LEXINGTON, Va. – The Samford men's and women's track and field teams swept the Southern Conference Indoor championships for a seventh-straight year after the final day of competition Saturday at the VMI Corps Physical Training Facility. 
 
The win marks the 11^th-straight title for the women's team and the seventh-consecutive championship for the men's squad.
 
Samford's men totaled 228.5 points, finishing 99.5 points ahead of runner‑up Furman. On the women's side, Samford closed day two with 151 points to remain atop the standings, while Western Carolina finished in second with 133 points. 
 
The Heath Whittle Most Outstanding Athlete Award went to Samford's Bradley Franklin, who scored 20 points. After breaking the men's 60‑meter hurdles record in both the prelims and finals last year, Franklin repeated the feat this season—running 7.45 on day one and lowering it to 7.41 in the final to win his second straight title. His time currently ranks No. 1 in Division I. Franklin also won gold and set a conference record in the 60m dash with a 6.63, placing him among the top 40 nationally. 
 
Samford added more women's titles as Dorsey Parker defended her high jump crown with a clearance of 1.73m, and Aaliyah Mbenda won the 60‑meter hurdles in a personal‑best 8.44, extending Samford's three‑year streak in the event. Senior Jess Edwards snapped Furman's six‑year run in the women's 800m, winning in 2:06.90. 
 
Samford's Benjamin Thomason won the heptathlon with 5,074 points, finishing first in the long jump and 60‑meter hurdles. A Samford athlete has now won the event every year since 2020. 
 
The Bulldogs continued their momentum with Cole Grande's personal‑best 47.32 to win the men's 400m, followed by Zephaniah Carico‑McLennan's first‑place 800m finish in 1:48.0, a top‑50 national mark. Caleb Yeary added a season‑best 21.32 to win the men's 200m. 
 
In the 200m, Samford's Yeary won the men's race in 21.32. The championships concluded with the men's and women's 4x400m relays, where Samford swept both titles. The men finished in 3:16.35, and the women crossed in 3:43.86. 
 
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