MONTEVALLO, AL – Senior jumper Samantha Gudger claimed a new school record in the long jump following the team's appearance at Falcon Finale & Last Chance meet this weekend.
"I felt good going into the meet and knew I had a chance to jump well just because of the things we've been working on in practice," Gudger stated. "Coach Stepp has been telling me I'll jump far so I went into the meet feeling confident. The environment was good and we got the clap going so I was pumped. Ending my season like I did makes me even more excited for next year."
The Bristol, Tenn. native took the top spot in the event clearing 5.87 meters, nearly .20 meters better than the second-place finisher out of West Alabama. The mark also set a new lifetime-best for Gudger, improving on a personal-best from this season that leapt from 5.47 meters.
The 5.87-meter jump landed Gudger in a first-place tie in the Southeast Region, and sits the senior 27th nationally.
Caleb Agee turned in a third-place finish in the 400 meter hurdles finishing with a time of 55.22 seconds as the sophomore South Atlantic Conference champion looked for one last push.
Tanner Stepp claimed No. 1 in the high jump clearing 2.05 meters, and remains tied 11th at 2.11 meters nationally.
"I'm just happy they went after it as best as they could and that's what you want to see at this point of the season and at a last chance meet," Coach David Needs mentioned. "You want them to go for it. It's a long season, we've been going since December 1st. We have some athletes right on the edge so we'll see how things begin to shake out for us."
The Eagles will await the word on which student-athletes will earn a berth into the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championships early next week.
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