LEXINGTON, Va. – Eighteen new personal records, along with thirteen top-ten results highlighted an outstanding weekend for the Gardner-Webb men's and women's indoor track and field teams at the VMI Winter Relays in Lexington, Va.
Jordan Smith set a new Gardner-Webb record in the men's shot put with a toss of 17.57 meters. That bested his previous PR of 17.10 meters that was set earlier this season at the Liberty Kickoff on January 27 and was 0.17 meters further than the previous school record of 17.40 meters, set at the 2017 Big South Indoor Track and Field Championships by
Marcus Abraham.
In the men's weight throw, Smith set a new personal record with a mark of 19.26 meters, placing first in the event. His toss ranks as the third furthest distance in GWU history, and was just 0.01 meters away from tying Christoph Hutschalik's mark of 19.27 meters at the 2011 Big South Indoor Track and Field Championships for second place in school history.
Ross Lucia finished in eighth in the event with a toss of 15.06 meters.
Gardner-Webb had a trio of top-ten finishes in the women's weight throw, as
Sarah Mitchell and
Natasha Akbarizadeh finished second and third respectively, and
Cailen Blaire placed in seventh. Mitchell's mark of 17.27 meters was just 0.02 meters shy of her personal best in the event. Akbarizadeh had a distance of 16.87 meters, while Blaire had a new personal best toss of 16.08 meters.
Mitchell also earned a second-place finish in the women's shot put with a toss of 13.84 meters.
Carlos Williams clocked in at 7.02 seconds in the men's 60-meter dash, setting a new PR while finishing tenth overall. His time is the fifth fastest in GWU history in the event.
In the men's 800-meter run,
Patrick Sastre placed sixth overall with a new PR of 1:56.98, which is also the fourth-fastest time in GWU history in the event.
In the women's pole vault,
Sarah Coleman placed in fourth with a mark of 3.30 meters.
In the men's long jump,
Austin Evans had a new personal best result of 6.24 meters to finish twelfth overall.
Mitchell Brown set a new PR in the men's 3,000-meter run, timing in at 9:14.13 to finish nineteenth overall.
GWU had three new personal best times in the women's 200-meter dash.
Hannah Sparacio timed in at 26.93 seconds en route to a thirty-fourth place finish, while
Kira Ramsey clocked in at 27.14 seconds and
Callie Rhea timed in at 27.30 seconds to place thirty-sixth and thirty-seventh respectively.
Two PRs were set in the women's 800-meter run, as
Hannah Jones timed in at 2:24.46 and
Amy Turlington crossed the line at 2:24.59 to finish in twelfth and thirteenth respectively.
Two PRs were also set in the men's 200-meter dash, with
Mason Marshall finishing forty-second with a time of 23.64 seconds and
Austin Billiot placing fifty-first with a time of 23.97 seconds.
In the women's mile run,
Jenika Hrushka posted a new PR with a time of 5:26.12, finishing in twenty-first place.
Ezekiel Martin clocked in at 4:41.96 in the men's mile run, setting a new personal best time with a twenty-first place finish.
Bogdan Podgaisky also set a new PR in the event with a time of 5:27.08, placing thirty-seventh overall.
Maya Mallory set a new personal record in the prelims of the women's 60-meter dash, clocking in at 8.44 seconds.
In the men's 4x400-meter relay, the team of
Chase Thornhill,
Carlos Williams,
Patrick Sastre, and
Josh Parks took home a fourth-place finish, timing in at 3:23.87.
The team of Exekiel Martin,
Sam Hermanns,
Caleb Silvey, and
Mitchell Brown earned a seventh-place result in the men's 4,000-meter distance medley relay, timing in at 11:17.68, while the team of
Jenika Hrushka,
Ashleigh Cleveland,
Amy Turlington, and
Gabby Cortese placed eighth in the women's 4,000 meter distance medley relay with a time of 13:12.22
Next up for Gardner-Webb is the UCS Invitational, beginning Friday, February 16 at 6:00 pm and continues at 10:00 am on Saturday, February 17 at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, N.C.
