COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Gardner-Webb indoor track and field squad took a big step up in competition on Saturday (2/3) and the Runnin' Bulldogs turned in a solid performance at the 30-team South Carolina Invitation held at the Carolina Indoor Track & Field Complex on the campus of the University of South Carolina.  

Among the highlights for the Dawgs on Saturday was another strong performance turned in by freshman Nathan Cremin, who finished fifth in the 800-meter dash with a school-record time of 1:51.79.

Senior Noah Meadows, who moved to No.4 all-time at Gardner-Webb in the 200-meter dash (22.11) last week at VMI, bested that time on Saturday in Columbia as he posted a personal-best 22.03 to finish in 14^th place.

Meadows also posted a personal-best 51.28 in the 400-meter dash which was good for 43^rd overall in the event. Sophomore DJ Black (52.14) was 48^th in the 400-meter while senior Joe Waller (52.40) took 49^th and sophomore Mason Jones (54.13) was 51^st.

Freshman Kaden Pratt posted a 9.43.17 in the men's 3000-metre run, to land at No.19 in the results on Saturday. 

The men's field events saw sophomore Quentin Peterson finish in fourth place in the shot-put as he recorded a throw of 53-11.00.  Peterson, who is now No.5 all-time in the shot-put, was also 12^th in the weight-throw with a 53-01.50 at South Carolina.

Junior Jacoby Johnson, who has had a solid spring in the field events for the Runnin' Bulldogs, followed Peterson in fifth place (52-02.50) in the shot-put event which is good for No.9 on the all-time list.

Gardner-Webb freshman Johnny Timpson was 24^th in the men's long jump with a 19-11.00.

For the Gardner-Webb women's squad, freshman Anna Spencer is now No.4 on the school's all-time list in the 60-meter dash she posted a 7.85 on Saturday.

Spencer (1:00.08) was also 25th in the women's 400-meter dash, two spots behind junior Deborah Marlow (1:00.01), who was 23^rd. 

Sophomore Jessica Perriello recorded a personal-best 5:13.33 in the women's one-mile to finish in 11^th place on the day. Perriello moved to No.4 all-time in Gardner-Webb history in the event.

Senior Jennifer Escalera had a time of 11:32.50 in the 3000-metre run which was good for 15^th place.

The women' field events saw Gardner-Webb graduate student Karmen Taylor finish eighth overall (54-06.00) in the weight-throw. Sophomore Madison Boyd was 12^th in the weight-throw with a 50-04.71.

Sophomore Jada Pittman finished in eighth place in the long jump with a 18-01.00. Freshman Teandra Clemmons (17-00.00) was 16^th and senior Alyiah Eugene (16-10.75) 17^th.
 
In the women's shot-put sophomore Adrionna Coleman (35-10.75) finished 18^th for Gardner-Webb freshman while Isa vanSintemaartensdijk (35-07.75) was 19^th.

The men's 4X400 Meter Relay team of DJ Black, Meadows, Cremin, Ryan Morita finished in eighth place with a time of 3:24.83.
 
The women's 4X400 Meter Relay team of Alena Ivanov, Spencer, Marlow, and Amira Austin placed ninth with a 4:03.46.

"The team had a good meet, with plenty of personal-best performances," said Gardner-Webb track coach Greg Thiel. They also enjoyed watching numerous Olympians perform at the meet. We are looking forward to training for the next two weeks to get ready for out next meet."
 
Up Next – Gardner-Webb will compete at the Virginia Tech Challenge, hosted by Virginia Tech University in two weeks. The two-day event in Blacksburg, Virginia will be held on Friday 2/16 and Saturday 2/17.