April 10, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford track and field team is set to compete in two events this Friday and Saturday, April 11-12. The Bulldogs will take part in the Sea Rays Relays, hosted by the University of Tennessee, on Friday and the Ole Miss Track and Field Invitational on Saturday.

The Bulldogs come off an excellent performance at the Jacksonville State Gem of the Hills Invitational last weekend in which the Samford women took second place while the men finished third. Freshman distance runner Hillary Neal set a new Samford record in the 800-meters run with a time of 2:11.05 which earned her first place in the event.

The No. 3-ranked Tennessee men's track and field team and the Lady Vols track and field team host the 42nd annual Sea Rays Relays this week. The four-day event is already underway and the Bulldogs will head to Knoxville, Tenn., to compete on Friday. Wednesday and Thursday have consisted of decathlon events while Friday and Saturday will feature complete days of track and field events.

The Bulldogs will compete Friday before heading to Oxford, Miss., to participate in the Ole Miss Invitational. The meet is a part of the University's Red-Blue weekend activities and will feature teams from around the region including individuals from Alabama, Arkansas State, Illnois, Memphis, Mississippi State, Notre Dame, Southern Miss, Tulane, UAB and Samford as well as others. The Rebel men's track team enters the weekend ranked 30th in the nation while the women are ranked 21st in the country.

Action kicks off on Saturday at 10 a.m. with the men's hammer throw and women's javelin. The running events commence at noon with the women's 5,000 meters. A full recap will be available on www.samfordsports.com after each meet.