Samford Sends Three to NCAA Track and Field Championships
EUGENE, Ore. - The Samford University track and field team will send more than one athlete to the NCAA Track and Championships for the first time in school history. Redshirt freshman Tray Oates, junior Brandon Hazouri and freshman Keyth Fightmaster will each compete at the four-day event, held in Eugene, Ore. this week.
Oates, a native of Acworth, Ga., had only competed in three meets during the outdoor season prior to the NCAA East Regional Prelims but turned in a solid performance with a 5.25m (17' 2.75") in the pole vault. Oates was one of only two freshmen to qualify for the championships out of the east region.
Hazouri ran in the quarterfinals of the men's 800 meters and notched a school-record time of 1:47.28 at the NCAA East Regionals. 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.
Fightmaster earned his spot just moments later 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, Ga. native passed on the first height of the day then cleared the next three marks in consecutive attempts without a fault.
Hurt & Haughey To Compete At NCAA Championships Beginning Wednesday
EUGENE, Ore. - Furman seniors Tripp Hurt and Sinead Haughey will compete at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Ore., beginning Wednesday.
Hurt will compete in the 3,000m Steeplechase. The national semifinals of the event will be held Wednesday, June 10, at 4:38 p.m. (PDT), with the top five finishers in each of the two heats plus the next two best times advancing to the finals, which are scheduled for 4:57 p.m. (PDT) on Friday, June 12.
Hurt, a senior from Bogart, Ga., 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 at the NCAA East Preliminary meet two weeks ago in Jacksonville. He finished 20th last season with a time of 8:57.27 in the national semifinals of the event after placing sixth with a time of 8:44.28, the previous Paladin record, at the NCAA East Preliminaries.
The 2015 Furman Male Athlete of the Year, Hurt 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.
Haughey will compete in the finals of the 10,000m on Thursday, June 11, at 6:38 p.m. (PDT). A senior from Central, S.C., she advanced to the finals after placing seventh with a time of 34:05.80 at the NCAA East Preliminaries two weeks ago. Haughey qualified for the regional meet in the event for the second-straight year after recording a time of 33:53.34 to set a new Paladin record at the Stanford Invitational in April.
Haughey, who was chosen the Paladins’ Team MVP for outdoor track and field for the second-consecutive season, bested her own school record in the 5,000m with a time of 16:26.04 at the Raleigh Relays in March. She won the league title in the 5,000m with a time of 17:04.84 and finished fifth with a time of 4:23.40 in the 1,500m at the SoCon outdoor meet. Haughey also holds Paladin indoor records in the 3,000m (9:27.51) and the 5,000m (16:35.17).