CLARKSVILLE - After a two-week layoff, Austin Peay State
University women's track and field team returns to indoor action at Tennessee
State's TSU Invitational, Saturday, at the Gentry Center.
Austin Peay will be making its second trip to
the Gentry Center after participating in the Ed Temple Classic, Jan. 8. This
time, the Lady Govs will be without a number of athletes due to illnesses and
injuries, including sophomore Cenitra Hudson, who set the triple jump school
record, Jan. 8, at this facility.
"It always makes it easier because everyone
is familiar with the facility and knows the routines," head coach Doug Molnar
said. "We're going to be without some people this week, but that just means the
group that we have will have to step it up.
It's a non-scoring meet, so it won't hurt us there."
The Lady Govs have not competed since the
Saluki Open, Jan. 15, where senior Chiamaka Obi led the Lady Govs with a
second-place finish in the 400-meter dash and a 10th-place finish in
the 200-meter dash.
Obi again will highlight a talented group of
sprinters looking to earn NCAA provisional marks as the season's mid-way point
approaches. The 4x400 relay team will be pieced together, going without Alyx
Pinkston who has ran the second leg on the Lady Govs top three times. Senior
Candace Johnson will be looking to recapture her December success when she
missed the 200-meter dash school record by less than one second.
"Obi has been having some really good
training sessions," Molnar said. "Xiamer Richards is going to run the first
5000 also. She's been have some great workouts."
Molnar is optimistic about the Lady Govs
field athletes as well. Junior Keyvia Davis made a splash in her return the
jumps at the Saluki Open, extending her season best and earning a sixth-place
long jump finish. It was at the Ed Temple Classic where freshman Destiny Wilks set
her 20-pound weight throw personal best.
"Destiny's
footwork over the past few weeks is really coming together," Molnar said. "She's
starting to get the rhythm down. She threw well (at TSU) last time and I look
for her to have big throw this week."
-AP-
