Sophomore (2017):
Competed in six events and ended up scoring on two occasions ... Raced to all-region honors after crossing the finish line in 34th place (team's No. 6 finisher) with a personal-best 8K time of 25:31 at the NCAA South/Southeast Championships ... Fifth on the team and 51st out of 175 entries at the Furman Classic with an 8K mark of 26:42 ... Helped Emory to a first-place performance at the JSU Foothills Invitational as the squad's No. 5 finisher and ninth overall in a 183-runner field, posting a time of 26:44. 

Freshman (2016):
Registered a solid freshman season ... Competed in six events ... Top 8k time was a 26:11 at the Inter-Regional Border Battle that placed him 126th out of 382 runners ... Scored as the Eagles' No. 5 finisher and ranked ninth out of 66 entries at the Watermelon Run ... Emory's No. 6 runner and registered a 51st-place overall finish out of 391 hopefuls at the Greater Louisville Classic with a time of 26:17 that represented his second-best time of the year ... Raced at the UAA Championships and the NCAA South/Southeast Region Championships. 

High School:
Fine cross country and track performer at Hopkins High School ... Was coached by Mike Harris ... Served as team captain his senior year ... Top 5,000-meter times was a 15:55 in the 2015 state meet ... Clocked a 4:22 in the 1,600 meters ... Captured all-state honors in cross country his final campaign ... Helped Hopkins HS to a 2015 Class AA state championship ... Hopkins High School cross country was ranked No. 1 in the nation and competed at the NIKE Nationals in Portland, Oregon.

Personal:
Son of Tim and Susan Branson ... Majors in political science ... Born August 22.

Sam Branson's Top 8K Times