Final Results

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Samford University track and field standout Tray Oates earned the championship title in the pole vault event at the 2018 Florida Relays on Saturday as the Bulldogs' senior native of Acworth, Georgia, posted a height of 5.66 meters in the prestigious competition held at Percy Beard Track on the campus of the University of Florida.
 
Oates, one of the nation's elite performers in the pole vault, finished Saturday's event well ahead of second-place Sean Clarke of Penn, who finished with a height of 5.32 meters.
 
Samford's Oates wasn't the only Bulldog to register high marks in the pole vaulting event. Sophomore Hugh Duggan took ninth place with a mark of 5.07 meters, while senior Gavin Gautreau achieved a height of 4.92 meters in the competition to finish 11th.
 
The Florida Relays, which was held Thursday through Saturday, consisted of the following nationally-ranked programs:
 
- - Men (7):  No. 4 Florida, No. 9 Nebraska, No. 12 Virginia Tech, No. 13 South Carolina, No. 14 Mississippi State, No. 16 Penn State, No. 22 Kentucky.
- - Women (7):  No. 8 Florida, No. 12 Kentucky, No. 13 Purdue, No. 16 Nebraska, No. 19 Florida State, No. 24 Tennessee, No. 20 Virginia Tech.
 
Samford, competing neck and neck with the best track and field teams in the nation, closed out the three-day meet with some top performances.
 
In the men's 4x110 shuttle hurdle competition, the Bulldogs' relay team consisting of Jack McHugh, Michael McMahan, Marquis Barnes and Emmanuel Tait finished in fifth place just behind South Carolina. Samford's squad closed out the event with a time of 1:00.62, while Mississippi State's team took first place at 57.16.
 
The Bulldogs' Keyth Fightmaster earned a top-10 finish in the high jump portion of the Florida Relays. He posted a height of 2.06 meters in the competition to place ninth along with Albany's Kingsley Ogbonna in the talented field of athletes.
 
Samford's Selena Popp earned top-12 finishes in two different events this week. Popp, the Bulldogs' standout field athlete from Hixson, Tennessee, placed 10^th in the high jump with a tally of 1.70 meters and also earned a 12^th-place finish in the long jump with a distance of 5.73 meters.
 
Additionally for Samford at the 2018 Florida Relays, the Bulldogs' talented sophomore Maggie Johnston earned an 11^th-place finish in the discus throw with a distance of 45.33 meters. She finished just behind Purdue's Molly Leppelmeier, who posted a mark of 45.71.
 
The Samford University track and field teams will next be in action Friday and Saturday of this week as the Bulldogs are scheduled to travel to Mobile, Alabama, for the annual South Alabama Invite to be held at the Jaguar Track.
 
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Final Results