Steinke, McManus, Long and Brusich Earn All-Conference Honors, as Both the Men's and Women's Track and Field Teams Take Seventh at 2010 Big South Outdoor Championships
April 17, 2010 | Track & Field
Charleston, S.C. - Both the Gardner-Webb women's and men's track and field teams took seventh-place respectively in the 2010 Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championships hosted by Charleston Southern this weekend in Charleston, S.C.
The Lady Bulldogs tallied 39 points over the three-day event, finishing ahead of both UNC Asheville and VMI, while the men's team totaled 55 points to finish ahead of Winthrop and UNC Asheville.
Gardner-Webb's third day of competition was highlighted by a first-place finish by senior Paul Steinke, who picked up the win and all-conference honors with a time of 52.17 in the 400 meter hurdles.
Also picking up all-conference honors on Saturday afternoon was freshman Clint McManus, as the freshman took second-place in the pole vault event, clearing the bar at a new personal best mark of 4.56 meters (14'11.50), finishing ahead of fellow classmate and teammate Steven Gardner who placed fifth with a height of 3.96 meters (12'11.75").
Junior Jonathon Rucker picked up two top-10 finishes on Saturday afternoon, picking up a fourth-place finish in the 110 meter hurdles with his finals time of 14.76 and then setting a new personal best time of 53.90 in the 400 meter hurdles, placing him in fourth-place for the event.
Freshman Josiah Stanton-Brooks crossed the finish line in fifth-place with a time of 1:54.19 in the men's 800 meter finals run, while the 4x400 meter relay team finished fifth with a time of 3:22.96 and the 4x100 meter relay unit placed seventh with their time of 42.52.
GWU's Nick Kelly took ninth-place overall in the men's 1500 meter finals with a time of 4:00.47, while in the 5000 meter run, freshman Colby Witt crossed the finish line with a time of 18:09.86, placing him in 21st-place overall.
On the women's side on Saturday, freshman Ivana Hughes turned in a personal best time of 2:18.24 to cross the finish line in seventh-place overall in the women's 800 meter run finals, while in the women's 1500 meter run finals event, senior Abby Callahan finished seventh with a personal best time of 4:53.80.
Gardner-Webb senior Brie Thompson placed ninth in the women's discus throw event, turning in a long distance of 37.68 meters (123'7"), while freshman Ashlei Alexander finished in 15th-place with a new personal best mark of 33.36 meters (109'5").
Freshman Ariel Zimmerman crossed the finish line in 11th-place in the women's 1500 meter run with a time of 5:06.24, while the 4x400 relay team of Bethany Wright, Hughes, Cherish Richardson and Leah Steinke finished seventh with their time of 4:02.73.
In the women's 5000 meter run, junior Diana Palka took 15th with her time of 19:58.05, finishing ahead of fellow teammates Lia Hudak (21:31.44) and Ellie Glunk (21:40.49) who finished in 18th and 19th, respectively.
The Liberty men and women won the 2010 Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championship Saturday afternoon at the Bagwell-Settle Track Complex on the campus of Charleston Southern. The men's team posted a team score of 194 points, while the Lady Flames finished the meet with 245.50 points.
Evans Kigen of Liberty took home the men's Outstanding Track Performer for his efforts during the meet, winning the 3,000 meter steeplechase and 5,000 meter run with facility records in both events. Ikeiylah Brown of Coastal Carolina won the Outstanding Women's Track Performer. Brown set an overall Big South record in the preliminaries of the 100 meter dash, and finished second in the 100 meter dash, 200 meter dash and 4x100 meter relay.
The men's Most Outstanding Field Performer went to Liberty's Clarence Powell, who finished first in the long jump, second in the triple jump and third in the high jump. The women's honor went to Coastal Carolina's Brittany Connor, who won the shot put and discus events, setting a facility record in the discus. Connor also earned a spot on the podium in the hammer throw with a third-place finish.
Megan Burggraf of Liberty won the women's Freshman of the Year award after winning the 800 meter run. Josh Pelltier of High Point won the men's Freshman of the Year award as he finished second in the javelin competition.
Liberty Head Coach Brant Tolsma won the men's and women's Coach of the Year, leading both teams to victory.
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GARDNER-WEBB ALL-CONFERENC HONOREES
Women's All-Conference
Carrie Long - Third in the pole vault with a height of 3.41 meters (11'2.25")
Women's All-Academic Team
Carrie Long
Men's All-Conference
Paul Steinke - First in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 52.17
Evan Brusich - Second in the decathlon with 6357 points
Clint McManus - Third in the pole vault with a height of 4.56 meters (14'11.50")
Men's All-Academic Team
Paul Steinke
| 2010 Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championships - Final Results |
