Bulldogs aiming to repeat their 2021 men’s and women’s victories this weekend
On Saturday, Feb. 26, the Samford Men’s and Women’s Track and Field teams will travel to Lexington, Virginia, to compete in the 2022 Southern Conference Indoor Championships.
Last season, the men’s and women’s teams brought home gold at the indoor championships. It was the second consecutive title for the men’s team and the sixth consecutive for the women’s team.
The Bulldogs last saw action right at home during the Bulldog Invitational and Bulldog Open, which took place on Feb. 11 and 12. Several Bulldogs also competed in the Indoor Music City Classic, hosted by Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tennessee, on the same weekend.
At the home events, Bulldogs finished on the podium in a litany of events.
For the field events, Kaelyn McCann finished third in the women’s pole vault with a vault of 3.51 meters. Ian Jones and Edwin Rainey finished second and third, respectively, in the men’s triple jump. Tyler Smith and Edric Wenhold tied for second place in men’s high jump with leaps measuring at 1.95 meters.
On the track, Kelsey Martin came in third in the women’s 400 meters. In the men’s division, Jose Penalver finished second in the men’s 800 meters and Landon Wright also finished second in the 60-meter hurdle race.
In Nashville, several Bulldogs finished in the top three of their events, but Justin Stuckey and Seth Wolfe first stole the show.
Stuckey, who earned All-American honors at the NCAA Championships last season, won the men’s high jump with a program-record 2.20 meter leap. Wolfe also won the men’s weight throw with an impressive toss of 19.80 meters.
Wolfe, a senior from Atlanta, Georgia, was a walk-on to Samford’s program. Now, he has the chance to cement his legacy at the SoCon and perhaps the NCAA tournament this season.
“Vanderbilt was a really good weekend to remind myself that I am someone who can compete at the highest level,” Wolfe said. “It was a great opportunity to fine-tune things heading into a conference. I am constantly searching for that big throw to take me to nationals and what better time than to put it out there than at the conference championship.”
Looking ahead towards the SoCon championships, the Bulldogs have the talent necessary to take home gold in both the men’s and women’s divisions. Several Bulldogs have the opportunity to be crowned as the best in the conference.
“We have a very special opportunity in front of us and a very talented class,” Wolfe said. “We can’t wait to dominate and showcase what we have been working towards all season.”
From the plethora of talent that competes for the Samford Track and Field team, Stuckey has been a team leader from his very first season. Though the All-American may have already left a historic page in the history of Samford Track and Field, he still has something to prove.
Stuckey has the opportunity to finish the season as one of the best, if not the absolute best, at the NCAA Championships next month. Last season, he finished sixth last season in the high jump competition with a leap of 2.18 meters.
Aside from the records and NCAA title aspirations, Stuckey and his teammates still have a Southern Conference Tournament to win, which will be the final tournament of the season for most of the team.
The SoCon tournament will be broadcast on ESPN+ for both days of competition.
