CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Austin Peay State University women's
track and field team will send a record number of competitors to the 116th
running of the prestigious Penn Relays, Thursday, at Franklin Field. Over 22,000
athletes will compete over the course of the five-day event.
"It's always special to go to Penn ," said head coach Doug Molnar. "The history of the city and the meet and the chance to compete in
front of 40,000 people is unforgettable for these athletes."
In 2007, distance runner Bertha Castillo was accepted into
the Relays in the 10,000-meter run, but this year the Lady Govs will be
represented by seven athletes - seniors Amanda McCoy (high jump), Carrie Burggraf and Molly Bartkiewicz (pole vault), junior Chiamaka Obi (400-meter
hurdles) and juniors Candace Cullors and Candace Johnson, freshman Cenitra Hudson and McCoy in the 4x100-meter relay.
Burggraf and Bartkiewicz are first and second in the Ohio
Valley Conference this season in the pole vault, and Burggraf's 3.95 meter
vault is tied for 24th in the East Region. Obi is leading the
conference in the 400-meter hurdles at 1:01.86, while McCoy is tied for first in
the high jump at 1.70 meters.
"There is no other event like this in track and field," said
Molnar. "You have everyone from grade school kids to 90-year old masters to runners
to multi-gold medalists like Usain Bolt running. Getting four individuals in
this meet from our school is quite an accomplishment and tells you about the
depth of this team and how it has grown in the last two or three years."
- AP -
