NEW ORLEANS – App State’s Taylor Smith and Texas State’s Elisabet Runarsdottir each recorded league-best marks to earn the first Sun Belt Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Athletes of the Week honors this season. 

Women’s Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week
Taylor Smith, App State
(Sr. | Sprints | Northern Charleston, S.C.) 

App State senior Taylor Smith clinched first in three events at the Lenoir-Rhyne Open on March 16. The Northern Charleston, S.C. native garnered gold in the women's 100 meters with a personal best of 11.60, which moved her to fifth in the App State all-time list. Smith went on to run the third leg of the women's 4x100-meter relay, helping the quartet stop the clock at 44.75 for a first-place finish. Smith also landed first in the women's long jump with a mark of 5.97m (19' 7"). Smith is ranked first in the Southeast Region, third in the Sun Belt, 11th in the NCAA East Prelim qualifying list, and 19th nationally in the women's 100 meters. Smith has helped the the 4x100-meter relay team rank second in the Southeast Region, third in the Sun Belt, 10th in the NCAA East Prelim list, and 16th nationally. Smith is also the conference leader in the women's long jump and rounds out the top-three in the Southeast Region, top-20 in the NCAA East Prelim list, and top-25 in the NCAA in the event.

Women’s Outdoor Field Athlete of the Week
Elisabet Runarsdottir, Texas State
(So. | Throws | Ko’pavogur, Iceland)

Texas State sophomore Elisabet Runarsdottir recorded a mark of 69.11m/226-9 in the hammer throw to finish atop the podium at the UTSA Invitational. The mark from Runarsdottir broke the national record in the women's hammer throw for Iceland. The distance also now leads the NCAA in the event by over three meters and is ranked inside the top 100 in the world.

2024 Sun Belt Women’s Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week
Week 1 – Taylor Smith, App State


2024 Sun Belt Women’s Outdoor Field Athlete of the Week
Week 1 – Elisabet Runarsdottir, Texas State