BOONE, N.C. –  The Gardner-Webb men's and women's track and field teams opened the indoor season by earning 20 top-five finishes and setting numerous personal records at the Appalachian Open this weekend, hosted by Appalachian State.
 
In the women's weight throw, Taliyah Wade led the Runnin' Bulldogs with a personal-best mark of 14.92 meters, placing second overall.  Karmen Taylor finished third with a toss of 14.89 meters.  Cailen Blaire finished ninth at 13.64 meters.
 
Chase Thornhill finished second overall in the men's 300-meter dash, timing in at 34.35 seconds, setting a new school record in the process.  Austin Buzzard finished 13^th with a time of 37.35 seconds that sits at fourth on the GWU top-ten list, and Levi Zimmer placed 21^st at 38.43 seconds, ranking fifth all-time.
 
Louise Schmidtgen brought home a second-place finish in the women's pole vault with a personal-best mark of 3.56 meters that also ranked seventh in program history.  Karin Sastre finished fourth with a mark of 3.46 meters and Sophia Smith finished sixth at 3.36 meters.
 
In the men's triple jump, Austin Evans claimed a third-place result with a mark of 13.68 meters, setting a new personal record that sits seventh on GWU's top-ten list.
 
Josh Fischer paced the 'Dogs in the men's shot put with a mark of 15.52 meters to place third overall, which was the ninth-best mark in program history.  Clay Hamilton placed seventh with a distance of 14.08 meters, and Kenny VanVorst finished 11^th overall at 13.18 meters.
 
In the men's pole vault, Carter Lewis finished third with a mark of 4.30 meters, tying for ninth all-time at GWU.
 
The men's 4x300-meter relay team of Tre Carson, Ryan McGuffin, Chase Thornhill, and Austin Buzzard finished in third with a time of 2:24.13.  The quartet of James Hinton, Levi Zimmer, Joe Waller, and Patrick Sastre finished seventh with a time of 2:30.91.
 
Taliyah Wade finished third in the women's shot put with a mark of 11.56 meters.  Karmen Taylor finished fifth overall with a distance of 10.96 meters.  Callie Rhea earned a 17^th place results at 8.66 meters.
 
Patrick Sastre earned a third-place result in the men's mile run, clocking in at 4:39.47 to finish third and also setting a new PR.  Joe Waller timed in at 4:59.44 to finish 12^th and Cole Ray placed 16^th at 6:08.50.
 
In the women's high jump, Khalilah Conway tied for third overall with a mark of 1.52 meters.
 
Courtney Kanetzke placed fourth overall in the women's 3,000-meter run, finishing with a personal-best time of 12:43.43.  Logan McGuirt followed with a time of 13:06.52 to finish in fifth.
 
In the men's weight throw, Kenny VanVorst led GWU with a toss of 15.80 meters to finish fourth, followed by Josh Fischer in fifth with a mark of 15.59 meters.  Clay Hamilton placed seventh at 15.46 meters, setting a new PR.
 
Sandra Bolstad finished fifth overall in the women's mile run, clocking in at 5:44.31.  She was followed by Faith Parandhamaia in sixth with a time of 5:53.16 to set a new PR.
 
In the men's 55-meter hurdles, Austin Evans placed fifth overall with a time of 8.24 seconds.
 
Ryan McGuffin earned a fifth-place finish in the men's long jump with a mark of 6.74 meters, which is tied for eighth all-time in program history.  James Hinton finished eighth overall with a jump of 6.38 meters.
 
In the women's 4x300-meter relay, the foursome of Shylee Stocks, Hannah Sparacio, Khalilah Conway, and Callie Rhea finished sixth with a time of 3:01.07.
 
James Hinton led GWU in the men's 55-meter dash, placing ninth with a time of 6.64 seconds, which also tied for the ninth-fastest time in program history.  Mason Marshall finished tenth with a personal-best time of 6.70 seconds, and Ryan McGuffin finished 11^th at 6.75 seconds.  Tre Carson finished 13^th with a time of 6.78 seconds.
 
In the women's 55-meter hurdles, Callie Rhea finished ninth with a time of 9.63 seconds.  Alexis Fonville finished tenth at 10.07 seconds.
 
Callie Rhea placed 13^th in the women's long jump with a distance of 4.71 meters, setting a new personal record.
 
Mitchell Brown timed in at 10:18.86 in the men's 3,000-meter run to finish 14^th overall.  Matthew Cloninger finished 16^th with a time of 10:40.55 and Bogdan Podgaisky finished 17^th at 11:19.81.
 
In the women's 300-meter dash, Hannah Sparacio finished 14^th overall with a personal-best time of 46.56 seconds.  Shylee Stocks placed 15^th, timing in at 47.25 seconds.
 
Sarianna Miranda-Rosado finished 15^th in the women's 55-meter dash, timing in at 7.50 seconds.  Maya Mallory placed 17^th with a time of 7.86 seconds.
 
Gardner-Webb returns to action on Friday, January 17^th, taking part in the two-day Keydet Invitational, hosted by VMI in Lexington, Va.