Hurley Wins Pentathlon to Lead Gardner-Webb on Day One of the 2013 Big South Indoor Track & Field Championships
February 22, 2013 | Track & Field
Winston-Salem, N.C. - Junior Kristen Hurley finished first in the women's pentathlon standings and freshman Alex Young reset his own school record in the men's shot put as Gardner-Webb track & field competed on day one of the 2013 Big South Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships at Winston-Salem's JDL Fast Track.
A handful of great performances earned the Gardner-Webb women's squad a third place standing upon day one's completion. GWU (30) trails only Liberty (68) and Coastal Carolina (54) in the women's team standings after the first day of competition.
Hurley took the top spot in the pentathlon, earning All-Conference in amassing 3,487 points in the event. Also the pentathlon champion at last year's Big South Indoor Championships, Hurley defender her title by recording top five marks in all five portions of the event, despite not recording the top performance in any of the five.
The junior recorded the second fastest time in the 60 m hurdles (9.15), the third best high jump mark (1.56 m), the fifth best shot put performance (10.29 m), the second furthest long jump distance (5.34 m), and the 3rd fastest 800 m run time (2:28.10).
Hurley, from Columbia, Connecticut, held off a trio of pentathletes from Liberty to take home the pentathlete title. The Flames' took second, third, and fourth behind Christina Mitchell, Audrey Bamford, and Riley Brandon.
Gardner-Webb's Olivia Moody added a seventh place finish in the pentathlon for the Runnin' Bulldogs. A junior from Plano, Ill., Moody totaled 3,070 points in the event, setting the seventh best 60 m hurdles time (9.71), third best high jump mark (1.56 m), second best shot put distance (10.86 m), tenth best long jump distance (4.45 m), and tenth fastest 800 m run time (2:36.61).
In the Pole Vault, senior Taylor Cook (Boone, N.C.) earned her first-ever All-Conference finish, taking second place in the event after vaulting 3.58 m. Cook's performance on Thursday marked the second best Indoor mark of her collegiate career, trailing only the personal best she achieved at last weekend's Appalachian Pre-Conference meet.
Gardner-Webb freshman Megan Melton added a fourth place finish in the event to score valuable points for the Runnin' Bulldog women. The Riverside, California native achieved a height of 3.33 m in the event.
The Runnin' Bulldogs got a fourth place finish from Ashlei Alexander (Queens, N.Y.) in the women's shot put. The senior tossed 13.16 m to lead GWU in the event.
Senior Yazzming Lee (Paterson, N.J.) added a 10th place finish in the shot put with a throw of 12.72 m and junior Kyntoya Hansford (Miami, Fla.) threw the 13th furthest at 11.85 m, a personal best.
During prelims of the 800 m run, senior Ivana Hughes raced to the second quickest time out of heat two. The Evans, Ga. native ran 2:17.67 on Friday.
Freshman Sarah Perkins (Gorham, Maine) posted the 12th fastest 60 m hurdles time during prelims of the event, finishing at 9.29.
Perkins also ran the 400 m dash on Thursday, running the 15th fastest time of 59.93 during prelims. Sophomore Nicole Saxton (Tampa, Fla.) recorded the 11th fastest time in the 200 m dash after finishing in 26.22.
The quartet of Katie Spiro, T'Keyah Bell, Hughes, and Ariel Zimmerman finished tenth in the women's distance medley relay, turning in a time of 13:09.74.
The Gardner-Webb men are also third in the team standings after day one. GWU's 23 points trail Liberty's 67.5 and High Point's 33.5.
Young (LaVergne, Tenn.) earned All-Conference honors in his first-ever Big South Championship performance, taking second place in the shot put. The Runnin' Bulldog freshman put up a personal best performance to extend his own school record with a distance of 16.52 m in the event.
Junior Carson Sears added to the Runnin' Bulldogs' momentum with a fifth place finish in the shot put. The Suwanee, Ga. native threw 14.81 m, and freshman A.J. White (Hurricane, W.Va.) threw a ninth-best 14.19 m in the event.
Pole vaulter Tyler Samotis (Hendersonville, N.C.) earned All-Conference honors on Thursday in tying for third in the men's pole vault. The redshirt freshman achieved a height of 4.70 m to record his first-ever All-Conference performance.
Freshman Tyler Marsengill (Rock Hill, S.C.) tacked on a fifth place finish for the Runnin' Bulldog men Friday, rising up for a height of 4.40 m in the event.
Gardner-Webb put two in the finals of the 60 m hurdles thanks to fast prelims performances from Johnathan Parks and Josh Wembolua. Parks is seeded third entering finals, having run 8.25 early Friday. Wembolua followed closely with the fourth best prelims time (8.39).
Ben Bell (Greensbroro, N.C.) 60 m dash 7.41 5th fastest. long jump 6.62 m 2nd best in the event. high jump fifth best 1.76 m. Bell followed Titus Hamilton's top shot put mark with a throw of 11.91 m, 2nd furthest in the event.
Hamilton (Blair, Neb.) 60 m dash 7.36 3rd fastest in the event. long jump 6.01 m. best shot put mark 12.09 m. tied for ninth high jump 1.58 m.
Sophomore Miles Harris (Atlanta, Ga.) just missed out on a finals appearance in the 400 m dash after running a season best 51.19 during prelims, ninth fastest in the event. Jonas Nader, a redshirt freshman from Monroe, N.C., took recorded the 15th fastest time in the event at 52.15.
In the men's long jump, junior Tavarus Ferguson (Evans, Ga.) led GWU with a distance of 6.60 m, 13th best in the event and just .14 m out of ninth place.
During prelims of the 800 m run, Josiah Stanton-Brooks (Seattle, Wash.) recorded the fourth fastest time to qualify for finals. The senior mid-distance specialist ran 1:56.65 on Thursday.
In the men's distance medley relay, Trey Crook, Codi Merritt, Stanton-Brooks, and Mike McClay teamed up to finish seventh. The four GWU runners combined for a time of 10:32.44, Gardner-Webb's fastest of the season in the event.
| Day One Results - 2013 Big South Indoor Track & Field Championships |
| Men's and Women's Team Standings |
