Boone, N.C. - Gardner-Webb kicked off the 2010 calendar year on Friday, recording 22 top-10 finishes combined between both the women's and men's teams at the Appalachian Opener in Boone, N.C.

The women's team notched 12 top-10 finishes on Friday, with six freshmen contributing in the team's first meet of the New Year.

Freshman Ashlei Alexander took second-place in the shot put with a throw of 12.61 meters in her college debut, while fellow newcomer Ariel Zimmerman crossed the finish line in second-place with her time of 2:26.46 in the 800 meter run.

Fellow freshman Taylor Cook cleared the bar at 3.35 meters in the pole vault event, placing her in third-place overall, finishing ahead of teammate Carrie Long who also cleared the bar at 3.35 meters on Friday afternoon.

Senior Brie Thompson took fourth in the weight throw event with her throw of 12.08 meters, while sophomores Sarah Herd and Ann Marie Howell finished fourth and sixth, respectively, in the high jump event with heights of 1.63 meters and 1.58 meters.

In the 1 mile run, junior Laura Scott finished fourth overall with her time of 5.33.62, finishing just ahead of fellow teammate Diana Palka who took fifth-place with a time of 5:35.37.

While Zimmerman finished second in the 800 meter run, two other freshmen finished in the top-10 in the same event, as Ivana Hughes took sixth with a time of 2:30.42 and Leah Steinke finished in seventh with her time of 2:31.19.

GWU's Hughes also joined up with Katy Milton, Cherish Richardson and Bethany Wright to take seventh-place overall in the 4 x 400 meter relay with a time of 4:20.78.

On the men's side, the Bulldogs tallied 10 top-10 finishes highlighted by sophomore Nick Kelly's third-place finish in the 1 mile run with his time of 4:27.80.

After finishing third in his preliminary heat in the 55 meter hurdles event with a time of 7.93, GWU's Johnathan Rucker took fifth-place in the finals, crossing the finish line with a time of 7.89.  Rucker also recorded a fifth-place finish in the high jump, clearing the bar at 1.89 meters.

Fellow teammate Evan Brusich also picked up a top-10 finish in the high jump event, finishing in eighth with a leap of 1.79 meters. 

Staying in the field events, redshirt-sophomore Christoph Hutschalik finished sixth in the weight throw with a toss of 14.83 meters, while sophomore Travis Rogers took ninth in the shot put with a throw of 12.63 meters. 

In the men's pole vault event, freshman Steven Gardner finished 10th, clearing the bar at 3.95 meters in his college debut.

Freshman Josiah Stanton-Brooks crossed the finish line in fifth-place in the 800 meter run with his time of 1:58.34, while redshirt-senior Charlie Steinke finished ninth with a finals time of 2:02.81.

Steinke teamed up with his brother, Paul Steinke, and freshmen Gardner and Bo Miller to cross the finish line in sixth-place with a time of 3:34.22 in the 4 x 400 meter relay.

Both the men's and women's track and field teams will return to action next weekend, January 22-23, as the Bulldogs will compete in the Niswonger Invitational hosted by East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tenn.

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