BOONE, N.C. – Gardner-Webb had eleven top-three finishes to highlight the track and field team's performance at the Mountaineer Open this weekend in the squad's final tune-up before the Big South Conference Championships. 

Seaver Wait finished first in the men's high jump with a height of 2.03 meters, setting a new personal record.

Hannah Sparacio took first place in the women's 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:05.59.

In the men's shot put, Marcus Abraham finished second with a throw of 16.53 meters.  AJ White finished fourth in the event at 15.73 meters and Alex Bouwmans finished fifth at 15.20 meters.

White also finished second in the discus throw at 50.91 meters, setting a new school record.  The previous record was 50.53 meters set by Alex Young at the Wofford Terrier Relays on April 6, 2013.

He also placed third in the hammer throw at 49.12 meters.  Abraham placed fourth in the discus at 46.11 meters.  Ross Lucia finished fourth in the hammer throw at 45.30 meters, his career best. 

In the women's hammer throw, Natasha Akbarizadeh placed in second with a toss of 59.29 meters.  Petra Jakeljic finished fourth with a distance of 54.72 meters.

Cailen Blaire placed third in the women's discus throw with a distance of 35.49 meters.

Merideth Byl and Amanda Hall placed fourth and fifth respectively in the women's shot put with tosses of 11.43 meters and 9.67 meter, a new PR for Hall.

In the women's 100-meter hurdles, Paige Peterson finished third with a time of 15.15 seconds a new personal best, followed by Taylor Hotchkiss in fourth at 15.20 seconds and Alexis Fonville in fifth at 15.61 seconds.

Jalin Lawson earned a fourth place finish in the men's long jump with a distance of 6.51 meters.

Merideth Byl finished fourth in the women's high jump at 1.41 meters.  She also placed third in the women's 200-meter dash with a time of 25.11 seconds, setting a new personal best. 

Josh Parks finished third in the men's 800-meter run, clocking in at 1:58.40. 

Jenna Ford placed third in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 12:55.43.

In the women's pole vault, Elise Moffatt earned a fifth-place finish at 3.53 meters, and Karin Sastre finished ninth at 3.23 meters, setting a new personal record.

Next up for Gardner-Webb is the 2017 Big South Outdoor Track and Field Championships, taking place May 10-12 in Charleston, S.C.