SoCon Indoor Track and Field Championship Set for the Weekend

SoCon Indoor Track and Field Championship Info Page

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track and Field Championships will take place at VMI’s Corps Physical Training Facility in Lexington, Virginia, this Friday and Saturday. This year marks the 90th edition of the men’s championship and 38th women’s championship. VMI is hosting the meets for the eighth straight season. 
 
Samford swept the team titles again last year, with the Bulldog men claiming their fifth consecutive SoCon indoor title and the Samford women winning their ninth straight. The Bulldogs will seek to become the first SoCon women’s program to win 10 straight titles, as they already hold the record for the longest streak of consecutive titles. 
 
Samford’s men scored 188 points to outdistance runner-up Western Carolina, which scored 121.5. Furman was third with 112 and host VMI was fourth with 109. The Bulldogs claimed seven event wins, Furman won four and VMI claimed two events.  

The Samford women totaled 160.5 points on the day, more than doubling their day-one advantage of 14 points over runner-up Wofford, to extend their record for the most consecutive championships in league history.  
 
This season’s power rankings – determined by the top eight times or scores that are reported by the schools for each event that will be conducted at this weekend’s championships – predict successful title defenses for both Samford programs. 
 
The Samford men totaled 199 points in the power rankings, boasting a healthy lead over second-place Furman with 114. Western Carolina is close behind with 107.32 points. Samford holds a twenty-point lead lead in the women’s power rankings with 166.5, ahead of Furman with 141. Wofford is third with 94.  

Spectators are welcome at the championships and day two of the meet will air live on ESPN+ beginning at 11:30 a.m. Eastern, with Bryan Fetzer and Phil Cox on the call. Live results, daily recaps, photos, and video highlights can be found at SoConSports.com. 
 
Storylines: 
- Lexington, Virginia, is the site of the men’s event for the 43rd time, more than double the total of the next-highest sites, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and Johnson City, Tennessee, which have hosted 18 times each. The men’s championship was contested in Lexington for 28 consecutive years from 1954-81. The women’s championship was held in Lexington for the 11^th time last season. Prior to 2018, the last time VMI hosted the championships was in 2000. 
- The winners of 10 of the 14 individual men’s events and seven of the 11 individual women’s events from last year’s meet return this season. 

- A number of superlative winners are back for their respective schools. They include men’s field MOA Keyandre Midgett (VMI), women’s field MOA and Women’s Freshman of the Year Sherika Christie (WOF), and Men’s Freshman of the Year Rafe Clendinin (VMI).  
- Additionally, Samford coach Rod Tiffin is the defending coach of the year on the men’s side.  He’s won the award seven times on the men’s side, including in each of the last five seasons, and has claimed the award seven times on the women’s side. 
-Two meet records fell last year, both on Sunday. One individual record setter is back in the field this year.  

-Wofford accounted for both records with O’Rell Fisher matching Ernest Wiggins’ match record time of 6.73 in the 60m. Last season’s female most outstanding track performer, Jasmine Jefferson, set a new record in the 400m with a time of 54.22. 

-Megan Marvin, Furman, claimed her fourth straight 800m women’s title, as she finished in 2:08.85 and is looking to defend her title this year. Her top time this season, the 2:06.36 she ran at the Bob Pollock Invitational on Jan. 31, has her in first place in the conference this season. 

-Furman’s Carson Williams is seeking his fourth straight 3,000m men’s title. After setting a new championship record in 2022, Williams won the event in both 2023 and 2024. Williams' top time this season was at the Boston University Hemery Valentine Invitational on Feb. 14, where he recorded at 7:57.40. This time is only second in the conference this season to Williams’ teammate Dylan Schubert, who ran a personal best 7:52.82 at the Valentine’s Day event. 

-Samford’s Bradley Franklin will enter the SoCon Indoor Championships having competed in the 2025 USA Indoor Championships on Feb. 22 in the sprint hurdles event. Franklin holds the top time in 60m hurdles in the conference, running a 7.65 at the Samford January Invite on Jan. 17.  
-Athletes and teams chasing a third consecutive individual title include: Furman’s Dylan Schubert – Men's 5,000m, Furman’s Men’s DMR, VMI’s Keyandre Midgett – Men's Triple Jump, VMI’s Eleyah Armstrong – Women's 60m and Long Jump.

-The Furman women have won the last eight DMR titles, setting the standing championship record in 2023. The team returns only Megan Marvin, with Claire Cook, Jais Ward, and Nysa Males joining the line up. 
- Samford’s Brenden Vanderpool, the defending champion in the pole vault, Carter Ellis and Jed Sisco are ranked one, t, and four, respectively, in the conference. Sisco won the event in 2022.