JONESBORO, Ark. (5/10/23) – With the regular season in the books, the Arkansas State track and field teams are set to vie for conference titles this weekend at the Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Championships in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

THE BASICS
Location: Myrtle Beach, S.C. | Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium
Dates: May 11-13, 2023

Championship Central

THE COMPETITION
Men – 10 teams: Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Louisiana, Marshall, South Alabama, Southern Miss, Texas State, Troy, ULM

Women – 13 teams: Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, James Madison, Louisiana, Marshall, South Alabama, Southern Miss, Texas State, Troy, ULM

WATCH IT LIVE
ESPN+ will broadcast portions of all three days of competition, beginning at 5:05 p.m. CT Thursday, 4 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Saturday.

A CHAMPIONSHIP TRADITION
Under the guidance of Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Dr. Jim Patchell, Arkansas State has won a total of 24 combined Sun Belt Conference team titles, including seven outdoors (3 men, four women).

The A-State women are seeking their fourth consecutive crown, while the men hope to reclaim the top of the podium after a runner-up finish last season.

CONFERENCE LEADERS
Arkansas State athletes hold the top spot in nine events (five men, four women) entering the championships.

On the men’s side, Hannes Fahl enters the weekend with the top times in the 800 meters (1:48.70) and 1500 meters (3:45.78), while Will Glass is tops in the 110-meter hurdles (13.75). In the field events, Aimar Palma Simo has led wire-to-wire this season in the hammer throw with a mark of 68.94m (226-2). Freshman Colby Eddowes holds the conference’s decathlon record after scoring 7,543 points in April at the Bryan Clay Invitational.

Myles Thomas ranks second in the men’s 100 meters (10.26), while Jacob Pyeatt is third in both the 5000 meters (14:03.96) and 10,000 meters (29:11.66). Grayson Young boasts the No. 2 steeplechase mark (9:01.75), with Cash Kunkel in third with a time of 9:06.09. Last season’s outdoor runner-up Bradley Jelmert ranks second in the pole vault (5.47m/17-11.25), while Willem Coertzen is third in the shot put (17.87m/58-7.5).

Freshman Rahel Broemmel leads the way for the A-State women on the track with the conference’s top marks in the 1500 meters (4:20.41) and 5000 meters (16:04.11), while fellow distance runner Jaybe Shufelberger leads the league in the 10,000 meters (34:05.47). Pauline Meyer enters her final outdoor championships with the Sun Belt’s top steeplechase time (10:08.80) and is also second in the 5000 meters (16:14.19) while ranking third in the 1500 meters (4:23.99).

Cheyenne Melvin holds the second-fastest 800-meter time in the conference (2:06.38), as does Elizabeth Martin in the steeplechase (10:36.61). Lauren Beauchamp (4.03m/13-2.5) and Bella Coscetti (3.90m/12-9.5) are second and third, respectively, in the pole vault. Evangelynn Harris, who earned silver in the shot put last season, enters the championships third with a mark of 16.26m (53-4.25).

RECORD CHASERS
School records in eight events have fallen this outdoor season, including two by Jacob Pyeatt (5000m, 10,000m). Hannes Fahl broke the men’s 800 meters record that stood since 1988, while Aimar Palma Simo took down the men’s hammer throw record with a mark of 68.94m (226-2) at the Red wolves Open. Colby Eddowes shattered the program and conference record in the decathlon, scoring 7,543 points at the Bryan Clay Invitational.

On the women’s side, rookie Rahel Broemmel owns the school record in the 1500 meters and 5000 meters, while Pauline Meyer broke her owns record in the steeplechase.

NEXT UP

The NCAA West Preliminary Round is set for May 24-27 in Sacramento, Calif. The top 48 declared student-athletes in each individual event and top 24 declared relay squads will advance to the West Prelims.

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.