Gardner-Webb Track & Field Kicks Off 2015 Big South Outdoor Championships Thursday
May 14, 2015 | Track & Field
HIGH POINT, N.C. – Sarah Mitchell finished fifth in the women's discus Thursday to score points for Gardner-Webb on the women's side on the first day of the 2015 Big South Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Vert Stadium.
Mitchell narrowly missed All-Big South Conference honors with her effort, finishing just more than a meter out of third place with her distance of 41.38 meters. It was the second-best toss of her career and scored four points for the Runnin' Bulldogs early in the team competition.
Liberty took early leads in both the men's and women's team competition. Day two action will begin Friday morning.
Ben Bell sits in fourth halfway through the men's decathlon, posting top-5 finishes in each of Thursday's five events. Bell is just 20 points behind third-place Eric Purnell of High Point with 3,414 points entering Friday's final five.
Bell took third in the high jump Thursday with a height of 1.87 meters and finished fourth in both the 100m dash (11.39 seconds) and shot put (11.56 meters). His high jump effort was the second-best of his career, as was his time in the 100m dash.
Bell finished fifth in the 400m dash in a time of 52.55 seconds, which was also the second-best time of his career to date – and his best this season. He also finished fifth in the long jump competition with a leap of 6.38 meters.
Kristen Hurley sits in third in the women's heptathlon, finishing in the top three in three of Thursday's four disciplines. She sits 164 points out of first place and only 41 points out of second.
Hurley took second in the 200m dash, racing to the stripe in a season-best 26.32 seconds. It was her fastest time in the event since running a 26.06 at the 2013 Big South Outdoor Championships.
Hurley took third in both the 100m Hurdles (14.96) and high jump (1.52 meters), clearing a new outdoor personal record in the high jump. She took seventh in the shot put with a distance of 10.14 meters.
Friday's action begins with the men's discus throw at 11:00 am, with a full day of action slated.
Live results and scoring are available courtesy of High Point University and Flash Results at the provided link.
