MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (5/11/23) – Aimar Palma Simo captured gold in the men’s hammer throw to highlight the first day of competition for the Arkansas State track and field teams at the Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Championships at Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium.

Palma Simo repeated as conference champion in the event, hurling the implement 68.37m (224-3) to help the A-State men finish the opening day second in the team standings with 21 points. The Castellon, Spain, native is the program’s first thrower to earn back-to-back gold in the event since Cristian Ravar Ladislau in 2017 and 2018.
 

???????????? ????????????????.@ASTATETRACK‘s Aimar Palma Simo claims gold in the #SunBeltTF Men’s Hammer Throw with a distance of 68.37m (224′ 3″) to give the Red Wolves 10 team points. ???? pic.twitter.com/fcNdTN6Zyp

— Sun Belt (@SunBelt) May 11, 2023

Jaybe Shufelberger took silver in the women’s 10,000 meters, running the 25-lap race in 34:51.91. Sarah Trammel placed eighth to add another point, crossing the finish in 35:47.09. In total, the Red Wolves’ women’s squad totaled 19 points in the first day, which featured mostly preliminary rounds.

In the men’s 10,000 meters, Jacob Pyeatt finished runner-up with a time of 29:53.26. Nati Enright (31:27.23) and John Carder (31:38.06) placed seventh and eighth to give A-State’s men 11 points in the event to end the day.
 

— Sun Belt (@SunBelt) May 11, 2023

Camryn Newton-Smith and Colby Eddowes lead the heptathlon and decathlon, respectively, after the first day of competition. Newton-Smith totaled 3,549 points through four events, while Eddowes racked up 4,020 points across five events. Patryk Baran ended day 1 third in the decathlon standings (3,781 points) while Izzy Daines stands seventh in the heptathlon (2,938).
 

— Sun Belt (@SunBelt) May 11, 2023

Daines later earned a point for the women’s squad, placing eighth in the women’s javelin throw with a toss of 39.48m/129-6.

The women’s team earned nine points in the pole vault, as Lauren Beauchamp and Bella Coscetti placed fourth and fifth and each cleared 3.86m (12-8).

A-State had eight total runners qualify for Saturday’s final in the 1500 meters – four each for the men and women. Pauline Meyer earned the top qualifying mark, winning her heat with a time of 4:31.10. Kayla Wade finished in 4:34.34 to qualify on time, while Elizabeth Martin (4:35.42) and Rahel Broemmel (4:36.93) each earned automatic qualifier status after finishing within the top three of their respective heats.

On the men’s side, Hannes Fahl (3:57.46) and Cash Kunkel (3:57.84) were the top two finishers in the opening heat, followed by Rylan Brown (3:58.50) in fourth. Grayson Young also automatically qualified, running a time of 4:01.02 to place second in his section.

Jonae Cook won the opening heat in the women’s 200-meter prelims and finished with the second-fastest qualifying time, running a season-best 23.67. Jermie Walker was a time qualifier in the men’s 200-meter prelims, sprinting 21.33.

NEXT UP

Friday features the conclusion of the heptathlon and decathlon, as well as finals in the long jump, shot put and men’s pole vault. On the track, preliminary rounds for the 100 meters, 400 meters, 800 meters and 100/110-meter hurdles will serve as a prelude to the 3000-meter steeplechase finals.

ESPN+ will broadcast a portion of the day’s events, beginning at 4 p.m. CT.

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.