Johnson City, Tenn. - Freshman Alex Young (LaVergne, Tenn.) took
the men's shot put crown with a collegiate-best performance,
leading an impressive weekend for Gardner-Webb's track & field
squad at the Niswonger Invitational, hosted by East Tennessee State
University.
Young shattered his previous best this season to win the event,
throwing 15.77m to outdistance Kenneth Sugishita's (USC Upstate)
second-place distance of 15.40 m.
For the women, Kristen
Hurley, a junior from Columbia, Conn., ran to a 10th place
finish (9.23) during finals of the 60 m hurdles. Hurley was seeded
6th after running the 60 m hurdles in 9.19 during Friday's prelims
session.
In the 5000 m Run, senior Ariel
Zimmerman (Williamsburg, Va.) finished 7th, leading the Runnin'
Bulldogs with a time of 5:19.54.
Gardner-Webb's 'A' Relay achieved a 4th place finish in the 4 x
400 m Relay. Sarah Perkins, Nicole Saxton, Ivana
Hughes, and T'Keyah
Bell combined for a time of 3:58.91 in the event.
The men's side was highlighted by Young's win in the shot put.
Young, who also took 2nd in the weight throw on day one, was
followed by Carson
Sears' 3rd place showing at 15.19 m, a season best for the
junior.
Freshmen A.J. White (Hurricane, W.Va.) and Xavier Stewart added
11th (13.51 m) and 18th (12.54 m) place showings in the event.
Another Gardner-Webb newcomer, freshman Josh
Wembolua, excelled in his premier event, the 60 m hurdles.
Wembolua maintained the 3rd place seed he earned during Friday's
preliminary heats, holding off the 4th place finisher (Bryson
Lillard, MTSU) by point .01 for a time of 8.50.
Wembolua ran a season best time of 8.49 during prelims.
Sophomore Tyler Samotis (Hendersonville, N.C.) picked up a 3rd
place finish in the pole vault event, tying his collegiate best
with a height of 4.45 m. Freshman Tyler Marsengill (Rock Hill,
S.C.) tied his season best in finishing 9th overall in the event at
4.15 m.
In the men's long jump, junior Tavarus
Ferguson (Evans, Ga.) came in 5th, achieving a distance of 6.87
m. Freshman Chuboy
Umeadi added an 11th place showing in the event after leaping
6.45 m.
Junior Justin Loy (Burrington, N.H.) took 14th in the 5000 m
Run, finishing with a time of 16:42.21.
Gardner-Webb will return to competition February 1-2 at the JDL
Invitational in Winston-Salem, N.C.
