Jan. 8, 2005
Orlando, Fla. – USC men’s and women’s track and field laid down the foundation for a successful season after an impressive preseason performance against Denison University at Disney’s Wide World of Sports on Saturday.
The Gamecocks, who spent the entire week training in Orlando, topped the Big Red in each event, with several athletes setting personal bests.
For the women’s team, making a stellar comeback performance was redshirt junior Tiffany Ross, who captured the win in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.70. Ross also ran a 52.2 split in the 4x400m relay and a 7.72 run in the 60m for a seventh place finish.
Junior Kemesha Whitmire also made her mark on the field claiming the top spots in the long and triple jumps with marks of 20-03.75 and 40-07.75, respectively.
For the men, sophomore Tyler Trout stepped up to set a personal best in the weight with a throw of 51-05.50 to finish in second place. Trout also threw a 39-11.50 in the shot put for a fourth place finish.
“We had an outstanding week,” Head Coach Curtis Frye said. “Our athletes were sore and tired and trained really hard. Under the conditions of a hard training, they had a very good show. We think it will be a good foundation for the rest of the season.”
Women’s Highlights:
Senior All-American Alexis Joyce had a solid performance with a first place finish in the 60m with a time of 7.35.
Stephanie Smith finished third in both the 60m and the 200m with times of 7.51 and 24.60, respectively.
Freshmen Natasha Hastings and Amberlee Nesbit made promising collegiate debuts, both finishing in the top three in at least one of their events. Hastings, the World Junior 400m champion, finished first in the 200m with a time of 24.26 and sixth in the 60m with a 7.59. Nesbit ran an impressive 7.41 to finish second in the 60m and a 25.04 in the 200m for fifth place.
Men’s Highlights:
Senior captain Jake Minskey threw a 51-05.50 to win the weight throw, while freshman thrower Dave Zaycek won the shot put with a throw of 49-07.00.
Freshmen Jamil James and Jason Richardson made their collegiate debuts in Saturday’s meet. James ran 7.05 in the 60m for third place, while having run a 22.08 for second place in the 200m. Richardson,2004 National Gatorade Athlete of the Year, finished first in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.25 and third in the 200m with a 22.49.
Saturday’s meet wrapped the Gamecocks week-long training at Disney’s Wide World of Sports in Orlando. The men’s and women’s teams will be back in action next weekend at the Virginia Tech Invitational in Blacksburg, Va.
