Shameal Samuels Breaks Two Program Records for QU Women’s Outdoor Track & Field at Long Beach Invitational

Friday, April 15

Jack Rose Track - Long Beach, CA

All Day

Quinnipiac University

Beach Invite

Shameal Samuels Breaks Two Program Records for QU Women’s Outdoor Track & Field at Long Beach Invitational

4/16/2016 9:52:00 PM | Women's Outdoor Track & Field

Samuels Picked up Program Records in the 200m (24.17) and 400m (53.59)

By: QU Sports Information

LONG BEACH, California – Shameal Samuels (Hartford, Connecticut) took full advantage of the warmer weather and spotlight that came from the Quinnipiac women's outdoor track and field's team trip out to California for the Long Beach Invitational. Samuels, the Bobcats' standout senior sprinter, broke two program records in her two appearances on the day to highlight the day's action out on the West Coast.

"The opportunity to get this amazing experience, coming out here and traveling proved to be a huge success for all eight that made the trip," said Quinnipiac head coach Carolyn Martin. "Making the trek out to California allowed our girls the chance to compete in warm weather and on a larger scale than what we're used to in the Northeast. All eight performed well and we'll use this experience to carry us into the championship season."

Samuels, a 2015 NCAA Regional participant in the 400m, moved closer to becoming a two-time NCAA Regional performer with her two results on Saturday at the Jack Rose Track on the campus of Long Beach State. In her first outing of the day, Samuels impressed with her third place finish out of 85 sprinters in her signature 400m event as she clocked in at a program record 53.59 seconds. Samuels' personal-best in the 400m bested her own previous program record of 53.72 seconds set in the 2015 New England Championships.

Later in the day, Samuels again came up with another third place finish, this time in the 200m as she crossed the line in 24.17 seconds to take the top five result out of 86 other sprinters. Racing in a talented field with competitors from schools ranging all across the nation, Samuels set her second program record as she bested her own previous personal-best of 24.24 seconds which she set at the 2015 Valentine Invitational.

A pair of Bobcats teamed up for impressive 1500m runs as the duo of sophomore Kaleigh Roberts (Higganum, Connecticut) and senior Tracy Campbell (Wall Township, New Jersey) each tallied a personal-best in the middle distance event. Roberts continues her breakout sophomore season as she posted a 10^th place finish with a personal-best time of 4:31.11 while Campbell also went for a personal-best time of 4:36.13 that put her in 24^th place out of 126 runners. Roberts' time of 4:31.11 moved her up from fifth to second on the all-time record list at Quinnipiac, second only to former All-American Kaitlyn Gwyther's career-best 4:30.16 set back on May 14, 2005.

The underclassmen contingent continued to show well as sophomore Jessica Lee (Montgomery, New Jersey) just missed a third straight record-breaking run as she clocked in at 14.28 seconds in the 100m hurdles, finishing just .02 seconds off her program record time of 14.26 seconds. Running in an ultra-talented event, Lee finished 28^th out of 95 as she was going up against a group that included 12 competitors that were timed sub-14 second sprints.

Joining Samuels in the 400m was fellow senior classmates Nia Baker (Brooklyn, New York) and Kristen Ulrich (Clark, New Jersey). Baker placed 26^th out of 85 with a time of 56.82 seconds while Ulrich clocked in at 57.67 seconds to finish in 39^th place.

The lone remaining competitors the Bobcats fielded on the day came alongside Samuels in the 200m as Lee was timed at 25.76 seconds (51^st place) while Ulrich was right behind her with a time of 25.97 seconds (57^th place).

Quinnipiac also fielded two competitors on Friday as sophomore Emily Wolff (Highlands Ranch, Colorado) tallied a sixth place finish out of 34 runners in the 5000m as she clocked in at 17:19.49. Wolff gave the Bobcats four Top 10 finishers over the weekend in what is the most talented field Quinnipiac will go up against this season. Also on Friday, freshman Carly Timpson (Narragansett, Rhode Island) took part in the hammer throw event where she just missed her personal-best, throwing 49.72m to take 41^st place out of 76 competitors.

The Bobcats will fly back to the East Coast on Sunday and will next compete on Saturday, April 23 at the Wolfie Invitational held on the campus of Stony Brook University.