May 14, 2011
CLEMSON, S.C. ---- The Samford track and field team rounded out competition Saturday in the Clemson Final Qualifier. No Bulldog athletes were able to record a qualifying mark but a couple of Bulldogs won their respective events and topped their personal bests.
Hillary Neal won the unseeded 800 meters with a time of 2:09.71 while Lauren D'Alessio took third place with a personal best of 2:14.25.
Alex Richter came in 22nd in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.36 and took 13th in the 400-meter dash with a time of 49.24.
Tyler Kemp tied for sixth place in the high jump with a height of 6-05.00 while Oliver Thomas and Brandon Bassett took second and fourth places, respectively in the javelin throw. Thomas tossed a mark of 203-10 while Bassett threw 188-03.
Although Samford could not add to its qualifying pool this weekend, the Bulldogs will take seven athletes to the NCAA East Preliminary in two weeks which is the first round of the NCAA Championship. The meet will be held in Indianapolis, Ind., May 26-28.
As it stands, this will be the largest group in Samford history that has qualified for the regional meet.
Blaise Carie qualified for the first round in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with his school-record performance at the Southern Conference Championships three weeks ago. The performance ranks 33rd in the East region.
All three members of Samford's men's pole vault group, who swept the podium at the SoCon Championships, have qualified for the first round. Michael Seaman ranks 11th in the region with his mark of 17-01.00 from the FSU Twilight while Owen Wagoner and Patrick Wells are tied for 37th with a mark of 16-06.75.
Samford men's hammer record-holder Kyle Kirby ranks 27th in the event with his record of 196-00 from the Walt Disney World Invitational.
Brandon Bassett and Thomas Oliver are ranked 28th and 38th, respectively, in the javelin. Last week, Bassett notched a new school record of 212-09 in the event at the FSU Twilight, topping teammate Thomas Oliver's previous school record.
