Bulldogs Compete at Niswonger Invitational Hosted By ETSU
January 31, 2009 | Track & Field
Johnson City, Tenn. – Both the Gardner-Webb men's and women's indoor track and field teams were in action this weekend, as the Bulldogs competed in the two-day Niswonger Invitational hosted by East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee.
On the first day of events, the Bulldogs were led by performances by seniors Kelly Bridges, Beth Long and Caryn Daane, as well as sophomore Carrie Long.
In the women's pole vault event, GWU's Bridges and Carrie Long both finished in a tie for third-place, as both cleared the bar a 11-05.75 feet (3.50 meters).
In the 800 meter run, Beth Long crossed the finish line in 11th-place with her time of 2:23.37, while fellow classmate Daane took 11th place in the shot put with a throw of 39-00.25 feet (11.98 meters) on Friday afternoon.
Some other notable Bulldog finishes on day one of the event include senior Victoria Argus finishing 14th-place in the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 9.26, a new personal best. Freshman Katy Milton took 35th in the 60 meter dash crossing the line with a time of 8.17, while sophomore Aliegha Brigham finished in 55th-place overall with a time of 8.48.
On day two of the invitational, the Bulldogs had a number of strong performances including two top-10 finishes. The women's distance medley team finished ninth overall with their time of 12:27.46, breaking the old school record set back in 2006, while Argus took 10th-place in the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 9.29, a new personal best. The senior also took 17th in the long jump event with a jump of 16-09.25 feet (5.11 m).
The women's team also had personal bests set by seniors Bree Tharpe, Rebeccca Silleman, Carrie Minard and sophomore Laura Scott, as well as freshman Cherish Richardson on Saturday afternoon.
GWU's Tharpe set a new personal best with her time of 5:40.19 in the one mile run; while classmate Silleman's new personal record came in the 3000 meter run, crossing the finish line at 11:39.25. Fellow senior Minard, who took 23rd-place overall in the 5000 meter run, had a new personal best time of 19:19.84.
Also in the 5000 meter run, Scott crossed the line with a time of 19:23.64, while in the 800 meter run, Richardson turned in a 21st-place showing with her time of 2:30.13.
On the men's side, only six Bulldogs participated on day one of the invitational, with senior Jake Didion leading the way with a ninth-place finish in the men's triple jump event. Didion took ninth-place overall with a jump of 46-09.00 feet (14.25 m).
Gardner-Webb sophomore Johnathon Rucker turned in a great performance in the preliminaries of the 60 meter hurdles, as he took 12th-place overall with a time of 8.51, a new personal best, and qualified for the finals on Saturday.
In the same event, fellow sophomore Evan Brusich finished in 20th overall, crossing the finish line with a time of 8.86.
In the weight throw event, red-shirt freshman Christoph Hutschalik had a top-20 finish, as his throw of 49-06.25 feet (15.09 m) was good enough to place him in 19th-place overall.
GWU's Paul Steinke also had a strong day on Friday, as the junior set two new personal best times on the day. Steinke set a new personal best time of 23.16 in the 200 meter dash and then followed it up with a new best time of 50.92 in the 400 meter dash.
On Saturday, the men's team saw a handful of personal records fall as well as six top-10 finishes.
Rucker set a new personal best in the high jump event, clearing the bar at 6-06.75 feet (2.00 m), which was good enough for sixth-place overall. Rucker also showed his speed on Saturday, as the sophomore took eighth overall in the 60 meter hurdles crossing the finish line with a time of 8.66.
Fellow sophomore Adam Reed finish in a tie for sixth-place in the pole vault, clearing the bar at 14-07.25 feet (4.45 m), a new personal record. Fellow classmate Jason Wenzel also had a sixth-place finish on Saturday, as he took sixth in the 800 meter run with his time of 1:57.72.
The GWU men's distance medley team crossed the finish line in eighth overall with their time of 10:46.31.
Other Bulldog strong performances include freshman Nick Kelly taking 19th-place in the 3000 meter run with his time of 9:06.25, a new personal best, while Jake Hoyle also set a new personal best with his time of 9:54.90 in the same event. Fellow teammate Justin Cole also had a personal best time of 10:28.39 in the 3000 meter run.
Both the men's and women's indoor track and field teams will return to action in two weeks, February 13 and 14, when the Bulldogs will compete in both the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas and the Tiger Invitational in Clemson, S.C.
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| Niswonger Invitational - Day One Results |
| Niswonger Invitational - Day Two Results |
