Myrtle Beach, S.C. - Carson Sears (Hammer Throw) and Ivana Hughes (400 m Dash) each won individual events to lead Gardner-Webb as the Runnin' Bulldogs competed at the 2012 Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

Gardner-Webb's women's track & field squad finished in 4th place overall with 66 points, just 18 points behind 3rd place Charleston Southern. Six members of the women's team earned All-Conference honors in Myrtle Beach at this weekend's Championships.

Junior Ivana Hughes (Evans, Ga.) took home a 1st place finish in the Women's 400 m Dash. The Gardner-Webb school record holder in the event, Hughes finished with a time of 55.81.

Senior Caroline Arledge (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) led Gardner-Webb in the Javelin Throw with an All-Conference performance, securing a 2nd place finish with a personal best distance of 40.21 m. Grabbing 5th was fellow senior Ann Marie Howell (Mooreville, Miss.), who threw 37.78 m in the event.

Sophomore Katie Spiro (Sylva, N.C.) added a 9th place finish in the Javelin Throw after posting a personal best 34.98 m. Thursday's performance marked the third consecutive time this season Spiro improved on her previous best.

Another senior, the Runnin' Bulldogs' Sarah Herd (Cherryville, N.C.) earned All-Conference honors. Herd finished 3rd in the Women's High Jump with a personal best height of 1.70 m.

In the 400 m Hurdles, junior Leah Steinke (Green Cove Springs, Fla.) posted the 12th best time at 1:07.19.

Hughes tacked on an 8th place finish in the 800 m Run.

Finishing 18th in the 800 m Run was senior Cherish Richardson, as the Augusta, Ga. native achieved a time of 2:26.47 in the event. Spiro followed in 19th, crossing the finish line with a time of 2:27.34.

GWU junior Ashlei Alexander (Queens, N.Y.) shattered her own school record and earned All-Big South honors in the Women's Shot Put, as her 14.41 m throw earned her 2nd place.

Achieving 12th place in the event was junior Stephanie Hamilton (Blair, Neb.), who threw 12.09 m. Junior Yazzming Lee (Paterson, N.J.) followed in 13th, throwing a distance of 12.08 m, and sophomore Kyntoya Hansford (Miami, Fla.) finished 19th after tossing a personal best 11.27 m.

Senior Elisabeth Sawyer (Charlotte, N.C.) gave the Runin' Bulldogs another Top 8 finish, securing 8th place in the 3000 m Steeplechase with a personal best time of 11:28.01.

Two GWU athletes cracked the Top 8 in the Women's Pole Vault, led by Bethany Wright's 3rd place effort at 3.55 m. Wright, a junior from Clayton, Ga., earned All-Conference honors with the performance.

Fellow junior Taylor Cook (Boone, N.C.) added an 8th place finish, recording a height of 3.40 m in the event.

Gardner-Webb's "A" 4 x 400 m Relay team took 3rd, earning All-Conference honors with a season best time of 3:53.61.

Alexander led the Gardner-Webb women in the Hammer Throw, achieving a 7th place finish with a distance of 49.32 m. Sophomore Jasmine Miles (Amelia, Va.) finished 12th at 46.26 m, Lee was 18th at 43.17 m, and Hansford grabbed 20th with a personal best distance of 40.16 m.

In the Women's Discus Throw, Miles paced the GWU effort with a distance of 39.23 m, 11th best in the event. Hansford achieved another personal best at 36.63 m, good enough for 20th.

In the Women's Long Jump, senior Katy Milton (Monroe, N.C.) tied her personal best by jumping 5.30 m, finishing 15th in the event.

Milton added a 16th place effort in the 100 m Dash, finishing with a time of 12.70. Fellow Runnin' Bulldog Nancy Cates finished 18th in the event, sprinting to a time of 13.02.

Sophomore Kristen Hurley (Columbia, Conn.) earned All-Conference honors in the Women's Heptathlon, finishing 2nd with a personal best 4,433 points. Hurley, who won the Pentathlon at 2012 Big South Indoor Championships, posted personal bests in the 800 m Run (2:30.09) and Long Jump (5.21 m) in the event.

Fellow sophomore Olivia Moody (Plano, Ill.) finished in 6th place in the event for the Runnin' Bulldogs, gathering 3,900 points. Moody achieved personal bests in the Long Jump (4.51 m) and Javelin Throw (32.96 m) in the event.

Gardner-Webb was led in the 1500 m Run by Ariel Zimmerman's 15th place showing. The junior from Williamsburg, Va. finished in 4:56.53.

In the 4 x 100 m Relay, GWU's quartet of Milton, Cates, Wright, and Bell teamed up to finish in 6th place, recording a time of 48.67.

Junior T'Keyah Bell (Cherryville, N.C.) achieved the 9th best time in the 400 m Dash, notching a time 58.84.

Ellie Glunk (Carrollton, Va.) finished 19th in the Women's 10,000 m Run, recording a time of 42:56.27 in the event. The senior added a personal record performance in the 5000 m Run, turning in a time of 19:09.03.

Freshman Nicole Saxton (Tampa, Fla.) led the Runnin' Bulldogs in the 200 m Dash, clocking in at a personal best 26.68 to finish 16th. GWU sophomore Ashley Slate (High Point, N.C.) finished 18th with a personal best time of 27.17 in the event.

The Runnin' Bulldog men took 8th place in the standings with 49.50 points. Four different GWU athletes on the men's squad earned All-Big South recognition for their efforts at the 2012 Outdoor Championships.

Sophomore Carson Sears (Suwanee, Ga.) earned his first ever Big South title, taking top honors in the Hammer Throw with a distance of 61.24 m. Also earning All-Conference honors in the event was senior Travis Rogers (Conyers, Ga.), who earned a 3rd place finish with a 54.77 m performance.

Senior C.J. Wise (Butler, Pa.) added a 9th place finish for the Runnin' Bulldogs, throwing 50.17 m. Fellow senior Josh Padgett garnered a 14th place showing, throwing 46.50 m in the Hammer Throw.

Wise threw 50.09 m in the Javelin Throw. The personal best performance netted the senior a 12th place finish in the event.

Gardner-Webb was led in the 800 m Run by Josiah Stanton-Brooks' 3rd place finish. The junior from Seattle, Wa. achieved All-Big South honors with a time of 1:52.52 in the event.

Sophomores Trey Crook (Lexington, N.C.) and Galen Keene (Brevard, N.C.) finished 19th and 21st in the event, clocking in at 2:00.62 and 2:02.51 (PR) respectively. Freshman Nick Rogers (Monroe, Ga.) also achieved a personal best time, recording a time of 2:06.33 in the event.

GWU's Terry Davis turned in an All-Conference performance in the Triple Jump, tying for 3rd place in the event. The sophomore, Wilson, N.C. native put up a new personal best at 14.23 m.

In the 3000 m Steeplechase, sophomore Drew Ford (Wasilla, Ala.) led the Runnin' Bulldogs with a 12th place showing at a personal best 10:02.56. Fellow sophomore Jarrett Willis finished 18th in the event with a time of 10:59.49.

Sophomore Mike McClay (Lawrenceville, Ga.) ran to an 8th place finish in the Men's 10,000 m Run, crossing the finish line in a personal best 31:44.88.

McClay turned in the 11th fastest time in the 5,000 m Run, finishing in 5:08.95.

In the Shot Put, Sears again led the GWU hurlers with a 2nd place finish, earning All-Conference honors with a personal best distance of 16.35 m. The performance reset Sears' school record established earlier this season.

Rogers added an 11th place finish, throwing 14.09 m in the event.

In the Discus Throw, Sears gave GWU a 5th place finish, his third Top 5 performance of the weekend, with a personal record of 48.67 m. Junior Andy Scates (Boiling Springs, N.C.) finished 16th with a distance of 41.35 m, and freshman Nathan Padfield (LaVergne, Tenn.) was 20th at 36.15 m.

Sophomore Johnathan Parks (Douglasville, Ga.) finished 4th in the Men's 400 m Hurdles, achieving a time of 54.40 to lead GWU in the event.

Parks (Douglasville, Ga.) also led GWU in the 110 m Hurdles, finishing 10th with a time of 15.16.

Gardner-Webb was led in the Men's Long Jump by freshman Chris Darden (Athens, Ga.), who finished 9th with a distance of 6.89 m. Sophomore Tavarus Ferguson (Evans, Ga.) took 15th in the event after jumping 6.51 m.

Darden also led GWU in the High Jump, recording a season best height of 1.86 m to finish 9th in the event. Another GWU freshman, Miles Harris, finished 12th at 1.81 m.

Freshman Ben Bell (Greensboro, N.C.) was 8th in the Decathlon, posting a personal best 5,377 points. Bell recorded personal bests in five different segments of the event: Discus Throw (27.40 m), 1500 m Run (4:53.93), 400 m Dash (54.18), High Jump (1.80 m), and Shot Put (10.67 m).

Gardner-Webb's "A" 4 x 100 m Relay team raced to a 6th place finish. Parks, Darden, Marquise Joyce, and Ferguson combined to finish in 42.75.

Gardner-Webb All-Conference performers

Women:

Ivana Hughes (1st, 400 m Dash)

Kristen Hurley (2nd, Heptathlon)

Caroline Arledge (2nd, Javelin)

Ashlei Alexander (2nd, Shot Put)

Sarah Herd (3rd, High Jump)

Bethany Wright (3rd, Pole Vault)

4x400 m Relay

Men:

Carson Sears (1st, Hammer Throw; 2nd, Shot Put)

Travis Rogers (3rd, Hammer Throw)

Josiah Stanton-Brooks (3rd, 800 m Run)

Terry Davis (3rd, Triple Jump)