GWU's Bridges and Jones Lead the Way on Day Two of the 2009 New Balance Big South Championships
April 18, 2009 | Track & Field
Radford, Va.– Gardner-Webb senior pole vaulter Kelly Bridges and freshman thrower Gwennetta Jones led the Bulldogs on day two of the 2009 New Balance Big South Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championship, as each picked up a first-place finish in their respective events.
Bridges won the women's pole vault event, as she cleared the bar at 3.55 meters. Jones took first-place overall in the women's shot put event with a throw of 13.82 meters.
Also scoring top-five finishes on Friday was senior Victoria Argus who took second-place in both the heptathlon event with 4611 points and in the pole vault, finishing just behind Bridges with a height of 3.25 meters. Fellow senior Caryn Daane finished in third-place overall in the women's shot put event, turning in a toss of 13.04 meters.
In the 3000 meter steeplechase event, senior Bree Tharpe took eighth-place crossing the finish line with a time of 12:04.35, while fellow teammate Diana Palka finished in 10th-place with her time of 12:20.41.
Senior Beth Long qualified for the 800 meter run finals event on Saturday, as she turned in a time of 2:17.91 in the preliminaries, which was third base overall, on Friday afternoon.
Other notable performances for the women's team on Saturday, was junior Kayla Morgan finishing in seventh in the heptathlon with 3812 points and freshman Ann Marie Howell taking seventh in the pole vault with 2.95 meters.
The women's team is in second-place overall in the team rankings with 67.50 points, only 19.50 points behind Coastal Carolina who is in first-place overall with 87 points after two days of competing.
On the men's side, the Bulldogs had three-top 10 finishes and had five others qualified for the finals on Saturday.
Sophomore Evan Brusich took third-place overall in the decathlon event, finishing with 6072 points.
In the men's high jump event, Gardner-Webb took both sixth and 10th-place overall, as sophomore Johnathan Rucker finished in sixth with his height of 1.95 meters, while C.J. Wise took 10th-place overall, clearing the bar at 1.85 meters.
GWU's Rucker also had a strong performance in the 110 meter hurdle preliminaries, as he turned in a time of 15.42 to qualify for the finals on Saturday. Fellow teammate and freshman Daniel Mobley also qualified for the 110 meter hurdle finals, crossing the finish line with a time of 15.93 in the preliminaries on Friday.
In the 1500 meter run preliminaries, freshman Nick Kelly turned in a time of 4:00.57, which placed him in 12th-place overall and qualified him for the finals tomorrow afternoon.
Junior Paul Steinke had the top time in the 400 meter hurdle preliminaries, crossing the finish line in a time of 52.89, which not only qualified him for the finals but also set a new Patrick D. Cupp Memorial Stadium record for the event.
In the 800 meter run, Jason Wenzel finished in fourth in the preliminaries with a finals qualifying time of 1:54.33. Fellow teammate Charlie Steinke crossed the finish line in a time of 1:56.59, missing out on the finals tomorrow by less than two seconds.
The Gardner-Webb men's team is in seventh-place with 22.50 points after day two.
Liberty has a huge lead with 107 points, a whole 62 points ahead of VMI who is in second-place overall. Coastal Carolina is in third with 43.50 points, while Winthrop is in fourth with 32 points.
The final day of competition in the 2009 New Balance Big South Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships begins at 10 a.m.
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| Complete Results After Day Two |
