BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --The Samford University track and field teams notched a flurry of super performances at the South Alabama Jaguar Invitational on Sunday, Feb. 7.

Held at the Birmingham Crossplex on Super Bowl Sunday, Bulldog athletes set a pair of school records, posted six top-five performances and recorded a number of personal bests.

In only the third meet of her young career, freshman thrower Tatiana Taylor broke the existing indoor school record in the women's weight throw, recording a  personal-best heave of 17.53 meters (57-6 ¼). A native of Kennesaw, Georgia, Taylor earned a third-place finish in the event before setting another personal record of 12.45 meters (40-10 ¼) in the women's shot put later in the meet.

"She's doing exactly what we recruited her to do," head track and field coach Rod Tiffin said. "We knew she was going to be a big weight and hammer thrower, and she's throwing great for us and continues to impress."

On the track, the women's 4x400-meter relay team lowered the indoor school record in the event, posting a time of 3:48.18. Composed of Sarah Sanford, Abbie Cutcliffe, Victoria Wicks and Kimberly Ruch, the relay tallied a third-place finish.

"They were a little apprehensive of running today, didn't know exactly where they'd be, what they would do, and so we set the goal, 'let's go out and set a school record,' and broke it by almost four seconds. That was really impressive what they did today," Tiffin said.

Junior Courtney Prengaman also earned a top-five finish in her event, placing fourth in the women's high jump with an indoor personal-best leap of 1.69 meters (5-6 ½).

"Our women are right where we need to be. We're right where I want to be for the conference championship and really primed to do really well," Tiffin said.

Although the Samford men didn't participate at full strength, due to the need for rest and recovery, they still mustered an array of top performances, specifically in the pole vault.

The trio of Tray Oates, Gavin Gautreau and Chris Thrasher all soared over the bar at a height of 4.97 meters (16-3 ½), placing third, fourth and fifth, respectively.

Notably, the mark represents Thrasher's second consecutive meet with a personal-record vault.

"Really great for Chris to have another PR, and he keeps jumping a little better every meet and that's what you've got to do," Tiffin said.
 
Other notable performances:
Women

• In her first time competing in the event, Tiana Pisoni cleared 1.54 meters (5-0 ½) in the high jump.
• Victoria Wicks clocked a personal best in the 400 meters (59.32).
• Aerial Horton tallied a sixth-place finish in the weight throw, reaching a mark of 17.06 meters (55-11 ¾). She also placed eighth in the shot put with a heave of 12.93 meters (42-5 ¼).
• Kimberly Ruch recorded a personal best in the 60-meter hurdles, breaking through the nine-second barrier with a time of 8.96. She also set a personal best in the 60-meter dash (7.62), placing sixth in the finals.
• Tonia McKinley set a pair of personal records in the 60 (7.74) and 200 meters (25.17). Her times stand as the second (200) and third (60) fastest indoor times in program history.  
• In her first time running the event, Sarah Sanford clocked the third fastest indoor 200-meter time in program history, crossing the line in 25.20 seconds. She also placed sixth in 60 hurdles (8.86), but clocked an even swifter time of 8.56 in the prelims.
• Abbie Cutcliffe recorded a new personal best in the 200 (25.42).
• Jordan Highsmith placed eighth in the long jump with a leap of 5.32 meters (17-5 ½).
• Lindsey Kessler and Sarah Lee both jumped 3.35 meters (10-11 ¾) in the pole vault, placing 10^th and 13^th, respectively.

Men

• Andrew Jaeger posted the tenth fastest indoor 400-meter time in program history, crossing the line in 52.14.
• Joseph Lee notched a personal best in the 60 hurdles (9.53).
• Jay Vines recorded a personal best in the 60 hurdles (8.63), cracking the program's all-time indoor top-10 list in the event.
• Brian Smith placed eighth in the shot put with a heave of 15.19 meters (49-10).
• Shelby Campbell snuck under the 23-second mark in the 200, posting a personal-best time of 22.97.
• Paul Richardson cruised to a 24-second personal best in the men's 5,000 meters, clocking a time of 15:53.62.

 
 
Newcomer notes:

• Selena Popp placed seventh in the women's high jump, clearing the bar at 1.64 meters (5-4 ½).
• With a heave of 13.88 meters (45-6 ½), Ruby Caldwell tied her personal record in the weight throw
• Daijah White posted a personal best in the 60 (7.83).
• Megan Meadow placed sixth in the women's triple jump with a leap of 11.52 meters (37-9 ½)
• Owen Bailey notched a fourth-place finish in the men's mile, crossing the line in 4:19.77. He also recorded a personal best in the 400 (55.03)