BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – It is that time of year again when several Bulldogs from the Samford University track and field program trek to the NCAA East Preliminaries to compete for a chance to advance to the NCAA DI Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The preliminaries are scheduled to start on Thursday, May 26, in Jacksonville, Florida.
This season Samford will send five representatives total from the men's and women's team, three men and two women, to compete for a shot to go to the championships in Eugene, Oregon.

Leading the way for the men is redshirt sophomore Tray Oates. Oates qualified for the men's pole vault after crushing a 28 year old Southern Conference record at this year's SoCon Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

The Acworth, Georgia native cleared 5.50m for a new Samford school-record in the event while capturing a SoCon Individual Championship. The mark currently stands as the 5^th best entering this weekend's postseason competition.

Arsène Guillorel will join Oates on the national stage after qualifying for the men's 5,000 meter run. The talented sophomore ran the event only once this outdoor season and qualified with a new personal best time of 13:54.22 at the Payton Jordan Invitational earlier this month on May 1.

The Pontchateau, France native's time set a new Samford school-record in the event as it also serves as his career-best time while ranking as the 10^th fastest time amongst competitors participating in Jacksonville this weekend.

Sophomore Marquis Barnes rounds out the qualifiers on the men's side. The Carrolton, Georgia native qualified with a mark of 7.53m in the men's long jump. The talented leaper broke the Samford record in the event on his way to a second place finish at the War Eagle Invitational on April 22.

The mark stands as the 37^th best amongst participants entering the NCAA East Preliminaries. This is also the second-straight appearance at the preliminaries for each of the three Bulldogs.

On the women's side, sophomores Sarah Sanford and Karisa Nelson will represent Samford at the preliminaries with their second-straight appearance to postseason action.

Nelson earned her place after running a 4:19.98 in the women's 1,500 meter run to take first place at the War Eagle Invitational on April 22. Nelson's time set a new Samford record in the event as it also broke her previous record setting performance time of 4:22.23 which she achieved at the Florida Relays just weeks earlier on March 31.

The Brewton, Alabama native's time ranks 11^th best among athletes competing at the NCAA East Preliminaries.

Sanford is the fifth and final Bulldog to qualify for the preliminaries. The Hoover, Alabama native made her case after running a 58.88 in the women's 400 meter hurdles on April 22, at the War Eagle Invitational.

The sophomore's time was less than a second off of her school-record and personal best time of 58.25 that she set back in 2015. She has competed in the event just four times this outdoor season.

Fans can follow the Bulldogs and their journey to reach the NCAA DI Outdoor Championships by following @SamfordTrack on Twitter or viewing live results which can be found on the track & field schedule page on SamfordSports.com.