Jan. 17, 2004
LEXINGTON, Ky. – South Carolina totaled six victories and four runner-up finishes during day two of the Kentucky Invitational, including a pair of wins by All-American Erica Whipple. The freshman duo of Ronnetta Alexander and Stephanie Smith each notched their first collegiate victories and Jonathan Fortenberry won his first race of 2004.
Ronnetta Alexander earned her first collegiate win with a 60m hurdles victory.
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Whipple was USC’s only multiple event winner, pacing the field in the 60m with a NCAA provisional time of 7.44 and taking first in the 200m with a provisional time of 23.25. Newcomers Alexander and Smith both continued to impress with wins. Alexander topped the 60m hurdles field with a time of provisional time of 8.25, eight-hundredths of a second better than the next closest competitor. Smith led a 1-2 Gamecock finish in the 400 with a provisional mark of 53.60, besting teammate and All-American Shevon Stoddart second-place time of 53.93, also a provisional mark.
Stephanie Smith’s 400m win was her first collegiate victory.
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Fortenberry showed his All-American form by running a winning and provisional time of 47.13 in the 400m race, earning the victory by nearly two-tenths of a second.
USC’s women’s 4×400 “A” relay team took first with a provisional time of 3:36.46. The Gamecocks’ “B” team placed seventh and the “C” team was 10th.
On the men’s side, Tony Allmond finished second in the long jump with a leap of 24’2.5″ while Rodney Martin, Jr., placed second in the 200m with a provisional time of 21.11. For the women, India Odum claimed second in the shot put with a distance of 50’11.5″, a provisional mark.
Women’s Highlights
Kemesha Whitmire placed third in the long jump with a distance of 18’7.25″ while teammate Chelsea Hammond finished sixth with a jump of 18’5″. Freshman Reanna Townsend placed 18th in the long jump. Khaliah Carpenter had a top-five finish in the 60m dash, placing fourth with a time of 7.56, and finished sixth in the 200m with a time of 24.37. Shay Shelton placed fifth in the 800m with a time of 2:13.13 and teammate Boikhutso Ramomene placed eighth (2:15.45). Also earning top-ten finishes were Cheryl Terrio in the pole vault (11’0.25″), All-American Tawana Watkins, who finished eighth in the 400m (55.74), and Jenny Lake in the mile (5:08.16).
Men’s Highlights
The Gamecocks placed four long jumpers among the top-ten finishers as Allmond was runner-up, followed by Greig Cryer, who placed third with a mark of 24’0.25″, Jason Jackamonis in eighth (22’3.75″) and Greg Royster in ninth (22’1.5″). Royster, who finished third in the pole vault on Friday, earned his third top-ten finish of the meet, clearing 6’2.25″ to place tenth in the high jump. William Emase claimed a pair of fourth-place finishes inn the mile (4:12.38) and the 800m (1:51.06). In addition to placing as runner-up in the 200m, Martin finished fifth in the 60m with a time of 6.78. USC recorded three top-ten finishes in the 400m as Aaron Luster claimed sixth (47.87) and Derron Flood eighth (48.21) behind Fortenberry’s victory. Shawn Cunningham rounded out Carolina’s top-ten finishers by placing eighth in the 800m with a time of 1:53.44.
