Samford Invitational Results 

Cullowhee, N.C. - Competing at the same venue that will host the Southern Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships in two weeks, the Western Carolina women's team won the Samford Invitational and the men finished fourth. Two school records fell while several season best performances were established. Senior Xaviera Bass took down Nicole Okolo's school record in the 60m hurdles while senior Alisha Bradshaw broke her own school record for the second time this season in the shot put.

Okolo posted a time of 8.50 at the 2011 Southern Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships in the 60m hurdles but Bass downed that time Friday afternoon with a blazing 8.46 in the finals as she took home the individual event title Bass qualified first in the event with a time of 8.56 in the preliminaries but shaved a tenth of a second off her time in the finals. Sophomore Kayla Williams also finished in the top-10 in the event as she qualified eighth in the preliminaries and ended up finishing seventh with a time of 8.71 in the finals.

Bradshaw, who broke the school record in the shot put earlier this season at the Appalachian Open, added two tenths of a meter to her previous record with a toss of 14.62m (47-11.50) as she finished second Friday afternoon. Sophomore Hailey Cook finished sixth in the event as well with a toss of 13.86m (45-05.75). Bradshaw also finished fifth in the weight throw with a distance of 16.07m (52-08.75).

The women currently lead the meet with a score of 81.2307 ahead of 13 other teams including Georgia Tech, Coastal Carolina, Charlotte and Liberty. The men are tied for fourth with University of Louisiana-Lafayette with 57 points. Leading the event is Coastal Carolina followed by Samford and Georgia Tech. There are a total of 13 teams in the field.

The men posted a season-best time of 3:16.27 in the 4x400m relay as they took home the win. The Catamount's "B" relay team finished eighth with a time of 3:22.13.

Junior Jared Johnson was the men's top individual finisher as he came in second in the weight throw with a toss of 18.34m (60-02.00). Sophomore Scott Peretin also competed in the event and came in eighth with a distance of 15.21m (49-10.75). Johnson and Peretin also finished seventh and eighth, respectively, in the men's shot put. Johnson tossed the shot 14.81m (48-07.00) while Peretin's throw went 14.77m (48-05.50).

Junior Tayla Carter qualified second in the women's 60m with a time of 7.57. She then blazed to a second-place finish in the finals with a season-best mark of 7.48 which was just .05 away from another school record. Carter also took home third-place honors in the 200m with a time of 24.46.

Four Catamounts finished in the top-10 in the men's 400m led by freshman Dakota Lamont who completed the event in 48.60 for fourth overall. Freshman Henry Kiedy came in fifth at 48.70 while senior Aaron Tribble placed sixth with a time of 49.43. Senior Demari Boswell rounded out the quartet with a ninth-place finish in 49.76.

Senior Genevieve Emrick took home third in the women's 400m after posting a time of 55.41.

Sophomore Anisia Starege and junior Molly Fagan tied for third in the women's high jump as they each cleared 1.60m (5-03.00).

Seniors Abraham Faison and Marquis Bailey finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 60m hurdles finals after qualifying first and fifth, respectively. Faison posted a season-best time of 8.23 in the preliminaries before completing the finals with a time of 8.26. Bailey ran his best time in the finals stopping the clock at 8.28.

Redshirt freshman Thor Smith led a trio of Catamounts in the men's pole vault. Smith finished sixth with a height of 4.70m (15-05.00). Junior Dustin Tripplett cleared 4.55m (14-11.00) to finish eighth and freshman Corey Ginley came in tied for ninth with a vault of 4.55m (14-11.00). Tripplett earned the eighth spot by clearing the bar in fewer attempts.

A week after earning the Southern Conference Field Athlete of the Week, senior Michaela Birek posted a sixth-place finish in the women's long jump with a leap of 5.60m (18-04.50). Two-time winner of the award this season, Chenell Bryan finished seventh with a distance of 5.57m (18-03.00).

Junior Michael Cornwell posted a season-best time of 4:15.98 in the men's one mile after finishing seventh. Kiedy also came up with a season-best in the men's 200m as he finished seventh with a time of 21.98.

Freshman Jaquell Bryant and junior Christian Carswell each earned top-10 finishes in the men's high jump. Bryant posted a height of 1.95m (6-04.75) which earned him seventh overall while Carswell came in ninth with a leap of 1.90m (6-02.75).

Junior Korie Bennett tied for seventh in the women's pole vault after clearing 3.50m (11-05.75).

Junior David Johnson and Hires came in sixth and ninth, respectively, in the men's triple jump. Johnson was able to post a distance of 14.41m (47-03.50) while Hires leapt 14.18m (46-06.25).

The women's 4x400m relay team posted a season-best time of 3:45.62 as they finished second overall. The Catamount's "B" squad came in ninth with a time of 3:54.24.

The Catamounts will be back in action Feb. 27-28 at the 2015 Southern Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships in Birmingham, Ala.