CARBONDALE, Ill.—An exhilarating debut that saw a school record equaled was one of many high points for Austin Peay State University track and field in the 2019-20 indoor opener at the Saluki Fast Start, hosted by Southern Illinois.

In her debut outing as a Governor, Kenisha Phillips equaled Tymeitha Tolbert's school record in the 60m dash, set at last season's Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Championships, with a 7.49 mark. She finished a tenth of a second ahead of Tolbert, who took runner-up honors at 7.59 after winning the event last season.

Tolbert also took third in the 200m dash at 25.85, with sophomore Tiyanna Johnson right behind her in fourth at 26.02.

The Govs also took the top spot in the 60m hurdles thanks to junior Lennex Walker, whose 8.71 mark gave her more than a tenth of a second advantage over her next closest competition. She also took a solid fourth in the triple jump, hitting 11.19m.

Elsewhere on the track, junior Sabrina Richman took runner-up honors in the 400m dash at 57.82, four-tenths off the top spot, while sophomore Lexie Nicholas' personal-best 6:02.42 mark in the mile gave her fourth.

Even with Savannah Amato and Dascha Hix unavailable until outdoor season, the Govs were competitive in the pole vault. Freshman Karlijn Schouten hit 3.45m in her debut to take third, with Morgan Bradley equaling her in height but needing extra attempts to get there—she would take fourth.

Junior Denia Hill-Tate took fourth in the high jump at 1.61m, while sophomore Jackie Verseman posted personal-bests in both the shot put (12.18m) and weight throw (14.45m).

The Govs will now break for the holidays, returning to action Jan. 5, 2020 in Nashville at the Tennessee State-hosted Ed Temple Invitational.