Feb. 28, 2004

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Lashinda Demus set a new school, SEC and venue record to win her heat of the 400m and Fred Townsend placed second in the men’s heptathlon to highlight USC’s second day at the SEC Indoor Championships.

Demus recorded a time of 51.78, smashing the previous school record of 51.97 set by Miki Barber in 2000. Her time broke the SEC record, also held by Barber, and the venue record set by Demetria Washington.

Townsend totaled 5,581 points for second place in the heptathlon. His total automatically qualified him for the NCAA Championships. Greg Royster finished fifth with 5,293 points.

Kemesha Whitmire finished third in the women’s long jump with a distance of 19’11” while teammate Chelsea Hammond placed eighth at 19’0.5″. Hammond went on to a fourth-place finish in the high jump, clearing 5’7″.

Also advancing to the women’s 400m final was Shevon Stoddart, who had the sixth-best preliminary time of 53.13 and freshman Stephanie Smith who ran a 53.32.

Ronnetta Alexander advanced to the women’s 60m hurdles final with a time of 8.32, the fifth-best preliminary time.

Khalilah Carpenter and Alexis Joyce each advanced to the finals of the women’s 60m dash with times of 7.37 and 7.41. Carpenter also ran a time of 23.51 to advance in the women’s 200m and will be joined by teammates Erica Whipple at 23.40 and Smith at 23.53.

Townsend also reached the finals of the 60m hurdles, running a time of 7.95 to advance. Adrian Durant and Troy Williamson each advanced to the 60m dash final with times of 6.74 and 6.76. Rodney Martin, Jr., won his preliminary heat in the 200m with a time of 20.89 to advance to Sunday’ final.

Through three scored events, USC’s women sit in third place with 15 points, trailing Florida (36) and Georgia (29).

The SEC Indoor Championships conclude with event finals on Sunday in Lexington. For updated and complete results and schedules visit www.ukathletics.com. The SEC Indoor Championships results page is also linked through www.USCsports.com.