June 7, 2007

SACRAMENTO, Calif. ---- Samford's Lauren Blankenship qualified last Wednesday night for the finals of the 5000-meters at the NCAA Track and Field Championships in Sacramento, Calif. Blankenship placed fifth in the race to advance to the finals on Friday, running a school-record breaking time of 16:06.

"I am very excited for Lauren," Samford head coach Glenn McWaters said. "She has had a great season and I think she'll have a great race on Friday. We look forward to her repeating her All-American performance from last year."

Blankenship topped the old school record that she set (16:16) by 10 seconds. Her first mile timed out a 5:14, her second at 5:12, and her third at 5:04.

The finals for the women's 5000-meter race will be run Friday at 8:10 PT at Alex G. Spanos Sports Complex in Sacramento, Calif.