Track And Field Completes Program First Four-Peat With Sweep Of Outdoor SoCon Championships

Saturday, May 1

Cullowhee, N.C.

Samford University

Southern Conference Outdoor Championships

Results

Photo by: Todd Drexler/SESPORTSMEDIA.com

Track And Field Completes Program First Four-Peat With Sweep Of Outdoor SoCon Championships

5.3.21 | Track and Field

Full Results Photo Gallery

CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Samford track and field wraps up the 2021 outdoor campaign with a sweep at the Southern Conference Outdoor Championships.

This is the first time in program history that the Bulldogs have held the men's and women's indoor titles and the men's and women's outdoor titles at the same time. The women's squad led wire-to-wire while the men overcame a day one lead to halt the run of four-time defending champions Western Carolina. With the four-peat, the Bulldogs have won the last six contested championships going back to the Southern Conference 2020 Indoor Championships (the 2020 SoCon Outdoor Championships were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic).

The incredible performance at the SoCon Championships saw the Bulldogs break a SoCon Championships record, three school records, and win a total of 14 individual SoCon titles enroute to another Samford sweep.

Justin Stuckey's dominance was on full display in the men's high jump with a mark of 2.19 meters (7' 2.23"). Stuckey set a new Southern Conference Outdoor Championships record topping the previous record of 2.18 meters set by Appalachian State's Daryl Saunders in 2012. Louis Brogan finshed fourth for the Bulldogs in the event with a personal best leap of 2.00 meters (6' 6.75"), while Matt Cahoon added to his point total with a fifth-place finish at 2.00 meters (6' 6.75").

Matt Cahoon had a record breaking weekend that saw him set a new program best in the men's javelin throw with a mark of 67.87 meters (222' 0.08") to win the individual SoCon title. Cahoon also won the men's discus crown with a throw of 49.98 meters as well as a third-place finish in the men's shot put 15.33 meters (50' 3.50"). For his performances at the SoCon Championships, Cahoon was named the Most Outstanding Athlete, an award which goes to the men's and women's athletes who score the most points for their squad over the course of the two-day competition.

Benjamin Garner also set a program record for the Bulldogs with a third-place finish in the men's 3000-meter steeplechase setting a new personal best with a time 8:57.78 finishing under Blaise Carie's time of 8:59.08 set in 2011.

The Bulldogs swept the top honors in the men's and women's pole vault with Jed Sisco taking the men's pole vault with a mark of 4.90 meters (16' 0.75"), while Tally Wilson topped the Samford event sweep with a vault of 3.97 meters (13' 0.25"). The Bulldogs took positions one through seven (with a tie at position five) in the women's pole vault that saw Jackie Barnes finish second (3.82 meters, 12' 6.25"), Brittany Bishop finish third (3.82 meters, 12' 6.25"), Alexis Cook finish fourth with a personal best mark of 3.82 meters (12' 6.25"), Riley Alexander finish in a tie for fifth 3.52 meters (11' 6.50"), and Kaelyn McCann finish in a tie for seventh with a jump of 3.52 meters (11' 6.50").

Erin Long and Emorie Long made the women's javelin throw a family affair as the freshman Erin Long took the SoCon title with a personal best throw of 42.65 meters (139' 11"), while Emorie Long brought home the bronze with a mark of 38.43 meters (126' 1").

Emma Garner lead from start to finish in the women's 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:54.35, claiming the individual SoCon title and 10 points for Samford. Freshman Harper McGowan claimed the silver crossing the line with a time of 11:33.88.

Emmanuel Tait closed out his Samford career with a win in the men's 100-meter dash (10.58), claiming the individual title following three-straight second-place finishes from 2017-2019. Evan Brooks brought home the bronze in his first SoCon Outdoor Championships with a time of 10.70.

Senior Michael McMahan showed his dominance in the hurdle events claiming both the men's 110-meter and men's 400-meter hurdles titles. McMahan led the way in the Samford stacked men's 110-meter final finishing with a time of 13.98 (wind 3.7), while Titus Moore claimed second-place with a time of 14.00 (wind 3.7). Emmanuel Tait (14.35, win 3.7) and Landon Wright (15.03, wind 3.7) finished fourth and seventh respectively. In the 400-meter hurdles McMahan broke the previous school record of 51.53 set by Michael Smith in 2006 with a new personal best time of 51.00.

The Bulldogs went one, three, four in the men's triple jump as Edwin Rainey claimed the individual title with a personal best mark of 14.80 meters (48' 6.75"), while Ty Kimberlin (13.92 meters, 45' 8") and Noah Osborne (13.79 meters, 45' 3.0") also earned event points for Samford. Ty Kimberlin also won the men's decathlon with 6659 points to claim the individual SoCon title.

Samford swept the medal position in the women's high jump with Charlotte Krause claiming the individual title with a jump of 1.74 meters (5' 8.50"), while Makenzie Hooton had a personal best jump of 1.70 meters (5' 7.0"), and Megan Elliott claimed the bronze with a personal best mark of 1.70 meters (5' 7.0").

Maggie Johnston earned a pair of individual titles on Sunday with a first-place finish in the women's discus 50.79 meters (166' 8"), and a first-place finish in the women's shot put 14.30 meters (46' 11.0").

Several Bulldogs will have the opportunity to compete at the NCAA Regional and fields will be announced on Thursday, May 20, via press release at NCAA.com.