May 15, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- Four members of the Samford track and field team will compete in the Georgia Tech Invitational this Friday and Saturday, May 16-17, at the George C. Griffin Track in Atlanta, Ga. The two-day event is expected to features over 1,200 athletes from colleges and universities across the nation.

The Georgia Tech Invitational marks the last chance most collegiate athletes will have to earn a qualifying mark for the NCAA Regionals.

Freshman Hillary Neal will compete in the 800-meter event Saturday. Neal holds the school record in the 800 meters (2:11.05) and the 1500 meters (4:28.87) and qualified for Regionals in both events at the OVC Championships.

Sophomore Morgan Tyler will attempt to qualify in the triple jump and the 400-meter hurdles on Saturday while Ashley Flowers will try for a qualifying time in the 400-meter dash.

The only male competing for the Bulldogs this weekend will be senior Michael Smith. Smith qualified for the 400-meter hurdles April 19 at the UGA Bulldog Unlimited with a time of 52.39. He will run in the same event this weekend while also trying to qualify in the 400-meter dash.

The meet gets underway Friday at noon with the men's hammer throw. Running events will begin at 6 p.m. with the men's 110-meter hurdles. Saturday's events start with the women's high jump at 11 a.m. All events that Samford will compete in are on Saturday. Morgan Tyler will start for the Bulldogs in the triple jump at 1:30 p.m. ET. Hillary Neal will follow with the 800 meters at 2:30 p.m. ET with the 400-meter dash at 4 p.m. ET featuring Flowers and Smith. At 5:10 p.m. ET, Smith and Tyler will compete in the 400-meter hurdles.

Live stats for the Georgia Tech Invitational will be provided by Delta Timing and will be available on the official Georgia Tech website. www.ramblinwreck.com. A full recap and results will be available on www.samfordsports.com at the conclusion of the event.