PITTSBURG, Kan. (12/10/22) – Arkansas State’s track and field teams kicked off the 2022-23 indoor season with a bang, boasting several strong performances at the Boo Rogers Combined Events and Crimson and Gold Invitational.

Colby Eddowes began the day by shattering the school heptathlon record, totaling 5,703 points after strong performances in the final three events. The Canberra, Australia, native led the entire event and broke the previous mark by 280 points.

Will Glass moved into a tie for second all-time in the men’s 60-meter hurdles, placing third with a time of 7.90. In the women’s 60-meter hurdles, Tyra Nabors earned a runner-up finish with a time of 8.54, which moved her to sixth in A-State indoor history.

Also on the straightaway, freshman Myles Thomas impressed in his debut in the 60 meters, placing seventh with a time of 6.84 and tying for sixth in school history. Jonae Cook recorded a pair of top-five results, placing fifth in the 60 meters (7.55) before finishing fifth in the 300 meters (39.75).

Cheyenne Melvin nearly broke her own school record in the 600-yard run, winning with a time of 1:22.91, while Namibia Clavier earned a runner-up finish in the 400 meters with a time of 56.61 that is good for 10^th on the program indoor list.

Evangelynn Harris won the women’s shot put with a toss of 14.97m (49-1.25), with Selase Sampram placing fourth with a mark of 13.57m (44-6.25). Sampram registered a personal-best toss in the weight throw, hurling the implement 14.62m (48-0).

On the men’s side, Aimar Palma Simo placed fourth in the weight throw with a mark of 18.78m (61-7) while Willem Coertzen threw a personal-best 15.54m (51-0). After throwing 15.91m (52-2), Jacob Tracy capped his day with a top-5 finish in the shot put, registering a mark of 16.80m (55-1.5) to rank 10^th in program history. Coertzen followed in sixth with a throw of 15.76m (52-7.5).

In the pole vault, Avery Shell cleared an indoor-best 3.83m (12-6.75) to place third. Bradley Jelmert placed fourth for the men with a clearance of 5.05m (16-6.75), with Trace South finishing sixth with a mark of 4.75m (15-7).

Newcomer Hannah Morris placed second in the women’s long jump with a distance of 5.80m (19-0.25), while Courtney Thomas placed fourth for the men with a leap of 7.17m (23-6.25).

The 3000 meters represented the final events of the day, and A-State’s Pauline Meyer took the top spot, running a meet-record 9:36.54. Newcomer Hannes Fahl placed second in the men’s race, clocking a time of 8:36.09 in his debut, while Ryan Parson narrowly beat his previous collegiate best with a third-place finish in 8:38.97.

NEXT UP

A-State returns to action after the holiday break, competing in a pair of meets. Some Red Wolves will trek to Topeka, Kan., for the Washburn Rust Buster (Jan. 21), while others will travel to Nashville, Tenn., for the Vanderbilt Invitational (Jan. 20-21).

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.