Gamecocks Travel to Baton Rouge for SEC Outdoor Championships
BATON ROUGE, La. (May 10, 2023) – The most anticipated track meet of the outdoor season is upon us, the 2023 SEC Outdoor Championship. The Gamecocks are set to compete in the most prestigious meet, making the trek down to Baton Rouge, La. to compete on Thursday, May 11 – Saturday, May 13.
Follow the Meet
Live results for the SEC Outdoor Championship can be found by clicking here. For those interested in watching the event live can do so on SEC Network+ each day. Links to the live videos will be posted on Gamecock Twitter on the morning of each competition date. Fans can follow along with updates on Twitter by following @GamecockTrack.
Ticket Information
Fans that are interesting in attending the event can do so for a nominal fee. Tickets are $40 for adults and $25 for youth, covering all three days. Single day tickets are also available for purchase for $15 for adults and $10 for youth.
Meet Information
The best track & field teams in the country will be gathering in Baton Rouge this week for the SEC Outdoor Championships. On the women’s side, nine of the 14 competing teams are ranked inside the USTFCCCA Top 25 rankings. Florida enters as the highest-ranked squad, sitting second in the rankings. Arkansas (No. 3), LSU (No. 6), Texas A&M (No. 7), Georgia (No. 8), Kentucky (No. 9) and Ole Miss (No. 10) rounds out the Top-10 on the women’s side. Arkansas and Florida have combined for the last eight SEC Outdoor Championships. The last time the SEC title was held in Baton Rouge, LSU won on the women’s side, while Arkansas claimed the title on the men’s side. On the men’s side, seven teams rank inside the Top 25, including Arkansas who enters as the top overall team in the country and return as the back-to-back SEC Outdoor Champions.
The SEC Championship is a scored meet, the second of the outdoor season. The top eight scorers in each event will result in points for their teams in the following format (10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1). Competitors who finish top three in events earn the title of All-SEC, with the top finisher earning a spot on the First Team and Second Team will consist of second and third-place finishers.
The meet will start on Thursday with the decathlon events beginning at 11:30 a.m. The first true field event will be the men’s hammer throw at noon, while the first track event will be the men’s 800-meter prelims at 5:30 p.m. Friday’s festivities will begin with the final five decathlon events beginning at 11 a.m., with the first field event starting at 4 p.m. (women’s pole vault) and the first track event starting at 5 p.m. (men’s 110-meter hurdle prelims). Saturday’s closing day will start with men’s discus at 2 p.m. and conclude with the men’s and women’s 4×400-meter relay beginning at 8:30 p.m. All times are listed in CENTRAL TIME. For a full slate of events, click here for the schedule.
Coaches Corner
On competing at the SEC Outdoor Championship:
“I believe that the SEC Championship is the best meet and the fastest meet in the country each year. We saw that with the indoor SEC Championship and this weekend’s outdoor championship won’t be any different. This is an exciting meet to compete in, to coach in and to simply watch if you love the sport of track & field. We have a great group of student-athletes that are ready to compete for the name on the front of their jerseys. This weekend is the final shot to stamp your name in the NCAA East Regional in two weeks, so let’s get after it.”
Qualification Marks
With the SEC Outdoor Championship being the final meet to earn a spot in the NCAA East Regional, the Gamecocks are sitting in a good spot with 22 qualifying marks as of late. The NCAA East Regional will take place in Jacksonville, Fla. on Wednesday, May 24 – Saturday, May 27.
We begin with the women who have 11 qualifying marks, led by Sylvia Chelangat who ranks sixth in the region in the 800 meter (2:02.58). Jayla Jamison and the 4x100m relay also hold Top-10 marks with Jamison ranked ninth in the 200m (22.79) and the 4x100m relay team ranked 10th with a time of 44.17. Carolina has six more individuals ranked inside the Top-48 cut line for regionals, including three student-athletes in the women’s 400m as well as KD Young in both the shot put (25th) and the hammer throw (37th). The women’s 4x400m relay team of Angel Frank, Chelangat, Aalliyah Francis and Jahnile Registre round out the regional qualifiers, ranking 13th in the relay with a mark of 3:32.61.
The men boast 11 qualifying marks, led by Anass Essayi who ranks first in the region in the 1500m with a mark of 3:36.89. Carolina has a trio of student-athletes that are currently within the qualifying rankings in two events: Anthony Greenhow (100m, 200m), Evan Miller (200m, 400m) and Dylan Targgart (shot put, discus). Filip Demsar and Kobe Franklin are the final two individuals that are currently qualified, with Demsar ranking 12th in the 110-meter hurdles (13.57) and Franklin sitting 35th in the high jump (2.09m). Both men’s 4x100m relay team and the 4x400m relay squad sit inside the Top-24 cut line for relays.
