FINAL TEAM STANDINGS (PDF) | FINAL EVENT RESULTS (PDF) | DAY ONE RECAP

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. ---- Samford wrapped up its weekend at the 2013 SoCon Indoor Track and Field Championships Sunday, as they crowned seven more champions en route to a second-place finish for the men's team and a third-place finish for the women.
 
Samford's seven champions today and five yesterday give them a grand total of 12 for the weekend.  The Bulldogs added a number of other individual distinctions as well, including Head Coach Rod Tiffin being named the Men's Coach of the Year for the third time in his Samford career.

“I am excited to be a part of this group," said Tiffin, "and I am so thankful for the way we fought and scrapped out there today to put ourselves in a position to do well on both the men's and women's sides.  For our men's title hopes to come down to the mile relay again this year was very bittersweet.  Being down 1.5 points to Appalachian State going into the relay and coming up just a bit short was heartbreaking.”
 
Freshman Steven Bastien made a fantastic debut at the championships, winning two individual titles along with being named the Men's Most Outstanding Field Performer and the Men's Freshman of the Year.  Samford has now won the Men's Most Outstanding Field Performer two-straight years and this is the first time a Samford athlete has won the Men's Freshman of the Year award during the indoor season, as Bob Elliot II won it during the 2012 outdoor season.
 
Lauren D'Alessio's astounding three individual championships on the track helped earn her Women's Most Outstanding Athlete and Women's Most Outstanding Track Performer honors.  This is the first time Samford has won either award since joining the SoCon in the 2008-09 season.

“We had a lot of success stories out there this weekend," said Tiffin.  "Lauren went out there and did something that had never been done at the indoor meet, winning her three distance events.  Bob Elliot II came out and set a school record in the triple jump in his first competition this year after having to sit out all season due to injuries."
 
Appalachian State won the men's title over Samford by 4.5 points while the Western Carolina women edged out Appalachian State by 5.5 points and Samford by 10.

For Tiffin however, the most important takeaway from the weekend wasn't any specific individual accomplishments, but the selflessness and work ethic this team showed during the meet.

“We had a lot of people like Ben Davies and others doing yeoman's work out there this weekend.  There were plenty of people who had to compete in two or three events.  Ben gave up several individual accolades in the heptathlon for the benefit of the team, notably forgoing the heptathlon's 1,000 meters and the jump-off in the pole vault so he could be fresher for his other events.  Someone like Ben could have easily been the Athlete of the Meet, but our team is very selfless and cares more about the group than the individual.

“It was really amazing watching these kids push themselves past their own limits.  It's weekends like this that makes me very proud to be a part of this team and this University.”
 
Samford completed a dominating sweep in the men's heptathlon Sunday, as all six of Samford's competitors finished in the top six spots. Bastien used a third-place finish in the final event to propel himself to a title in the men's heptathlon, his second SoCon championship of the weekend.  This is now the third-straight year Samford has won the men's heptathlon at the indoor conference meet.  Brandon Bassett (4,658), Cody Russell (4,558), Ben Davies (4,450), Josh Davies (4,329) and Bo Ackerson-Gilroy (4,294) rounded out the rest of Samford's competitors.
 
After winning a title in the women's 3,000 meters yesterday, D'Alessio claimed two more titles on Sunday.  Her first came in the women's mile, winning in 4:57.60 as one of only two competitors to run under five minutes.  Freshman Rachel Wooten made it to the podium with a third-place finish and personal-best time of 5:04.82 while Chelsea Treadway added more team points in sixth (5:06.42).  D'Alessio's second win came in the 5,000 meters, where she set a facility record, leading the pack in 17:05.48 with Rachel Roberts close behind in third (17:14.88).
 
A trio of Bulldogs were able to successfully defend their titles from last season.  Justin Emerson won the men's 60-meter dash (6.85) with Owen Wagoner adding more points in sixth (6.98).  In the women's 800 meters, Marie Demedicis set a new JDL Fast Track facility record, winning the event in 2:11.20 followed closely by Anna Laura Irvine in fourth (2:13.40).  Emily Allen became a two-time champion in the women's triple jump, beating the field Sunday with a best jump of 39-2.5 (11.95m).
 
After winning yesterday's prelims in the men's 800 meters, Nathan Hendershot repeated the feat in the finals, claiming a SoCon championship by winning the event in 1:53.68.  Adam Jones tacked on more team points with a sixth-place finish (1:55.49).
 
Elliot II broke his own school record in the triple jump, placing fourth in the event in 47-2.25 (14.38m), which beats his previous record of 46-10.75 (14.29m).  In the men's 60-meter hurdles, Ackerson-Gilroy finished as the runner-up in the event (8.22) while Ashley Cope finished third in the women's race (8.79).  Cope added more points in the women's pole vault as all three of Samford's competitors earned team points, led by Claire Goodson in third (12-3.5, 3.75m) with Laura Bedsole in fifth (11-9.75, 3.60m) and Cope in seventh (11-9.75, 3.60m).
 
Brandon Hazouri and Layton Dorsett finished back-to-back in the men's mile, placing fourth (4:14.81) and fifth (4:15.12), respectively.  Jonathon Bush scored in three events today, placing fourth in the 400-meter dash (49.49), sixth in the 200-meter dash (22.64) and fourth as the lead leg in the men's 1,600-meter relay (3:12.13) along with Bastien, Hendershot and Davies.  The women's mile relay team of Cope, Christian McGuire, Danielle Blanco and Demedicis also finished fourth (3:57.17).  Katelyn Poole was the Bulldogs' leader in the women's weight throw, tossing a personal-best distance of 52-10.75 (16.12m) to place sixth.