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Arkansas State track & field captures three event titles in Day 1 of 2024 SBC Indoors

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Arkansas State track & field captures three event titles in Day 1 of 2024 SBC Indoors


Arkansas State track and field racked up a trio of event crowns on Monday inside the Birmingham Crossplex to highlight a strong opening day at the Sun Belt Conference Indoor Championships.

Both squads ended the first day of the two-day event in second place in the team standings. A-State’s men’s team tallied 40.5 points on the day, while the women’s team scored 33 points – one point behind leading Texas State.

Bradley Jelmert cleared a meet-record 5.62m (18-5.25) to win the men’s pole vault, remaining unbeaten this season. He provided 10 of the men’s team’s 17.5 points earned in the event, with John Carswell clearing a career-best 4.92m (16-1.75) in a bronze medal finish and Trace South tying for seventh with a mark of 4.77m (15-7.75).

Michelle Ogbemudia broke her own school record to capture the women’s weight throw crown. She tossed the implement 21.12m/69-3.5 on her second attempt to give the A-State women 10 early points.

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The Red Wolves’ final win of the first day came in the women’s distance medley relay. A-State led nearly the entire race and won with a time of 11:43.90 – a mark that stands third in program history. The men’s squad then ended the day with a third-place finish, combining for a time of 10:07.15.

Dawson Mayberry took silver in the men’s 5000 meters with a time of 14:31.55 while Jacob Pyeatt crossed in 14:40.51 to place fifth, resulting in a dozen points for the men’s squad. Rylan Brown (15:21.52) and Coleman Wilson (15:41.14) placed 10th and 16th, respectively.

Three runners scored in the women’s 5000, led by Jaybe Shufelberger’s fifth-place, and career-best, time of 16:55.63, which stands fourth in program history. Elizabeth Martin (17:02.75) and Olivia Walter (17:11.63) placed sixth and eighth, respectively, with times that stand sixth and seventh in A-State indoor history.

Colby Eddowes, who placed fourth in the open long jump final (7.28m/23-10.75), leads the heptathlon after the first four events with 3,296 points. Alden Wetzel ended the day with 2,531 points to sit eighth.

Izzy Daines and Miranda Burgett placed sixth and seventh, respectively, in the pentathlon with point totals of 3,522 and 3,474.

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All four of A-State’s competitors in the men’s mile advanced to Tuesday’s final, with top qualifier Hannes Fahl and Lasse Funck winning their heats to automatically qualify along with time qualifiers Noah McMurtrey and Ryan Parson. Funck and Fahl also earned spots in the 800-meter final, posting the top two qualifying marks.

Rahel Broemmel was one of two women to qualify for the women’s mile final, leading all runners with a time of 4:57.11 in the second heat. Anna Hunter ran a personal-best 5:02.39 and qualified on time.

Kenyon Parker and Will Glass posted times of 8.02 and 8.03 in the men’s 60-meter hurdles prelims en route to advancing to the event final, while Tyra Nabors matched her season best in her qualifying race, running 8.48 to make the final 8.

Spencer Taylor earned bids to Tuesday’s final rounds in both the 200 meters and 400 meters. The freshman continued his standout season with qualifying marks of 21.83 and 48.60, respectively.

In the men’s weight throw, Noa Isaia placed ninth with a throw of 17.02m (55-10.25) followed by Chris Boyd in 10th with a personal-best 15.67m (51.5).

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The Sun Belt Conference Indoor Championships resumes at 10 a.m. Tuesday with the continuation of the heptathlon, setting the stage for a full day of finals. ESPN Plus will carry the action, beginning with the women’s mile final at 1:30 p.m. A-State is seeking to defend four straight team championship sweeps in the indoor championships.



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Arkansas driver’s licenses and state IDs now available in Apple Wallet

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Arkansas driver’s licenses and state IDs now available in Apple Wallet


Arkansans can now present their driver’s licenses and state identification cards on mobile devices using Apple Wallet, state finance officials announced Wednesday.

The Department of Finance and Administration said Arkansans can use Apple Wallet to present their license or ID in person, online and in apps at select organizations, including at more than 250 Transportation Security



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Your Arkansas Driver’s License Can Now Live on Your iPhone

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Your Arkansas Driver’s License Can Now Live on Your iPhone


IDEMIA Public Security North America and the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration’s Division of Driver Services and Motor Vehicles have launched Arkansas driver’s licenses and state IDs in Apple Wallet, allowing residents to securely store and use their credentials on an iPhone or Apple Watch.

The new feature gives Arkansans the ability to present their identification at participating businesses and venues, at Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints in more than 250 airports, and online or within apps when age or identity verification is required.

The launch builds on Arkansas’ ongoing efforts to expand digital identification options. In March 2025, the state introduced the Arkansas Mobile ID app, and officials say adding IDs to Apple Wallet offers residents another secure and convenient way to access their credentials.

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“We’re proud to build on our partnership with the Arkansas DFA’s Division of Driver Services and Motor Vehicles, expanding on the launch of the Arkansas Mobile ID app in March 2025. The launch of ID in Apple Wallet in the state provides Arkansas residents a new, secure way to store and present their digital credentials, with transparency and control over how their information is shared at the forefront,” said Rob Gardner, CEO, IDEMIA Civil Identity.

To add an Arkansas driver’s license or state ID to Apple Wallet, users can tap the plus sign at the top of the Wallet app on their iPhone, select “Driver’s License or State ID,” and follow the verification process.

Officials say privacy and security were central considerations in the rollout. Information stored in Apple Wallet is encrypted on a user’s device, and users control when and how their information is shared. When presenting an ID, only the information necessary to verify age or identity is provided.

Apple and the Arkansas Division of Driver Services and Motor Vehicles also do not receive information about when or where residents use their digital IDs.

The technology is also designed to make verification easier for businesses. Participating businesses can use IDEMIA’s Mobile ID Verify app to accept and verify mobile IDs directly from an iPhone without requiring customers to hand over their devices or use additional hardware.

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The launch marks another step toward broader adoption of digital credentials in Arkansas, giving residents a secure alternative to carrying a physical driver’s license or state ID while maintaining control over their personal information.

For information on the launch of IDs in Apple Wallet in Arkansas, click here.

READ ALSO: Adam O’Neal Stepping into Chancellor Role at UA-EACC



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Arkansas gymnatics coach Chris Brooks completes staff with hiring of Zan Jones | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

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Arkansas gymnatics coach Chris Brooks completes staff with hiring of Zan Jones | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette


New Arkansas gymnastics coach Chris Brooks announced Monday the hiring of Zan Jones to complete his first staff, as well as the promotion of assistants Kyla Ross and Catelyn Branson.

Brooks succeeded his wife, Jordyn Wieber, on April 28 after Wieber stepped down.

Jones joins the Razorback after two seasons as an assistant coach at Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas. The Pioneers won back-to-back Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics National Invitational Championship titles in 2025 and 2026 with Jones on staff. He has been named a Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association Division II assistant coach of the year three times, including this spring.

Jones also earned Midwest Independent Conference assistant coach of the year in both of his seasons at Texas Woman’s.

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Jones served as the Pioneers’ primary vault and uneven bars coach, and the team set a program record of 49.35 on the bars in March.

An Alabama alumnus, Jones served as a student manager for the Crimson Tide gymnastics team. He served a year at Talladega (Ala.) College in its inaugural season of gymnastics and spent time as a recreational and team coach at Trussville (Ala.) Academy of Gymnastics.

Brooks also promoted both Ross and Branson to the title of associate head coach. Ross, a former UCLA gymnast and Olympic gold medalist as part of Team USA in 2012, started at Arkansas as a volunteer assistant in 2022. Ross helped Arkansas produce program records on the balance beam in back-to-back years before taking over the vault squad, which set a program high 49.675 in 2026. 

The Razorbacks ranked as high as No. 2 on the vault last season and were never lower than No. 7. Senior transfer Morgan Price landed the first 10 in school history on the vault in February.

Branson returned to the Arkansas staff ahead of the 2025 season, helping lead the floor squad. In that time, Branson has led the Gymbacks to two of their top five best floor scores ever and Arkansas has been ranked as high as No. 2 in the country on floor in the last two seasons. In 2026, over 60% of the team’s scores on floor were 9.85 or better.

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Branson served as Lindenwood’s head coach from 2022-24, where she was named 2024 Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association South Central Region Coach of the Year and the Midwest Independent Conference Coach of the Year. She led the Lions to their second consecutive and fifth overall USAG national championship and seventh MIC title in 2024.

Branson had a prior stint at Arkansas from 2020 to 2022, in which time the Gymbacks ranked as high as third on beam and second on floor.



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