SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Samford claimed three of the four Southern Conference indoor track and field athlete of the week awards Wednesday, with José Peñalver earning men’s track honors, Justin Stuckey taking men’s field honors and Morayo Bhadmos claiming women’s field honors. Furman’s Emma Kuntz was named the women’s track athlete of the week.
 
Selections were made by panels of the league’s track and field coaches and included all competition from Feb. 3-9.
 
Samford’s Peñalver turned in a pair of record-setting podium finishes at South Alabama’s Jaguar Invitational at the Birmingham Crossplex on Sunday, winning the 800-meter run and running a leg on the Bulldogs’ second-place 4x400-meter relay unit. The junior from Plantation, Florida, claimed the 800m in a meet-record time of 1:50.42, which leads the SoCon, is the second-best time in program history, and is good for 21st on the NCAA Division I Indoor Qualifying List this season. Peñalver and his relay teammates combined to post a program-record time of 3:16.85 in the 4x400m, which also leads the SoCon.
 
At the same meet, Samford’s Stuckey competed in a pair of jumps, finishing third in the high jump with a SoCon-leading mark of 2.11 meters (6 feet, 11 inches) and coming in eighth in the long jump with a leap of 6.93 meters (22 feet, 9 inches), which is good for third in the SoCon this season. The junior from Helena, Alabama, is 22nd on the NCAA indoor performance chart in the high jump with his Sunday effort.
 
Samford’s Bhadmos won the triple jump at the Jaguar Invitational on Sunday, turning in a leap of 12.42 meters (40 feet, 9 inches) to match her personal-best mark. The senior from Powder Springs, Georgia, leads the SoCon by 0.60 meters in the event and ranks 51st on the NCAA performance list.
 
Furman’s Kuntz ran in a pair of events at the South Carolina Invitational on Saturday, finishing second in the 800-meter run and running the second leg of the Paladins’ fourth-place distance medley relay. The senior from Louisville, Kentucky, turned in a SoCon-leading time of 2:07.91 in the 800m, which ranks 22nd on the NCAA Division I Indoor Qualifying List, and ran her 400-meter leg on the relay in 57.811 seconds.
 
2020-21 Southern Conference Indoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week
Men’s track
Jan. 27    Cameron Ponder, Furman
Feb. 3      Johnnie Walker, VMI
Feb. 10    José Peñalver, Samford
 
Men’s field
Jan. 27    Jed Sisco, Samford
Feb. 3      Tanner Henry, Wofford
Feb. 10    Justin Stuckey, Samford
 
Women’s track
Jan. 27    Megan Marvin, Furman
Feb. 3      Ariana Ruffin, VMI
Feb. 10    Emma Kuntz, Furman
 
Women’s field
Jan. 27    Madeline McNinch, Wofford
Feb. 3      Megan Dunn, Wofford
Feb. 10    Morayo Bhadmos, Samford