Story by John Morris, Staff writer

The Racers showed improvement at Austin Peay State Saturday with multiple athletes improving in their events.

“We made some really big steps in some areas that we needed to,” said Head Coach Jenny Severns. “You can tell all the hard work is starting to pay off and people are starting to see improvements in their performances.”

Severns said she is pleased with the way the team is performing.

She said she wants to make sure the women are working hard but have time to rest themselves after not having much of a break going from this winter’s indoor season straight to outdoor.

The Racers are two meets away from the OVC Tournament.

“I definitely think we’re in a much better place than we were in indoor and we’re in a much better place then we were even a couple weeks ago,” Severns said.

With OVC being so close, health is big factor for the Racers going forward.

“We’re still kind of being cautious with some people just to be safe we’re like 95 percent healthy,” Severns said.

The Racers got a preview of championships on Saturday as they competed against OVC opponents Austin Peay, Jacksonville State, Belmont, Tennessee Tech, along with non-conference teams from Western Kentucky, Lipscomb and Loyola-New Orleans.

• Tonia Pratt took first in all three events she competed in. She topped the shot put with a distance of 14.71 meter. She followed that with a throw of 47.00m in the discus, while picking up a 52.35m throw in the hammer throw.
• Kiara Austin  set a personal record in the triple jump that also landed her in second on the Murray State All Time Best list. She jumped 12.34 meter, which was good for third place.
• Brittany Bohn finished second in the 800 meter with a time of 2 minutes 14.35 seconds.
• Emani Griffin and Heatherly Paschall set personal records in the event with times of 2:24.39 and 2:34.42, respectively.
• Lexy Schleper threw the discus 35.70 meter for a personal record. Her 27.03 meter javelin throw also was a new personal record. She also competed in the hammer and threw 38.93m.
• Taylor McCammon set a personal record in the high jump when she cleared 1.54 meter. Taylor Horton also set a personal record of 1.49m.
• Darcy Sullivan set a personal record in the hammer throw with a distance of 28.08m.
• Anna Curlin came out of the 400 meter with a personal record as she finished fifth in 59.02.
• Jill Jachino set a personal record in the long jump when she finished seventh with a jump of 4.97 meter.  
• Deja Rodgers set a personal record in the 200 meter dash when she finished in 25.44.

“I’m confident in the way we’re going; we’re definitely going in the right direction,” Severns said.

The Racers travel to Arkansas State Friday and Saturday for the A-State Red Wolves Open.