BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Clayton College & State University men's and women's track and field teams set four school records, hit NCAA Division II national meet provisional times in two events and brought home four first place finishes Saturday at the Samford Twilight Invitational in Birmingham, AL.  

Freshman Eric Simmons (Carrollton, GA) had the top performance for the men's squad, breaking his own school record in the 400m with a time of 47.79, and in the process, bettered his chances of advancing to the NCAA Division II national championships by lowering his provisional time in the event. His school record time was good for second in the race. 

Simmons teamed with senior Rother Heard (Conyers, GA), sophomore Brian Etelman (Marietta, GA) and junior Carlos Guyton (Thomasville, GA) in the 4x400m relay to set another school record and also provisionally qualified for nationals in the relay with a time of 3:13.41 for a second place finish.  

Senior Tony Juarez (East Hazel Crest, IL) had his fourth first place finish in a 1500m race this season, winning by almost 10 seconds with a time of 3:54.52. Junior Aletha Binion (Carrollton, GA) finished first in the discus with a throw of 111-feet-2 ¾ inches. The Clayton State men's 4x100m relay team of senior Elijah Ajayi (Riverdale, GA), Heard, Etelman and Guyton won the with a school record time of 41.33, only eight-hundredths of second from provisionally qualifying for nationals.   

 In addition to the school records set in the two men's relay events and the 400m, Clayton State's Heather Krehbiel (Peachtree City, GA) also set a new school record in the 5000m race, placing 10th with a time of 18:30.15.  

In other top finishes for the men, Etelman finished third in the 200m with a time of 21.73 and Heard placed fourth in the 100m with a time of 10.93. Guyton finished fifth in the 400m with a time of 48.93 and senior Stephen Hughes finished sixth in the 800m with a personal best time of 1:55.75.  

Junior Adil Berkhedle (Scarborough, Ontario) had a third place finish in the 1500m with a time of 4:04.92 and Heard also had a third place finish in the triple jump with a leap of 43-feet -11 ¾ inches. Junior Oscar Campos (El Monte, CA) finished sixth in the 3000m steeplechase with a time of 10:35.9. 

In other top finishes for the women, sophomore Melissa Shaw (Morrow, GA) had a sixth place finish in the 800m with a time of 2:18.80, followed by senior Penny Tinker (Mesa, AZ) in seventh with a personal best time of 2:20.76.  Tinker also finished seventh in the 1500m run with a personal best time of 4:51.25. Lindsay Heuther finished fourth in the shot put with a throw of 33-feet-10 ¼ inches.   
Clayton State will return to the track on Friday and Saturday, April 30-May 1 for the Georgia Invitational in Athens, GA.