Reed and Steinke Shine on Day Three of 2009 New Balance Big South Championships
April 18, 2009 | Track & Field
Radford, Va. – The Bulldogs wrapped up the 2009 New Balance Big South Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday with nine top-five finishes including a first-place finish by sophomore Adam Reed in the men's pole vault and junior Paul Steinke setting a new school record with an NCAA qualifying time in the 400 meter hurdles.
GWU's Reed took first-place in the men's pole vault finals on Saturday, clearing the bar at 4.55 meters.
Fellow teammate Steinke took second-place in the 400 meter hurdles finals, crossing the finish line with an NCAA qualifying time of 52.23, also a personal best.
Also scoring points on the men's side was senior Jake Didion, who took third-place overall in the triple jump with a leap of 14.69 meters, and sophomore Johnathan Rucker, who finished fourth in the 110 meter hurdle finals with a time of 15.04.
Gardner-Webb's Daniel Mobley had two top-10 showings on Saturday, as he took fourth-place in the pole vault event with a height of 4.40 meters and finished seventh in the 110 meter hurdles with a finals time of 15.82.
In the 800 meter run finals, GWU's Jason Wenzel finished in fourth-place overall with a time of 1:54.33, while in the men's 4x400 meter relay the Bulldogs crossed the line in fifth-place with its time of 3:20.75.
The Bulldog women were led by senior Beth Long, who crossed the finish line with a time of 2:16.08 in the 800 meter run, placing her in third-place overall, while sophomore Tabitha Hamilton finished fifth in the discus throw with a heave of 37.17 meters.
In the relay events, the GWU 4x100 meter team scored points with a sixth-place finish with a time of 49.32, while the 4x400 meter relay unit took seventh-place with a finals time of 4:08.16.
In terms of the team scoring, the women's team finished fifth with 82.5 points, only 9.5 points behind the fourth-place finishers Charleston Southern (92). Coastal Carolina won the event, as the Lady Chanticleers finished with a team-high 228 points, 99.5 points ahead of the second-place finisher Liberty at 128.5 points. High Point took third-place with 97 points.
On the men's side, the Bulldogs finished seventh overall with 67.5 points. The Flames of Liberty took first-place with 216 points, while VMI finished in second with 107 points. Coastal Carolina finished in third-place with 101.5 points, while Radford took fourth with 99 points. Rounding out the top-five was High Point with 86 points.
The Bulldog track and field teams will continue its outdoor season next Friday and Saturday, April 24 and 25, as Coach Baker will have student-athletes compete in both the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa and in the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Pa.
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| Championship Final Results |
