BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford men's and women's track and field teams competed for the first time during the indoor season yesterday and today at the Birmingham Crossplex. Facing Division I opponents like Alabama, Auburn, and Mississippi State, the Bulldogs excelled, creating new marks in the school's top-10 record book.

The event got started yesterday in the women's pentathlon and the men's heptathlon which carried over today. Kiersten Bell and Laurel Phelps each finished inside of the top 10 for the women while for the men, Damien Hines came in fifth and Ben Thomason took second place with a score of 4921 which is the ninth-best in program history.

In today's field events, Ellison Chadwick finished second in the women's long jump and set the sixth-longest jump in program history with a mark of 5.86 meters. Ian Jones finished third in the men's triple jump for the Bulldogs but his jump of 14.79 was the second-longest ever for the Dogs. 

Walker Smith and Carter Ellis had strong showings in the men's pole vault coming in fourth and fifth respectively while on the women's side, Antonina Tereshchenko took second-place in the meet and set the sixth-highest mark in school history. In the men's high jump, Arthur Chitty and Jaggerd Moore were impressive finishing third and tied for fourth for the Bulldogs.

The sprinters took to the track today as Amiel Dabney made it to a strong finals field before finishing in sixth place in the women's 60-meter hurdles. The highlight of the day came in the men's side of the same event as freshman Bradley Franklin crushed the competition with a time of 7.65 seconds which is the second-fastest time in the nation this season and a school record.

Jackson Olivo ran well in the men's 400 meter for a top-five finish while Zephaniah Carico-McLennan won the men's 800 meter by nearly two seconds. His time of 1:50.16 was the third fastest in school history and the sixth fastest time run in the event this year.

Adeline Haisch and Edie Smith finished in the top five of the women's 3000 meter as Samford was on par with the Alabama and Auburn runners in the event as the three schools swept the top ten.

The Samford women's 4x400 meter relay team came in third place, running the third fastest time in the event in Bulldog history.

It was a strong showing from each Samford squad against quality competition. The Bulldogs are back in action on Feb. 2 as they stay in Birmingham for the South Alabama Invite.

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