GWU's Long and Brusich Highlight Day Two of Big South Championships
April 17, 2010 | Track & Field
Charleston, S.C. - Gardner-Webb had two student-athletes earn all-conference honors on day two of the 2010 Big South Outdoor Track and Field Championships, as Carrie Long and Evan Brusich each finished in the top-three in the finals of their respective events to highlight Gardner-Webb's action on Friday.
On the women's side for day two of competition, Gardner-Webb had six top-10 finishes and one individual qualify for the finals on Saturday.
In the women's pole vault event, Long received all-conference honors with her third-place finish, clearing the bar at 3.41 meters (11'2.25"), while freshman Taylor Cook finished in sixth-place with her personal best height of 3.26 meters (10'8.25"). Fellow freshman Bethany Wright set a new personal mark with a height of 2.96 meters (9'8.50"), putting her in 12th-place overall, while sophomore Brooke Yeakley finished with the same height as Wright at 2.96 meters (9'8.50").
Gardner-Webb sophomore Sarah Herd picked up a sixth-place finish in the women's high jump event, clearing the bar at 1.61 meters (5'3.25"), a new personal best mark.
Junior Diana Palka picked up a fifth-place finish in the women's 3000 steeplechase, crossing the finish line with a time of 12:05.98, while fellow Lady Bulldog runner Elisabeth Sawyer took 11th with a personal best time of 12:55.33.
In the women's shot put event, freshman Ashlei Alexander finished in fourth-place with a toss of 12.62 meters (41'5"), while fellow newcomer Yazzming Lee placed 14th with a distance of 10.49 meters (34'5").
Lee, who entered day two of competition in 10th-place with 2,167 points after four events in the heptathlon, finished the day in 10th-place with a total of 3,423. For the events, Lee set a new personal best mark in the 200 meter dash (29.21), in the 100 meter hurdles (17.16), in the long jump (4.62 meters/15'2") and finished second in the shot put (10.91 meters/35'9.5").
Qualifying for the finals on Saturday was freshman Ivana Hughes, as she turned in a time of 2:18.67 in the women's 800 meter run.
GWU's Cherish Richardson set a new personal best time of 2:20.55 in the 800 meter run preliminaries, finishing in eighth-place, while freshman Leah Steinke's time of 2:21.65 placed her in ninth overall.
Sophomore Katy Milton turned in a personal best time of 26.70 in the 200 meter dash preliminaries, while junior Aliegha Brigham turned in a time of 12.69 in the 100 meter dash prelims.
Gardner-Webb's women's team moved up to fifth-place after day two of competition, posting 33 total points, only four points behind the High Point who is in fourth-place with 36 points.
On the men's side, the Bulldogs had two top-10 finishes and four individuals qualify for the finals in their respective events on Saturday.
Brusich, who entered day two in fifth-place with 3,307 points in the men's decathlon, earned all-conference honors with his second-place finish in the men's decathlon with 6,357 points. For the events, Brusich took second in the pole vault (3.81 meters/12'6"), second in the 110 meter hurdles with a personal best time (15.22), second in the 1500 meter run (4:31.43) and set personal best marks in the shot put (10.74 meters/35'3") and in the javelin throw (39.21 meters/128'8").
The other top-10 finish for GWU on day two was junior Jonathon Rucker taking eighth-place in the men's high jump event, clearing the bar at 1.96 meters (6'5").
Rucker did not stop there, as the junior also qualified for the finals in both the 400 meter hurdles and in the 110 meter hurdles on Saturday. In the 400 meter hurdle preliminaries, Rucker turned in a time of 54.63, while in the 110 meter hurdles he crossed the finish line with a finals qualifying time of 15.09.
Also qualifying for the finals in the 400 meter hurdles was GWU's Paul Steinke, as the senior crossed the finish line with the top preliminaries time of 53.29.
Sophomore Nick Kelly qualified for the finals of the 1500 meter run on Saturday, turning in a time of 4:02.01 in the prelims on Friday, while freshman Josiah Stanton-Brooks crossed the finish line with a time of 1:55.09 in the 800 meter run, good enough to place him in the finals heat on Saturday.
Also competing in day two for GWU was redshirt-senior Charlie Steinke, who turned in a time of 1:57.23 in the 800 meter run, while sophomore Van Nelson turned in a time of 1:01.97 in the 400 meter hurdle preliminaries.
In the 100 meter dash prelims, a trio of Bulldog freshmen competed in Bo Miller, Codi Merritt and Chase Fuller. Miller turned in a time of 10.86, while Merritt and Fuller crossed the finish line with times of 11.31 and 11.55, respectively.
Sophomore Travis Rogers placed 15th overall in the shot put with a distance of 12.98 meters (42'7").
The men's team had tallied 14 points and are in eighth-place overall in the team standings, one point behind seventh-place Winthrop and nine points head of UNC Asheville who is in ninth with five points.
The third and final day of the 2010 Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championships will begin at approximately at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 17, hosted by Charleston Southern in Charleston, S.C.
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| Day Two Results - 2010 Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championships |
