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Arkansas State’s Sophie Leathers and App State’s Peighton Simmons each turned in standout performances last week and have been selected as the Sun Belt Women’s Track & Field Athletes of the Week.

Women’s Track Athlete of the Week
Sophie Leathers, Arkansas State
(Jr., Distance, Grapevine, Texas)

Red Wolves’ junior distance runner Sophie Leathers broke the school indoor 5,000-meter record on Friday at the Music City Challenge. She clocked a time of 16:44.83 to break A-State great Kristina Aubert’s record set in 2014. Leathers’ mark is the No. 1 in the conference by nearly 14 seconds.

Women’s Field Athlete of the Week
Peighton Simmons, App State
(Gr., Jumps, High Point, N.C.)

Mountaineers’ graduate student Peighton Simmons won both the long jump and triple jump, for the second time this indoor season, at the Marshall Invitational on Saturday, helping propel App State to a meet victory. Simmons took the gold at 19-5.25 in the long jump and 42-11.75 in the triple jump. Despite not topping her season-best and conference-leading mark, a 19-5.25 would place her fifth in the Sun Belt for the long jump. A 42-11.75 would rank second in the Sun Belt, just behind her first-place mark of 43-0.25. Simmons currently ranks No. 21 in the country in the triple jump and leads a nationally-ranked triple jump event squad (No. 6) into the Sun Belt Indoor Championships.

2022 Sun Belt Women’s Track Athlete of the Week
Week 1 – Melissa Jefferson, Coastal Carolina
Week 2 – Melissa Jefferson, Coastal Carolina
Week 3 – Melissa Jefferson, Coastal Carolina
Week 4 – Elizabeth Martin, Arkansas State
Week 5 – Sophie Leathers, Arkansas State

2022 Sun Belt Women’s Field Athlete of the Week
Week 1 – Peighton Simmons, App State
Week 2 – Alyssa Wilson, Texas State
Week 3 – Jade Bontke, UTA
Week 4 – Grace Flowers, Arkansas State
Week 5 – Peighton Simmons, App State