NASHVILLE, Tenn. (1/20/23) – Pauline Meyer, Cheyenne Melvin, Cadence Lapp and Sophie Leathers combined to break the school record in the women’s distance medley relay Friday, highlighting a strong first day of action for the Arkansas State track and field teams at the Vanderbilt Invitational.

The quartet clocked a time of 11:44.22 to break the previous record of 11:48.59, set in 2020. Rahel Broemmel, Hannah McLaughlin, Kayla Wade and Jaybe Shufelberger finished in fourth with a time of 12:01.79, a time that is ninth in A-State indoor history.

A-State’s women’s DMR performance would not be the last strong distance performance of the night, as Meyer later clocked a time of 16:57.67 to win the women’s 5000 meters by over 30 seconds. Her time ranks fourth in school history.

In the men’s 5000, Ethan Mychajlonka likewise posted a top-5 mark, placing 13^th with a time of 14:41.24, which is fifth in the event in program history. Lasse Funck then closed out the night in the men’s 1000 meters, crossing in 2:24.25 to finish third overall.

Camryn Newton-Smith, in her first collegiate event of the season, moved into second in program history in the long jump, leaping 6.16m/20-2.5 in a first-place finish. In the men’s long jump, reigning Sun Belt Conference Men’s Field Athlete of the Week and fellow Aussie Colby Eddowes continued his strong rookie campaign with a mark of 7.53m/24-8.5, placing fifth.

Bradley Jelmert cleared an indoor-best 5.42m/17-9.25 to place third in the men’s pole vault and moved up to fifth in the Red Wolves’ top 10 in the event. Patryk Baran cleared a career-best 4.92m/16-1.75 to place 10^th while Trace South vaulted a season-best 4.77m/15-7.75.

In the men’s weight throw, Aimar Palma Simo tossed the implement a season-long 19.19m/62-11.5 to place sixth.

NEXT UP

The Red Wolves return to the Vanderbilt Recreation Center Saturday for the second day of the Vanderbilt Invitational, beginning at 10 a.m. with the men’s shot put. Action will be broadcasted live on SEC Network+.

SOCIAL MEDIA

For the latest on the A-State track and field and cross country programs, follow @AStateTrack on Twitter and @Arkansas_State_Track on Instagram, while also liking the team’s Facebook page at Facebook.com/AStateTrackAndField.