season. The Hawks come off the heels of a Conference Championship a season ago, as well as a 14th place finish in the NCAA Division III New England Championship. The group looks to build on last year’s success to push themselves even further in the 2025-26 season. 

Familiar Faces:

Head coach Connor Green comes back for his third year at the helm of both the Men’s and Women’s Track and Field coach. He welcomes back 34 returners who look to make their mark following a successful season last year. Amongst the top returners is sophomore Aidan Lybarger (South Burlington, Vt.) who last year was honored as USTFCCCA Outdoor Track & Field All-Region in Discus, CNE All-Conference First Team (Discus), as well as becoming a school record holder (Outdoor Discus – 52.49 Meters).

“I think we’re going to have a pretty good season overall, especially from the throwers perspective. We all have gotten a lot better from last year which is amazing.” Lybarger said.

Senior Peter Effinger (Washingtonville, N.Y.) is also a key returner for the Hawks, coming off a CNE Academic All-Conference season, a year ago. 

“I’d like to go out and have a good season, set some PRs, and hopefully win another championship. Continue with hard training, making good progress in workouts, and trying to get under those milestones.” said Effinger.

Another key returner is junior Thomas Yonkers (Farmington, Conn.), who last season was honored as CNE Academic All-Conference, College Sports Communicators Academic All-District, School Record (Outdoor Pole Vault – 4.25 Meters).

“I think we’re looking to get back to the CNE and win the conference again, and we’re looking like a good team like last year. I’m most excited to see how the freshmen really develop their spots on the team. We’ve got a couple new vaulters, who I’m really excited to see this year in their first college season. ” Yonkers said. 

Season Outlook:

The Hawks will begin their season at the Yale invitational on Dec. 6th. Following that event they will take on the Wesleyan University Invitational on Jan. 24th. They will also compete in the John Thomas Terrier Classic at Boston University on Jan. 31st. The Hawks will close out the indoor track and field season at the NCAA Division III New England Championships in Boston at the New England at the Track of New Balance. 

For the latest information on Hartford Athletics follow the Hawks on Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky Wildcats track and field team is set for the start of a new indoor season this Saturday in Nashville, Tenn. at the Commodore Winter Challenge, hosted by Vanderbilt University.

For the first event of the new season, the Wildcats will send 45 total athletes to Nashville, competing across 21 separate events. The travel list for the weekend’s event is highlighted by returners Camden Bentley, Hannah Douglas, Sharmelle Holmes, Stacey Onyepunuka, Kate Powers and Emmi Scales on the women’s side and Grayson Brashear, Patrick Faust, Miles Jones, Devin Sealey and Anthony Waterman on the men’s side.

The Wildcats welcome 40 total newcomers to the 2025-26 roster, including 22 on the men’s side and 18 on the women’s side. Of the 40 new additions, 30 feature as true freshman, looking to make their collegiate debut this weekend for the Wildcats.

During the indoor portion of the 2025-26 schedule, the Wildcats will compete in eight meets, beginning with tomorrow’s event in Nashville. Following the turn of the calendar, Kentucky will host the Rod McCravy Memorial on Jan. 9-10 at the Norton Center in Louisville, Ky.

The final stretch of the regular season for the Cats consists of the Crossroads of America Invitational (Jan. 23-24), Razorback Invitational (Jan. 30-31) and the David Hemery Valentine Invitational and the Tiger Paw Invitational on Feb. 13-14.

For the second consecutive season, the Texas A&M Aggies will play host to the 2026 SEC Indoor Championships at the Fasken Indoor Track & Field Facility in College Station, Texas on Feb. 26-28. The 2025-26 indoor season will conclude on Mar. 13-14 in the Cats’ second trip to Fayetteville, Ark. for the NCAA Championships.

On Saturday in Nashville, Kentucky will compete against fellow SEC programs Tennessee and host Vanderbilt, as well as Arkansas State, Austin Peay, Belmont, Chattanooga, Lipscomb, Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky.

Competition for the Commodore Winter Challenge in Nashville is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. ET, starting with Meagan Ewers, Gwyneth Lori, Kate Powers and Addison Stadsholt representing the Wildcats in the women’s weight throw event.

Event Schedule

Follow Kentucky Track and Field and Cross Country on Facebook, Instagram, X, and UKathletics.com.

The Iowa State volleyball team will return to the NCAA Tournament after missing out last season. The No. 23 Cyclones (22-7, 12-6 Big 12) will face the St. Thomas Tommies (21-9, 11-5 Summit League) in the opening round.

“This is the first time I get to experience something like this, and I’m just really happy I get to experience it with this group of girls in this program,” senior middle blocker Tierney Jackson said. “I’m ready to have a long run in Minnesota.”

Iowa State will be participating in its 18th NCAA Tournament, while the Tommies are making their first appearance in program history.

This is the first postseason St. Thomas is eligible to compete in after elevating to the Division I level for the 2021 season. The Tommies won their first Summit League Tournament, making them undefeated in Division I postseason play.

The Tommies secured their NCAA Tournament berth by claiming the Summit League title. St. Thomas defeated No. 1 seed South Dakota State in the Summit League Tournament championship.

The Tommies are the only team to defeat the Jackrabbits over the past two seasons, winning in 2024 and 2025.

The Summit League champion has not won an NCAA Tournament match for 28 seasons. The last tournament victory for the conference came in 1977 — a five-set win for Oral Roberts over Arizona.

The Big 12 does not hold a conference tournament, giving its automatic NCAA bid to the regular-season champion.

No. 8 Arizona State (26-3, 17-1 Big 12) had a near-perfect conference schedule, their one loss coming to the Cyclones on Oct. 31. The Halloween victory was Iowa State’s biggest win of the season.

“I am super excited to make the tournament and continue on our run with my favorite group of girls, and we’re excited to go to Minnesota,” senior setter Morgan Brandt said.

Brandt was the Big 12 Setter of the Year and leads all active Big 12 players with 3,736 career assists. She also led a Cyclone offense that topped the conference in assists at 13.03 per set.

Iowa State occasionally switched from a 5-1 to give sophomore setter Ava Martin opportunities.

St. Thomas had an impressive nonconference schedule, with its best win coming against Big Ten opponent Northwestern. The Tommies won seven straight matches after defeating Northwestern, a program best since joining Division I.

The match will be played at Minnesota’s Maturi Pavilion, a venue where St. Thomas has already taken a set this season. The Tommies took a set from then-No. 11 Minnesota on Aug. 31, the first set victory against a ranked opponent in program history.

While the Cyclones are favored in this matchup, they have lost their last two matches, while the Tommies have won five straight.

These teams have met once before. In 2021, Iowa State swept St. Thomas in the same building as part of the Diet Coke Classic. The only active player from that match is Iowa State redshirt senior defensive specialist Paula Krzeslak. She has appeared in 94 matches across her Cyclone career.

Both head coaches have led their programs for more than 20 years. Christy Johnson-Lynch is in her 21st season with Iowa State, and Thanh Pham is in his 23rd season at St. Thomas. Pham coached the Tommies to a Division III national championship in 2012, while Johnson-Lynch has guided Iowa State to two Division I regional finals (2008, 2011).

“We never want to take the day for granted,” Johnson-Lynch said. “So we’re excited to get up there and get going.”

St. Thomas will play Iowa State at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Maturi Pavilion and will stream on ESPN+. The winner will advance to face either No. 4 seed Minnesota or Fairfield in the second round Saturday.