MYRTLE BEACH, South Carolina—Austin Peay State University track and field got its outdoor season underway Friday at the Coastal Carolina Invitational, hosted by Coastal Carolina at Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium.

With a good blend of talented newcomers and veterans with a wealth of veteran experience, head coach Doug Molnar has high hopes for his Govs as outdoor season gets underway.

As often happens for the Governors, the pole vaulters stole the show—and the top three spots on the podium—on Friday. Junior Savannah Amato's 3.80m (12-5.50) mark secured the top position, with junior Dascha Hix (3.65m; 11-11.75) and freshman Morgan Bradley (3.50m; 11-5.75) completing the sweep for Austin Peay.

Distance dominated the day for Austin Peay as it opened competition Friday, with the Govs placing at least one athlete in the top-five in three different distance disciplines, including a win for junior Caroline Kiplagat in the 1500m event; she dominated with a 5:07.95 in her first outdoor outing as a Gov, with sophomore Sharon Kimutai (5:12.16) and freshman Sophia Wilson (5:13.88) flanking her in third and fourth, respectively.

Junior Emmaculate Kiplagat more than lived up to her high seed in the 5000m run; her third-place, 18:13.63 mark was her best 5K—indoor, outdoor or cross-country—since placing third in the Memphis Invitational with an 18:09.09 in April 2017. And in the 800m, freshman Alura Endres opened her APSU outdoor career with a fifth-place, 2:33.65 mark.

The 4x200m relay team of Tymeitha Tolbert, Sabrina Richman, Amelia Thiesing and Diamond Black also had a strong showing on the track, placing third with a 1:40.83 mark.

Saturday begins the final day of competition, with the shot put opening the day for the women at 10:30 a.m. (ET).