Bulldogs Have Historic Day At NCAA East Preliminaries
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Samford University track and field team made history on Friday, May 29, as for the first time in program history the Bulldogs will send more than one student-athlete in a season to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
In a span of no more than an hour, three Bulldogs punched their tickets to Eugene for the first time in their career. Redshirt freshman Tray Oates was the first to make it through after his performance in the men's pole vault.
The Acworth, Georgia native had only competed in three meets during the outdoor season but turned in a solid performance with a 5.25m (17' 2.75") vault. Oates was one of only two freshmen to qualify for the championships out of the east region.
Junior Brandon Hazouri and freshman Keyth Fightmaster followed shortly behind Oates as each posted a qualifying time and mark in their respective events.
Hazouri ran in the quarterfinals of the men's 800 meters and notched a school-record time of 1:47.28. He ran in the final heat of the quarterfinals and finished fourth in the heat right behind the top three qualifying times. Hazouri's time not only secured him a spot at the NCAA Championships but also will be the first ever Samford athlete to compete at the USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships which will be held on on June 25-28, in Eugene.
Moments later Fightmaster earned his spot after he cruised his way through as he tied with a first place finish height of 2.13m (6' 11.75") in the high jump that was good enough to send him to the championships. The Calhoun, Georgia native passed on the first height of the day then cleared the next three marks in consecutive attempts without a fault.
The Bulldogs capped off the evening with one final event as freshman Sarah Sanford attempted to continue her season and join her teammates at the NCAA Championships in Eugene but came up just short of a qualifying time.
Sanford advanced to the quarterfinals in the women's 400 meter hurdles after she ran a 58.64 a day earlier in the event. The Hoover, Alabama native finished 17th overall in the quarterfinals after she turned in a time of 58.57.Keyth Fightmaster
Keyth Fightmaster
Three more Bulldogs will have the opportunity to join Oates, Hazouri and Fightmaster in Eugene as Adam Jones will run in the men's 1,500 meters, Aresene Guillorel in the men's 5,000 meters and Javion Lee will compete in the triple jump tomorrow.
School Record Falls on Day Two of NCAA East Preliminary
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Senior Abraham Faison used his final time on the track to etch his name in the Western Carolina outdoor track & field record book as he and his teammates competed at the NCAA East Preliminary Friday afternoon. Faison broke a 16-year old program record in the 110m hurdles as he missed out on qualifying for the NCAA quarterfinals by a tenth of a second.
Faison finished fourth in the opening heat of the 110m hurdles. He finished just a fraction of a second behind the third place finisher Sancho Barrett of Penn State who earned the automatic berth to the quarterfinals. Faison, who stopped the clock at 14.12, broke Rahsaan Uldaneta's WCU record of 14.13 set back in 1999. Overall, Faison finished 29th in the event.
Senior Alisha Bradshaw was the first Catamount to compete on Friday as she finished 46th overall in the women's discus with a toss of 43.19m (141-08). Bradshaw also ends her career atop the WCU record book as she set the school mark in the discus earlier this season.
Senior Xaviera Bass picked up a 37th place finish in the women's 100m hurdles. She finished seventh in the very first heat with a time of 13.65. Bass is another senior who closes out her career with a WCU record. Bass recently set the program mark in the 100m hurdles at the Aggie Last Chance meet.
Junior Tayla Carter was the final Catamount to compete on Friday. Carter finished 34th overall in the 200m with a time of 23.96. This marks the third straight year Carter has advanced to the NCAA East Preliminary in both the 100m and 200m events.
Sophomore Anisia Starege will close out the Catamounts participation at the 2015 NCAA East Preliminary on Saturday as she competes in the women's high jump at 6 p.m.
ETSU's Edgecombe Advances to 100mH quarterfinal at NCAA Regional
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Senior Dede Edgecombe turned in a record-setting performance to keep her collegiate career alive on Friday night at the NCAA East Regional.
Edgecombe moved one step closer to qualifying for the NCAA Championship as the Buccaneer hurdler – who entered the meet as ETSU’s record holder in the 100mH – bested her mark by three-hundredths of a second by clocking in at 13.32 inside North Florida’s Hodges Stadium. The Spartanburg, S.C., native placed 18th out of 48 competitors and automatically qualified for the quarterfinal by finishing third in the second heat.
Kentucky’s Kendra Harrison won the first round of the 100mH with a time of 12.66.
Edgecombe, the Southern Conference Most Outstanding Track Performer and Most Outstanding Athlete, will race in the 100mH quarterfinal Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. For Edgecombe to advance to the NCAA Championship in Eugene, Ore., the Buccaneer hurdler will need to either finish in the top three of her heat or post one of the next three fastest qualifying times.
Meanwhile, as Edgecombe was breaking the hurdles record, sophomore Brett Squibbs was competing in the pole vault.
Squibbs saw his season come to an end by placing 17th with a season-best mark of 5.15m (16-10.75). The Buccaneer sophomore cleared his first two heights of 4.85m and 5.00m on his second attempt, while coming through at 5.15m on his third and final try. Unfortunately, Squibbs couldn’t clear his three attempts at 5.25m (17-02.75), which was the qualifying mark for nationals.
Hurt Advances To NCAA Semifinals After Setting New Paladin Record In 3,000m Steeplechase
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Paladin senior Tripp Hurt broke his own school record and advanced to the NCAA semifinal race after placing second in his heat and ninth overall with a time of 8:41.63 in the 3,000m Steeplechase Friday at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field East Preliminaries in Jacksonville, Fla. The top three finishers in each heat plus the next three best times advanced to the semifinals, which will be held in Eugene, Ore., June 10-13.
A senior from Bogart, Ga., Hurt qualified for the regional meet in the event after recording a time of 8:47.76 at the Virginia Challenge last month. Last season, he finished 20th with a time of 8:57.27 in the 3,000m Steeplechase national semifinals after placing sixth with a time of 8:44.28, the previous Paladin record, in the event at the NCAA East Regional.
Hurt, the 2015 Furman Male Athlete of the Year, was named the SoCon Men's Cross Country Runner of the Year after winning the individual title and leading the Paladins to their second-straight conference team championship. He was also named the SoCon Men's Indoor Track Most Outstanding Athlete and Most Outstanding Performer after winning the league title in both the 3,000m and 5,000m in February. The first Furman men's runner to earn All-SoCon honors four-consecutive years for cross country, Hurt helped the Paladins to a second-place finish at the NCAA regional cross country meet, where he led the team with an eighth place finish to earn all-region honors.
Allie Buchalski, a redshirt freshman from Johns Creek, Ga., competed in the women's 3,000m Steeplechase on Friday, turning in a time of 10:30.32 to place 40th in the event. Buchalski holds the Furman record of 10:13.10 in the event, which she set at the Stanford Invitational in April.
Hurt will join Paladin senior Sinead Haughey, who placed seventh with a time of 34:05.80 in the 10,000m Thursday, in competing at the meet in Eugene.