Lynchburg, Va. - Freshman Alex Young let loose for a personal best performance in the men's hammer throw, winning the event with a distance of 62.09 m to get Gardner-Webb track & field off to a great start on day one of the 2013 Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

The three-day meet continues on Friday at Liberty's Matthes-Hopkins Track Complex.

Highlighting the women's side on day one was senior Ashlei Alexander (Queens, N.Y.), who reset her own school record in the women's hammer throw, tossing 53.67 m (176' 1") to place third in the event for the Runnin' Bulldogs. Alexander earned All-Big South honors with the performance.

Jasmine Miles also put up a personal best (52.03 m) in the women's hammer throw. The junior from Amelia, Va. achieved a sixth place finish in the event.

Senior Yazzming Lee (Paterson, N.J.) and junior Kyntoya Hansford (Miami, Fla.) took 11th and 17th with distances of 43.43 m and 40.89 m, respectively.

In the heptathlon, Kristen Hurley got off to a great start in the 100 m hurdles, posting the fastest time at a personal best 14.68. Olivia Moody (Plano, Ill.) tied her personal best by clearing 1.54 m in the high jump portion of the event, 3rd best, and Hurley posted a personal best for the 4th best mark at 1.51 m.

Moody and Hurley recorded the 5th (9.95 m) and 6th (9.85 m) best shot put distances. Hurley closed the first day of heptathlon competition by posting the 2nd fastest 200 m dash time at a personal best 26.06, while Moody (27.38) also recorded a personal best to post the 9th best time to close day one.

The GWU men also turned heads, as Young (LaVergne, Tenn.) won the hammer throw thanks to a personal best 62.09 m (203' 8") distance achieved on the last of six throws in the competition. Young, who won the shot put at 2012-13 BSC Indoor Championships, captured his second individual title this season by out-distancing second-place finisher Ryan Smith's (Liberty) 59.31 m.

GWU sophomore and fellow LaVergne, Tenn. native Nathan Padfield added valuable points for the men's squad with an eighth place finish in the hammer throw. Padfield cleared the 50 m mark for the first time in his career, recording a personal best distance at 50.08 m.

On day one, Ben Bell (Greensboro, N.C.) and Titus Hamitlon (Blair, Neb.) competed in the first five events of the decathlon, starting off by posting the 5th (Hamilton, 11.55) and 6th (Bell, 11.58) best times in the 100 m dash. Bell posted the 5th best long jump mark (6.27 m), followed by Hamilton's 6th best distance of 5.93 m.

In the shot put portion of the event, both Hamilton and Bell impressed, tossing the 2nd (11.86 m) and 4th (11.57 m) furthest, respectively. The duo tied for the sixth best mark in the high jump (1.66 m), and represented the 5th (Hamilton, 54.25) and 6th (Bell, 54.30) fastest in the 400 m dash to round out day one.

Junior Justin Loy (Burrington, N.H.) achieved the 17th fastest time in the men's 10,000 meters. Loy raced to a time of 37:02.69 on Thursday evening.

In the men's long jump, Tavarus Ferguson (Evans, Ga.) recorded the 15th furthest distance at 6.61 m, and freshman Chuboy Umeadi placed 18th after jumping 6.46 m.

After day one, the Gardner-Webb men stand in 5th place after accumulating 11 points. GWU stands in 6th place in the women's team rankings.

Competition at the 2013 Big South Track & Field Championships resumes tomorrow morning. Fans can follow all the action from this weekend's Championships via Live Results, accessible at the link above.