Track & Field Shines At Buccaneer Invitational

Friday, February 3

Johnson City, Tenn.

All Day

Samford University

Buccaneer Invitational

Samford's Keyth Fightmaster garnered a second-place finish in the men’s high jump at 2.01 meters on Saturday.

Photo by: SE Sports Media - Todd Drexler

2.4.17 | Track and Field

The Bulldogs swept the top three positions in the women’s high jump

Final Meet Results

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. -- The Samford University track and field team stole the show at the 2017 Buccaneer Invitational this weekend as the Bulldogs registered a multitude of top-five finishes Friday and Saturday in the 37-team event held at the ETSU/MSHA Athletic Center.

"This weekend really couldn't have gone much better for us," said Samford head coach Rod Tiffin. "We split the teams to get the best chance for everyone to compete well before the conference championships and it really paid dividends."

The 2017 Buccaneer Invitational consisted of 37 teams, including four from the Southern Conference. Also joining Samford and ETSU this weekend were The Citadel and Western Carolina.

The Bulldogs' Rachel Dixon started the competition off with a bang Friday as she earned a fourth-place finish in the 400 meters. Dixon, only a freshman, turned in a stellar time of 57.76 in the event. Samford also placed well in the 4 x 400-meter relay by tallying a second-place finish with a time of 3:54.97.

The women's high jump proved to be Samford's most dominant event of the weekend as the Bulldogs placed four athletes in the top five. Samford's Carrie Neill, Courtney Prengaman and Selena Popp swept the top three positions, respectively, while Charlotte Krause finished fifth in the event.

Neill, the Bulldogs' dynamic junior, won the competition with a height of 1.69 meters.

Samford also dominated the women's pole vault event Friday as Lindsey Kessler and Sarah Lee finished first and second in the competition, respectively. Kessler cleared a height of 3.75 meters to take the title, while Lee vaulted a mark of 3.65 meters to claim second place.

The Bulldogs also posted the best distances in both the women's long jump and the women's triple jump at the Buccaneer Invitational. True freshman Erin Hines won the long jump with a distance of 6.07 meters, while sophomore Megan Meadow turned in a mark of 12.19 meters to take the title in the triple jump.

"Our freshmen girls showed that their future is bright for sure, and they ran like we knew they would when we recruited them last year," Tiffin said.

Samford's Karisa Nelson traveled to the JDL Fast Track competition this weekend and competed in the 1-mile run against some of the best athletes in the nation. Nelson, one of the top competitors in the country, placed fourth in the event with a time of 4:38.27.

"Karisa's time converts to the fourth fastest time in the country," said Tiffin. "Her fitness and mental capabilities continue to impress."

On the men's side of the Buccaneer Invitational, Samford's Owen Bailey placed third in the men's 3,000 meters with a time of 8:41.02.

The Bulldogs also received a top-notch finish in the men's long jump as junior Marquis Barnes reached a distance of 7.38 meters to take second place in the event.

Additionally, Samford's Javion Lee finished fourth in the men's triple jump with a mark of 14.47 meters, while fellow junior Keyth Fightmaster garnered a second-place finish in the men's high jump at 2.01 meters.

In the men's pole vault, Samford's Tray Oates continued to prove why he is one of the best in the nation. Oates, the reigning Southern Conference Athlete of the Month and SoCon Athlete of the Week, won the event with a dominant height of 5.40 meters.

"Tray and all of our jumpers had their best meet of the season so far," Tiffin said. "With personal bests for Marquis and Megan, I am so proud of that group."

Also on Saturday, former Samford great and All-American Brandon Hazouri competed in the prestigious Armory Track Invitational in New York City and posted a fourth-place performance in the talent-laden even. Hazouri posted a time of 4:01.00 and nearly broke the vaunted four-minute mile.

In the women's shot put at the 2017 Buccaneer Invitational, the Bulldogs finished with the second, fourth and seventh-place competitors. Tatiana Taylor earned second place with a throw of 12.79 meters, while Maggie Johnston took fourth with a distance of 12.62 and Aerial Horton turned in a 12.10-meter toss.

Samford proved to be just as dominant in the women's weight throw toss as Camille Caldwell won the competition with a distance of 17.42 meters. Horton placed fourth with a mark of 16.65 meters, while Taylor posted a mark of 15.77 to garner the seventh spot in the competition.

The Bulldogs' men's sprinters and hurdlers also turned in some quality times over the weekend. True freshman Dominic Smith, Jr., earned a second-place finish in the 400 meters (48.94), while fellow true freshman Emmanuel Tait placed third and fifth in the 60-meters hurdles (8.17) and the 60-meter dash (6.88), respectively.

"We also made a lot of finals in the sprint group this weekend and had several personal bests," said Tiffin. "It seems we are right where we need to be going into our last meet before conference. It will be good to compete in our own meet, I think we can better a lot of marks going into conference and nationals. It should be a lot of fun next week."

Next weekend, the Samford University track and field team will be hosting the 2017 Samford Invite at the CrossPlex on Friday and Saturday.

For results, schedule updates, breaking news and links to all of your favorite articles featuring the Bulldogs, please follow @SamfordTrack and @Samford_Sports on Twitter.

Final Meet Results