GWU's Hurley Earns All-Big South Honors in the Heptathlon on Day Two of Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championships
April 20, 2013 | Track & Field
Lynchburg, Va. - Both Kristen Hurley and Alex Young achieved second place individual finishes on Friday, leading Gardner-Webb with All-Conference performances on day two of the 2013 Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championships, held at Liberty's Matthes-Hopkins Track Complex.
With one day of competition remaining, Gardner-Webb's women's track & field squad are in 5th place (25.5 pts.), trailing a tie for third place between VMI and High Point by only 2.5 points.
The heptathlon concluded on Friday, as GWU's Kristen Hurley and Olivia Moody finished in 2nd (4,602 pts.) and 9th place (3,872 pts.), respectively.
Hurley (Columbia, Conn.) earned All-Conference honors in the heptathlon, amassing a career best 4,602 points in the event. Hurley posted the 4th best long jump mark at 5.20 m to start Friday's competition, as well as the 4th best javelin mark at 29.59 m. The junior was 2nd fastest in the 800 m run at 2:30.16 to put the finishing touch on her 2nd place overall finish.
Moody (Plano, Ill.) ranked 10th among the heptathletes in the long jump at 3.98 m to open the day. The junior followed by throwing 6th furthest in the javelin (28.05 m) and closed with the 9th fastest 800 m time after finishing in a personal best 2:41.07.
In the women's pole vault, senior Taylor Cook (Boone, N.C.) tied for 4th place to lead Gardner-Webb in the event. Cook's 3.50 m (11' 5.75") was followed by freshman Megan Melton, who scored key points for her squad with a sixth place finish. Melton (Riverside, Riverside, Calif.) also cleared 3.50 m, a personal best in her first Outdoor Championship meet as a Runnin' Bulldog.
Senior Bethany Wright (Clayton, Ga.) finished 13th in the event with a height of 3.05 m (10').
During prelims of the women's 400 m dash, senior Ivana Hughes (Evans, Ga.) safely put herself into the finals of the event, to be run on day three. Hughes ran the 6th fastest time (56.77) during Friday's preliminary heat.
Hughes also positioned herself among the top eight performers in the women's 800 meters, running the 7th fastest time at 2:19.86 to crack the top eight heading in to Saturday's finals heat.
Fellow senior T'Keyah Bell achieved the 15th fastest time during prelims of the event. The Cherryville, N.C. native finished in 1:00.23.
During prelims of the 400 meter hurdles, freshman Sarah Perkins (Gorham, Maine) put herself in good position for the Runnin' Bulldog women, posting the 5th fastest prelims time at 1:03.44. Sophomore Nicole Saxton (Tampa, Fla.) ran the 10th fastest prelims time, finishing in 1:05.67.
Ashlei Alexander recorded her second final of the weekend, achieving a top 8 finish in the women's shot put. A senior from Queens, N.Y., Alexander threw 13.09 m (42' 11.5") in the event, placing 8th for the women's squad.
GWU's Yazzming Lee and Kyntoya Hansford threw 11.69 m (19th) and Kyntoya Hansford 11.41 m (21st) respectively.
Freshmen Kaylan Myers (Lexington, N.C.) and Jessica Norris (Johnson City, Tenn.) tied for 11th in the women's jump by clearing 1.53 m (5' .25").
Junior Tomora Parker achieved an 11th place finish in the women's javelin throw, throwing 25.92 m.
Late Friday, freshman Claire Cates (Hillsborough, N.C.) turned in the 15th fastest time in the women's 3,000 m steeplechase, finishing with a time of 13:11.31.
On the men's side, GWU stands in fourth place in the team standing, trailing third place Coastal Carolina (41 pts.) while leading fifth place High Point (25 pts.) and 6th place Charleston Southern (23 pts.) after day two.
The decathlon concluded Friday, with GWU's Ben Bell and Titus Hamilton finishing in 5th (4,755 pts.) and 6th (4,631 pts.) place, respectively to earn valuable points for their team.
Bell (Greensboro, N.C) posted the 6th fastest 110 m hurdles time to open Friday's competition, running a personal best in the event at 17.00. The sophomore continued his hot start by recording the 3rd best discus mark, throwing a personal best 36.03 m.
In the pole vault segment of the decathlon, Bell placed 5th, achieving a height of 3.36 m. After posting the 3rd best javelin distance (44.06 m), Bell closed the decathlon with the 3rd fastest 1,500 m time, crossing the finish line at 5:01.16.
Hamilton (Blair, Neb.) blew away his personal best in the 110 m hurdles, finishing in 16.87 to post the 5th fastest time in the event. Hamilton's previous best in the event was 18.01. The freshman followed with the 6th best throw in the discus (30.24 m) as well as the 4th best pole vault height (3.46 m).
Hamilton added the 6th best showing in the javelin throw (35.74 m) and the 7th best time in the 1,500 m run (5:32.09).
Freshman Alex Young (LaVergne, Tenn.) achieved his second All-Conference performance in the shot put, placing 2nd in the event. Young tossed 16.71 m (54' 10"), trailing only Ryan Smith's (Liberty) facility record 18.44 m.
Fellow freshman A.J. White tacked on an 11th place finish. The Hurricane, W.Va. native threw 13.93 m (45' 8.5"), and freshman Xavier Stewart threw the 17th best distance at 12.65 m (41' 6").
Josh Wembolua ran the 10th fastest time in the men's 110 m hurdles, finishing at 15.43.
Trey Crook (Lexington, N.C.) ran 2:01.34 to lead the GWU men in the 800 m run. His 21st place showing was joined by William Cottrell (Waxhaw, N.C.) and Nick Rogers (Monroe, Ga.), who finished 25th (2:07.72) and 26th (2:10.14) in the event, respectively.
A pair of Runnin' Bulldogs competed in the men's 100 m dash. Redshirt freshman Stanley Fleurant (Homestead, Fla.) led GWU in the event, placing 18th with a time of 10.99, and freshman Brandaun Addison (Easley, S.C.) ran 11.30 for the 19th quickest time in the event.
