Samford Bulldogs take Day 1 lead at Indoor Track & Field Championships

LEXINGTON, Va. – Samford’s men and women lead the Southern Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships after Friday’s opening day of competition at the VMI Corps Physical Training Facility. 

Samford’s men totaled 59 points to take a 15‑point lead over Furman as they pursue their seventh straight championship. On the women’s side, Samford closed day one with 71 points to sit atop the standings. 

Samford’s Bradley Franklin delivered one of the day’s biggest performances, breaking the 60m hurdles record and posting the top NCAA Division I time this season with a 7.45 in the preliminary round. The sophomore improved his championship‑meet mark from last year by .15 seconds. Franklin also broke the men’s 60m dash record by .09 seconds, clocking a 6.64—both marks personal bests for the reigning 60m hurdles champion. 

Furman continued its dominance in the women’s distance medley relay, winning the event for the 10th straight year with a season‑best 11:20.41, setting a new conference championship record. 

Wofford’s Sherika Christie became a two‑time pentathlon champion, earning the first women’s gold medal of the meet with 3,794 points. The junior posted the top marks in the 60m hurdles, shot put, and long jump on her way to the title, extending Wofford’s streak to six consecutive pentathlon victories. Christie also claimed her second straight women’s long jump title with a season‑best leap of 6.05m. 

On the men’s side, VMI’s Zachary Denton earned the first gold medal of the meet with a winning jump of 7.26m in the long jump. He becomes the second straight Keydet to win the event, following Keyandre Midgett’s titles in 2024 and 2025. 

Furman junior Brayden Seymour ran a personal best of 8:08.88 to win the men’s 3000m and lead a Paladin sweep, with Albert Velikonja and Christopher Knight finishing second and third. A Furman athlete has now won the event for five consecutive years. 

The Paladins also struck gold in the women’s 3000m and women’s DMR. Freshman Tessa Walter won the 3000m in 9:44.20, becoming the fourth Furman runner in five years to claim the title. 

Samford added two more women’s titles as senior JT Shaw won the shot put with a throw of 13.83m, and teammate Lindsey Havens cleared 3.94m to win the pole vault. 

Samford’s men also collected multiple golds, including the DMR relay team, which finished in 10:03.90. Carl Henry won the men’s shot put with a mark of 16.14m after entering the meet with the league’s top performance. Arthur Chitty reclaimed his conference crown in the men’s high jump, becoming a two‑time champion with a clearance of 2.09m. 

The SoCon Championships resume Sunday with the heptathlon beginning at 9 a.m. Live results, daily recaps, and photos are available at SoConSports.com. Day two coverage begins on ESPN+ at 11:30 a.m. ET. 

*Italics: Meet record