As the Samford community looks outside, the cold weather starts to subside and the temperature creeps higher. Yes, spring is in the air, and the spring athletic season is in full swing. Seniors on the track and field team have one final year to work hard, improve their times and make lasting memories.
Harrison Siegel is from Cumming, Ga., where he attended South Forsyth High School. While attending South Forsyth, he was highly successful, as he excelled in the 800-meter race and helped his school win a state championship for cross country in 2018. He graduated as a cross country team captain in 2020.
At Samford, Siegel has excelled in cross country. He recorded a personal best 8k time of 25:48 at the 2022 SoCon Championships, which garnered him 31st place overall and placed him among the top five on the team, according to the Track and Field Results Reporting System. Siegel also ran a 16:20 5k at the 2022 Jacksonville State Foothills Invitational, which was another personal best.
Siegel is also a member of the Samford Track and Field team. He specializes in the 800, which he has consistently run in under two minutes. For non-runners, an 800-meter time under two minutes is challenging, as that time would be on pace to run a mile in under four minutes, which was generally considered impossible for many years. His best in the 800 is 1:51, which he set during the 2022 SoCon Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
While Siegel has been at Samford, the Samford Track and Field team has dominated, winning the Indoor and Outdoor SoCon Track and Field Championships for two years in a row. Siegel’s contributions to the team have helped propelled them to victory, and made Samford Track and Field one of the best programs not only in the SoCon, but in the greater Southeast.
Siegel was also successful academically, as he had the highest GPA on the track team during the 2022 outdoor season, which won him the Pinnacle Award. Balancing the trials of being a student-athlete is tough, so performing well on and off the track is impressive. The hard work and determination needed to be an outstanding student-athlete will serve anyone well in the future. Ultimately, Harrison Siegel can look back on what he accomplished in his four years at Samford and be proud of his accomplishments.
