BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – On the final day of the 2022 Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships Thursday, the Austin Peay track and field team claimed four event titles and broke three school records en route to a third-place finish as a team.

Junior Kenisha Phillips began the day on the track claiming the OVC 400-meter dash title with a school-record time of 53.83. Phillips became one of just two athletes in Austin Peay history to run a time under 54 seconds in the indoor event. The junior sprinter broke the previous record of 53.96 set by Breigh Jones back on Feb. 21, 2015. Phillips won her heat in the finals and won the event by a margin of 1.38 seconds.

Following up her performance in the 400-meter dash, Phillips successfully defended her OVC 200-meter indoor title with a school-record time of 23.65. Phillips broke her own school record of 23.93, captured at the 2020 OVC Indoor Championships. Phillips won the event by nearly a second over Emory Moore of Belmont.

In the field, junior Karlijn Schouten won her second straight OVC Indoor Title in the pole vault with a mark of 4.15 meters. Schouten dominated the competition with the second-place finisher clearing a mark of just 3.75 meters. During the indoor season, Schouten broke the pole vault school record twice and claimed three event victories. Schouten will now set her sights on the outdoor campaign where she is the defending conference champion in pole vault.

Rounding out the day the Govs 4x400-meter relay team of Kyra Wilder, Lauren Lewis-Hayes, Mikaela Smith and Kenisha Phillips captured the OVC title with a school-record time of 3:44.98. The Govs won the event over rival Murray State by nearly three seconds as APSU broke the previous school record of 3:45.58 set back at the OVC Championships back on Feb. 27, 2016.

As a team, Austin Peay finished third with 106 points. Murray State won the 2022 Indoor OVC Title with 139 points followed by Belmont with 122 points. The Ohio Valley Conference after the meet also announced that Kenisha Phillips was named Female Field Athlete of the Year and Female Athlete of the Championships. It's the second year in a row Phillips has been named the OVC Indoor Athlete of the Championships.

FROM THE WORDS OF COACH BROWN:
"We showed up and showed out. Our athletes competed hard over the last two days and this was by far our best meet of the season which is what we prepped for all season long. While we definitely wanted to walk away with the overall championships title, this group made a great run it."

"This weekend was full of outstanding performances for every event group that will propel us into the outdoor season. We had several season bests and multiple school records."

"The goal for this meet was to leave in a better spot than what we were showing on paper and they executed that well! I am extremely proud of our entire team and staff. We look forward to giving these young ladies a few weeks off and then it's back to the grind for the outdoor season."  

FIELD

• Triple Jump
  • McClleland makes the podium with a third-place finish and a mark of 11.74 meters
• Shot Put
  • Kori McDaniel finished second in the event with a mark of 13.97 meters
    • The 13.97-meter mark was the fifth-best throw in school history

SPRINTS

• 60-meter hurdles
  • The Govs had three finish in the top five in the event
    • Lennex Walker finished on the podium in third with a time of 8.81
    • Kamille Dunbar finished fourth with a time of 8.81
    • Camaryn McClelland finished fifth with a time of 8.87
• 60 meters
  • Kyra Wilder finished fifth in the event with a time of 7.73
• 400-meter dash
  • Freshman Sydney Hartoin qualified for the event final with a time of 58.39
    • Hartoin had the eighth fastest time in the prelims

DISTANCE

• 800 meters
  • Mikaela Smith finished third with a time of 2:12.62

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