Date Posted: 5/16/2008

CLEMSON, S.C. - Carrie Long broke the conference's record for the pole vault helping Gardner-Webb to a 14.67-point lead after the first day of the 2008 Atlantic Sun Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships being contested at Clemson's Rock Norman Track and Field Complex.

Long broke the league's two-year-old record in the event, 3.55m, set by former Runnin' Bulldog Kelly Bridges after clearing 3.70m. Her teammates Elizabeth Maxwell and Sarah Wyszyski, earned podium finishes as Maxwell took second in the hammer throw and Wyszyski earned second in the javelin.

UNF sits in second after Emily Kohler bested Wyszyski in the javelin and Amanda Davey took second in the 10,000-meter run. Belmont holds the third position with 23 points. Brittany Thune coasted to victory in the 10,000, defeating Davey by over 30 seconds.

The reigning Indoor Outstanding Field Performer, Jacksonville's Natasha Harvey, emerged as the leader after four events of the heptathlon. She placed first in the eight-woman event in the 100-meter hurdles and the 200-meter dash, totaling over 1,800 points in those two events. In addition, she placed second in the shot put and tied for third in the high jump.

"I did hit the ninth hurdle so I was a little bit nervous about that," Harvey said. "I set [the race] up well; I tried to go fast in between [the hurdles] and get over the hurdles as fast as I could."

The junior owns a 173-point lead on the second-place competitor, her teammate, Tiffany Bromfield with the long jump, javelin and 800-meter run scheduled for Saturday morning. Harvey won the long jump for the second straight year with a jump of 6.48m (21-03.25). She only needed one attempt to set the bar for the championship, choosing to pass on her final five attempts. Her teammate Shaquania Lundy finished second to account for 18 of the Dolphins' 21.33 points.

Kennesaw State finished day one in fifth with 16.33 points, followed by ETSU with 10 points and Campbell with nine.

The women's championship concludes on Saturday with the final three events of the heptathlon, the triple jump, the discus throw, the steeplechase, the 400-meter relay, the 1,500-meter run, the high jump, the shot put, the 110-meter hurdles, the 400-meter dash, the 100-meter dash, the 800-meter run, the 400-meter hurdles, the 200-meter dash, the 5,000-meter run and wrapping up with the 1,600-meter relay.

The Atlantic Sun Conference is a 12-member league committed to Building Winners for Life, with a focus on academic and athletic integrity and a balance between the two for the student-athlete, and maintaining a high level of sportsmanship. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun encompasses six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun consists of some of the most dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Gardner-Webb University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.

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