Four Runnin' Bulldogs Pick up Wins as GWU Track & Field Competes at Carolina's Cup
April 14, 2012 | Track & Field
Rock Hill, S.C. - Ann Marie Howell, Leah Steinke, Carson Sears, and Chris Darden earned first place finishes as Gardner-Webb track & field excelled at the 2nd annual Carolina's University Cup on Friday.
Gardner-Webb finished in 3rd place on the women's side, accumulating 112.50 points Friday. Host team Winthrop topped the rankings with 148 points, while Savannah State edged the Runnin' Bulldogs to finish in 2nd with 118 points.
For the women's team, senior Ann Marie Howell recorded 1st place finishes in both the Javelin Throw and the Pole Vault. Howell's distance of 38.32 m in the Javelin Throw marked a new personal best.
Senior Leah Steinke also brought home a win on Friday, taking 1st place in the Women's 400 m Hurdles. Steinke's time of 1:06.34 in the event set a new personal best.
Gardner-Webb had three Top 10 showings in the Women's Hammer Throw, led by sophomore Jasmine Miles' 4th place finish at a personal best 47.02 m. Junior Yazzming Lee finished 7th, recording a distance of 41.13 m, and sophomore Kyntoya Hansford was 9th at 39.80 m.
Miles led a strong Gardner-Webb contingent in the Women's Discus Throw, placing 2nd with a personal distance of 41.31 m. Hansford was 7th, also achieving a personal best in the event at 36.26 m. Juniors Ashlei Alexander and Stephanie Hamilton finished 10th and 11th, tossing 34.31 m and 33.02 m respectively.
GWU's throwers put up a strong showing in the Women's Shot Put as well, led by 2nd and 3rd place finishes from Alexander (13.05 m) and Hamilton (12.20 m). Lee grabbed 8th with a distance of 11.72 m, and Hansford 13th at 10.95 m.
GWU also filled up the Women's Pole Vault, putting three athletes in the Top 8. Howell took the top spot, winning with a height of 3.70 m. Junior Bethany Wright was 3rd in the event, recording a height of 3.40 m. Achieving an 8th place finish was sophomore Blaire Teeters, who posted a height of 2.85 m.
In addition to Howell's 1st place finish, GWU had three Top 10 showings in the Women's Javelin Throw. Sophomore Katie Spiro grabbed 4th place in the event with a personal best distance of 32.09 m, and Kristen Hurley finished 5th at 30.81 m. Junior Tomora Parker tacked on a 9th place finish, throwing 22.87 m in the event.
Senior Katy Milton finished 6th in the Women's Long Jump, recording a distance of 5.13 m. Placing 10th in the event was sophomore Olivia Moody, who leaped 4.25 m.
Another senior, Cherryville, N.C. native Sarah Herd, finished 2nd in the Women's High Jump. Herd recorded the second best height at 1.65 m in the event.
Gardner-Webb put two in the Top 8 of the Women's 800 m Run. Junior Ariel Zimmerman was 6th, tops for GWU in the event with a time of 2:19.47. Senior Cherish Richardson followed in 8th, finishing in 2:23.63.
Leading the Runnin' Bulldogs in the Women's 400 m Dash was freshman Nicole Saxton. Saxton finished 6th in the event, crossing the finish line with a time of 1:00.42.
Junior Ivana Hughes finished 8th for GWU in the Women's 200 m Dash, racing to a time of 25.62 in the event. Another GWU junior, T'Keyah Bell, was 10th, finishing in 25.68. Sophomore Ashley Slate added a 15th place showing, timing in at a personal best 27.70.
Spiro added a 5th place showing to lead the Runnin' Bulldogs in the Women's 1500 m Run, achieving a time of 5:08.21.
Milton led GWU in the 100 m Dash with a 6th place finish in a personal best time of 12.56. Sophomores Hurley and Nancy Cates finished 10th and 11th, recording times of 12.94 and 13.26 respectively.
In the Women's 4 x 400 m Relay, Milton, Cates, Wright, and Bell combined for 4th best time at 47.92.
Gardner-Webb's Women's 4 x 400 m relay team also finished 4th, as Hughes, Richardson, Steinke, and Spiro teamed up for a time of 4:05.22 in the event.
The Gardner-Webb men took 6th place with 91 points, finishing just behind Savannah State (94 pts.) and the Citadel (98 pts.).
On the men's side, freshman Chris Darden picked up his first ever collegiate win, posting the top distance in the Men's Long Jump. Darden jumped a personal best 6.99 m in the event.
Sophomore Carson Sears took top honors in the Men's Shot Put, throwing 15.06 m in the event to pick up his first win of the 2012 Outdoor season.
Sophomore Tavarus Ferguson grabbed 7th in the event with a personal best distance of 6.55 m.
Senior C.J. Wise picked up a 2nd place finish in the Men's Hammer Throw, tossing a personal best distance of 48.58 m. Fellow senior Josh Padgett was 4th in the event, recording a personal best distance of 46.51 m.
Wise led the Runnin' Bulldogs in the Javelin Throw, placing 4th in throwing 46.78 m.
GWU got 3rd and 4th place finishes in the Men's 400 m Dash, as junior Josiah Stanton-Brooks and freshman Miles Harris finished in 48.99 and 50.09 respectively. Stanton-Brooks' performance set a new personal best in the event.
In the Men's Discus Throw, sophomore Sears threw 46.22 m, good enough for 3rd in the event. Junior Andy Scates was 9th after tossing a distance of 40.90 m, and fellow junior Travis Bolden finished 13th at 39.17 m.
Freshman Nathan Padfield added a 15th place showing for GWU, throwing 36.41 m in the event.
Fellow freshman Ben Bell was 6th in the Men's Pole Vault with a height of 3.20 m.
Sophomore Trey Crook led Gardner-Webb in the Men's 800 m Run, finishing 9th with a personal best time of 1:57.12. Fellow sophomore Galen Keene was 14th in the event at 2:03.99, and freshman Nick Rogers finished 15th with a time of 2:07.78.
GWU's Johnathan Parks got a 3rd place finish in the Men's 110 m Hurdles, as the sophomore finished in 15.09. Bell put in an 11th place performance with a time of 18.42 in the event.
Sophomore Drew Ford gave the Runnin' Bulldogs a 7th place finish in the Men's 3000 m Run, timing in at 9:23.62.
Leading Gardner-Webb in the Men's 2000 m Steeplechase was sophomore Jarrett Willis, who finished 5th with a time of 7:15.66.
Darden added to his stellar weekend with a 4th place finish in the High Jump, clearing the bar at 1.85 m for the Runnin' Bulldogs.
Gardner-Webb got a 3rd place finish in the Men's 4 x 100 m Relay. Parks, Darden, Marquise Joyce, and Ferguson teamed up to finish in 42.40.
GWU's Men's 4 x 400 relay team finished 5th, as the unit of Keene, Stanton-Brooks, Crook, and Rogers recorded a time of 3:28.00 in the event.
The Runnin' Bulldogs track & field squad returns to action for the 2012 Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championship meet, Thursday April 19 - Saturday April 21 in Conway, S.C. Live results will be available at www.bigsouthsports.com.
