Samford’s Track and Field Team is reaching great heights this indoor season, with many athletes setting personal bests, Samford records and rising through national rankings.
At the CCG Birmingham Collegiate Ice Breaker, Ellison Chadwick set a personal best of 6.06m in the women’s long jump. At the Samford Invite and open, Kyndall Brundige set a personal best of 12 meters in the women’s triple jump and Felicity Hamilton ran a personal best of 4:54.95 in the women’s mile. Bradley Franklin also set a personal best and a school record, completing the men’s 60-meter hurdles in 7.56 seconds, at the Bob Pollock Invite. Franklin’s time is the 27th fastest time in the world this season for the men’s 60-meter hurdles.
Over the course of the indoor season, 7 team members have been named SoCon Track and Field athletes of the week. Bradley Franklin, Jess Edwards and Aaliyah Mbenda were named for track. Ellison Chadwick, Arthur Chitty, Jaggerd Moore and Lindsey Havens were named for field.
Aaliyah Mbenda stated that being named Athlete of the Week was a moment of pride, particularly since it came early in the season.
“It gave me the space to take a deep breath, put my perfectionism aside for a moment, and truly enjoy what I achieved with pride. It’s such a beautiful form of recognition and an incredibly special feeling to feel seen,” Mbenda said.
Although the athletes are often recognized and compete individually, the dynamic between the team’s members is still vital to the program’s success.
“We win together; we lose together. We are each other’s driving force,” Mbenda stated.
Lindsey Havens echoed Mbenda’s statement, saying that competing individually creates a competitive environment, but that competition is fuel for growth.
“This competitive environment typically benefits the team in the end, because we show up to push each other. Team success is fueled by how intrinsically motivated each individual athlete is, because times and heights don’t lie. Improving as an individual and team success is often very positively correlated,” Havens said.
As they prepare for the SoCon championship, Bradley Franklin said that he firmly believes that the team will take its next consecutive titles and that reaching the NCAA championship is an individual and team goal.
“We’ve had several personal records and had several season bests. We’ve had a lot of really good performances from all the people on the team,” Franklin stated.
The Bulldogs will compete in the SoCon championship on Feb. 27 and 28 in Lexington, VA.
Staff Reporter
