MONTREAT, N.C. – The University of Pikeville men's and women's track and field opened up their outdoor season in a two-day meet hosted by Montreat College. 

Day 1 of the Montreat Open included all track events for the Bears. On the men side, Jay'Qwan Walker hit new personal best in the 400m open and 400m Hurdles, going 51.81 and 1:01.80. Giovanni Jones also smashed his PR in the 400m, going 52.29. Jones would also set new PRs in the 100m and 200m as well. To round off the sprint side, Gunter Young joined in on the 400m PR squad, going 54.51. 

The Men's mid-distance squad saw several school records and personal best fall, led by Joshue Martinez who added two more school records under his belt, going 4:17.54 in the 1500m and 1:58.22 in the 800m to finish fifth overall. Bruce Coleman and Carter Hamilton set new outdoor PR's in the 800m, with Coleman also running the 1500m to set a PR time of 5:00.48.
 
The women's squad next, led by a first-place finish by Carlie Osborne in the 400m with a time of 59.69, which breaks her previous school record by nearly half a second.  She also would have top seven finishes in both the 100m and 200m dash, going 13:02 and 26.92.
 
Faith Newsome had a very solid opener, finishing in the top 10 in the 400m (7th) and 100m (10th), she also ran a very solid 200m. Jaida Garrett earned a new PR in the 100m, going 13.44. Garrett would also run her fasted 200m this year.
 
Gisele Young would go on to run her fastest 400m in nearly two years, going 1:09.17. Morgan Tuttle and Alison Cantrell would go on to run new PRs in their respective events, with Tuttle going 2:59 in the 800m and Cantrell going 7:45 in the 1500m to close out day one for the Bears.
 
Day 2 of the Montreat Open started at the discus ring for the Bears. The group was led by Zeke Hagley, who set a new personal record and school record with a throw of 48.92m (160'‑06"), finishing 3rd in a field of 37.
 
 Also setting new personal records in the discus were Adam Wooton (37.55m), Matthew Edwards (34.67m), and Wyatt Fielder (33.50m). Alex Rogers recorded a throw of 41.06m, and Devonte Gordon finished with 32.13m.
 
After discus, the team moved to the long jump, where Alex Harris and Zack Mason lit up the runway. Both athletes jumped new personal bests. Harris finished 3rd with a mark of 6.56m (21'‑6.25"), while Mason placed 5th with a jump of 6.38m (20'‑11.25").
 
Mason followed up his performance in the long jump with a win in the men's high jump, clearing 1.91m.
The team then returned to the rings for the men's shot put. Hagley placed 2nd with a throw of 15.11m, while Rogers finished 6th with a mark of 13.49m. Additional shot-put marks included Wooton (12.28m), Edwards (12.05m), Gordon (9.96m), and Fielder (9.18m).
 
Following shot put, the throws group headed to the hammer cage, where personal records continued to fall. Hagley won the hammer throw, setting a new PR with a mark of 53.07m (174'‑01"). Rogers finished 4th, also with a personal best of 45.68m.
 
Others setting PRs included Edwards (35.54m), Wooton (32.01m), Gordon (26.42m), and Fielder (24.30m).
 
The Bears will be back in action next week on March 28 at the Landon Bond Invitational, hosted by Berea College, beginning at 12:30 p.m.