Jan. 24, 2006

The Samford University track and field teams are coming off another strong season as the men and women prepare for 2006. The 2005 men's team finished fourth at both the Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Championships and the OVC Outdoor Championships, while the women finished fourth at the Indoor Championships and fifth at the Outdoor Championships.

Both teams had a number of All-OVC performers and Samford distance runner Lauren Blankenship made history when she became the first Samford runner to be named All-American in June. Blankenship received All-America honors for outdoor track following her ninth-finish in the 5,000 meters at the NCAA National Championships in Sacramento, Calif. The Alpharetta, Ga., native was eighth out of American-born runners in the event, turning in a time of 16:54.16.

Blankenship's achievement capped off a strong season for the Bulldogs, who look to improve from 2004. Samford returns some key pieces to its team for 2005, while adding several talented newcomers to the mix. Samford returns ten All-OVC performers from the 2005 squad.

The Bulldog women captured all three all-conference positions in the 5000 meters during the outdoor season. All-American Blankenship finished first in the event to be named all-conference. Blankenship was also named All-OVC following her first-place finish in the 3000-meter run during the indoor season.

Britney Almaguer finished second in the outdoor 5000 meters, and was named All-OVC. Almaguer finished first in the indoor 5000 meters and second in the 3000 meters, earning indoor all-conference honors in both events.

Michelle Brewer was the third-place finisher for the Bulldogs in the outdoor 5000 meters to be named All-OVC. Michelle Brewer also captured all-conference honors for her role on the distance medley relay team during the indoor season. The second-place distance medley relay team also returns Jessica Brewer and Connie Heiskell. Jessica Brewer was also named all-conference in the 3000-meter steeplechase during the outdoor season.

Rounding out the all-conference distance runners is Robyn DeBenedet, who was named All-OVC for her performance in the indoor mile run.

The Bulldog sprinters, jumpers, throwers and hurdlers also received a number of accolades. April Howell was a two-event all-conference performer in 2005, earning All-OVC honors following her first-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles during the indoor season and for her second-place finish in the triple jump during the outdoor season.

Mark Holmes was named all-conference following his second-place finish at the 2005 Indoor Championships. Michael Smith is another two-event all-conference performer, earning the honors after finishing third in the 110-meter hurdles and second in the 400-meter hurdles during the outdoor season.

Laura Malnati finished second in the high jump at the outdoor championships, capturing all-conference honors. Additionally Kady Decker returns following her all-conference performance in the 400-meter hurdles at the OVC Outdoor Championships.

In addition, Trent Schmidt, a 2004 conference champion and the school record holder in the pole vault, returns to compete in his senior season after red-shirting in 2005. Schmidt will add some much needed leadership and experience to a young men's team.

Holmes is another talented redshirt senior returning for the Bulldogs. Holmes was named All-OVC as a redshirt sophomore in 2004 following his third-place finish at the OVC Championships, and has steadily improved since his freshman year at Samford in 2002. Samford head coach Glenn McWaters looks for Schmidt and Holmes to finish as some of the top pole vaulters at the 2006 OVC Championships.

Senior distance runner Ricky McLain will return to run the 5,000 during the indoor season and the 10,000 meters during the outdoor season. McLain took a redshirt during the 2005 season, and is ready to return to action in 2006.

The final senior on the men's side is thrower Pete Fox. Fox set the school record in the 35 lb weight throw when he threw for a distance of 48'11'' to finish fifth at the 2005 OVC Indoor Championships.

The men's team is comprised of 24 athletes, 18 of whom are freshmen or sophomores.

"It's interesting on the men's team, because we have such a young team," said McWaters. "Our seniors will provide some leadership for us, but other than that, there are a lot of young guys on this team."

The women boast 17 returners on their squad, including five seniors and five juniors. McWaters has also added two talented junior college transfers to the squad in Katherine Herring and Daphne Anderson.

The women's squad will be lead by seniors Howell, Jessica and Michelle Brewer, Heiskell and sprinter Tiffany London King. Juniors Blankenship, Malnati, Katie Lantz, Niki Therrien and Tracy Walz will also play key leadership roles.

"On the women's side, we're pretty spread out," McWaters explained. "We have some really good junior and senior leadership on this team, and we have some very talented juniors and seniors on this team."

Both the men's and women's teams will showcase some fresh faces, as McWaters has added a number of talented newcomers to the team. In addition to Herring and Anderson, eight freshmen will be competing on the women's side and eight will be competing for the men.

"The freshmen should be big contributors," said McWaters. "Every year we count on the freshmen a lot. We try not to put too much pressure on them, because they're still adjusting to a lot as freshmen. At the same time we try to help them develop and come along so that they can be contributing members of the team."

The Bulldogs will compete in some familiar meets this season, as well as some new ones. Samford again opens the indoor season at the Rod McCravy Memorial in Lexington, Ky., and will then return to the Clemson Tiger Invitational, in Clemson, S.C. This season the OVC Indoor Championships will move south from Charleston, Ill., to Nashville, Tenn., as Tennessee State will play host. Following the OVC Championships, some of the Bulldogs who are close to qualifying for the NCAA Championships will head to the Alex Wilson Invitational, hosted by Notre Dame, in South Bend, Ind., and then McWaters hopes to see his athletes competing at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark.

The Bulldogs will also compete in a familiar outdoor opener, as they head to Tallahassee, Fla., for the Florida State Snowbird Invitational. Samford will then head south-west of Birmingham to compete in the Alabama Relays. The Bulldogs will take a few weeks off before heading to Oxford for the Ole Miss Invitational, and then the prestigious Texas Relays.

"I'm looking to send a good crew over to the Texas Relays," McWaters said. "Last year we probably took five or six people and this year we'll hopefully take eight to 10. It's a really big meet. Teams from all over the country come to this meet and there are certain events you have to qualify to compete in, so hopefully we'll hit some of those qualifying standards. It'll be fun to take our kids out there and see how they do."

The Bulldogs will also compete in the Jace Lacoste Invitational in Starkville, Miss., before heading south to Auburn for the Auburn Invitational.

"Auburn has a brand new track facility this year," said McWaters. "We're really looking forward to going down there and competing on that new facility."

Samford will compete at the OVC Outdoor Championships in Cape Girardeau, Mo., this year, before heading to the Georgia Tech Invitational, the NCAA Regional Championships and the NCAA Championships.

"Our goal is just to get better than we were last year," McWaters said. "What we try to do is help these athletes improve from where they were in previous years, and hopefully we'll show some improvements."