SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Furman’s Ryan Adams and Bethany Graham have been named the Southern Conference men’s and women’s outdoor track athletes of the week, respectively, while Samford’s Justin Stuckey and Maggie Johnston have claimed men’s and women’s field honors, respectively.
 
Selections were made by panels of the league’s track and field coaches and included all competition from April 14-20.
 
Furman’s Adams claimed his second straight weekly honor by turning in a school record in the 1,500-meter run at Eastern Kentucky’s Rick Erdmann Twilight on Saturday. The senior from Hudson, Ohio, finished first in the event, clocking 3:37.82 to lower the school record he set just a week prior. His time leads the SoCon by four seconds and ranks fifth on the NCAA Division I Outdoor Qualifying List.
 
Furman’s Graham was also in action at the Rick Erdmann Twilight. The Aldie, Virginia, native won the 5,000-meter run in a personal-best time of 15:57.92, taking more than 12 second off her previous best mark. Graham’s time was also a Furman freshman record, as she became one of just five Paladins to record a sub-16:00 time in the event and the first rookie. Graham’s time leads the SoCon by nearly 14 seconds and ranks 17^th in the NCAA East Region and 29^th on the NCAA Division I Outdoor Qualifying List. The weekly award is her second of the season.
 
Samford’s Stuckey was in action at Auburn’s War Eagle Invitational on Friday and Saturday. The junior from Helena, Alabama, won the high jump Saturday with a personal-best and school-record leap of 2.21 meters, which leads the SoCon by 0.21 meters and ranks fifth in the NCAA East Region and eighth on the NCAA Division I Outdoor Qualifying List. Stuckey also competed in the long jump for the first time this season on Friday, finishing seventh with an effort of 6.80 meters, good for fourth in the SoCon this season.
 
Also competing at the War Eagle Invitational, Samford’s Johnston finished third Saturday in the discus with a personal-best and school-record mark of 53.35 meters, supplanting her own record from a week ago by more than a meter. Her mark leads the SoCon by nearly 10 meters and ranks 18^th in the NCAA East Region and 38^th on the NCAA Division I Outdoor Qualifying List. The senior from Macon, Georgia, also finished 10^th in the shot put (13.98 meters) on Saturday and 17^th in the hammer throw (49.22 meters) on Friday. Johnston’s SoCon weekly award is her second straight and third this season, pushing her career outdoor total to six, second in league history only to Furman’s Allie Buchalski, who had seven from 2015-18.
 
2021 Southern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week
Men’s track
March 25          Michael McMahan, Samford
March 31          Daniel Bernal, Furman
April 7               Titus Moore, Samford
April 14             Ryan Adams, Furman
April 21             Ryan Adams, Furman
 
Men’s field
March 25          Solomon Ghosh, VMI
March 31          Mac Bennett, Western Carolina
April 7               Sam Blumer, The Citadel
April 14             JP Caglione, The Citadel
April 21             Justin Stuckey, Samford
 
Women’s track
March 25          Amanda Dumar, Samford
March 31          Bethany Graham, Furman
April 7               Cherrish Wright, Mercer
April 14             Gabbi Jennings, Furman
April 21             Bethany Graham, Furman
 
Women’s field
March 25          Maggie Johnston, Samford
March 31          Milan Williams, The Citadel
April 7               Georgia McDevitt, Wofford
April 14             Maggie Johnston, Samford
April 21             Maggie Johnston, Samford