CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Austin Peay State University women's track and field team hopes all its hard work has paid off as they head to Nashville, Friday, for the Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships.

Thursday, Lady Govs Carrie Burggraf and Leigha Tolliver were named Female Field Athlete of the Year and Co-Freshman of the Year, respectively. Austin Peay was one of three schools to have two athletes win post-season awards, joining Southeast Missouri and Eastern Illinois, who are the defending champions in both men and women's indoor competition.

Austin Peay will rely on the senior presence of pole vaulters Burggraf and Molly Bartkiewicz, who have each one an indoor title in their respective careers, to cap off spectacular seasons by dueling one another for the top two spots in the conference.  Sophomore Briana Lococo has developed into a nice third vaulter behind the two seniors and currently is sixth in the conference.

Elsewhere in the field events, Tolliver will be responsible for long and triple jumps, while also currently standing in the top-five in the conference in the 55-meter hurdles. Senior Amanda McCoy currently stands fifth in the conference in high jump and is less than three inches behind the conference leader; she's also just behind Tolliver in the hurdles and will need to be a factor.

On the track, junior Chiamaka Obi will be counted on to lead the Lady Govs in both the 400-meter dash, where she is second in the conference, and the second-ranked 4x400-meter relay team. Junior Candace Johnson and sophomore Jasmin Scott are also prominently important to the Lady Govs chances in the championships.

- AP -