Track & Field Rings in New Year with Gamecock Opener
COLUMBIA, S.C. (Jan. 12, 2024) – With track & field kicking off the new year’s slate, the South Carolina Gamecocks play host to the 2024 Gamecock Opener on Saturday inside the Carolina Indoor Track & Field Complex.
Follow the Meet
Live results for the 2024 Gamecock Opener can be found by clicking here. Fans can also follow along with updates on Twitter by following @GamecockTrack.
Know Before You Go
Carolina Indoor Track & Field Complex does have a CLEAR BAG POLICY that will be in effect. Learn everything you need to know about the Clear Bag Policy by clicking here. There is also a WATER BOTTLE POLICY for all patrons and that is: one clear, plastic disposable water bottle is permitted. No hard, non-clear refillable bottles are allowed inside the facility.
Parking
For the 2024 Gamecock Opener, spectators will be able to utilize the Athletics Village Parking Garage for $10 per car, with no re-entry. There will also be city metered parking surrounding the complex that will also be made available through the ParkMobile app. For a full parking map for this weekend’s meet, please click here.
Ticket Information
There is a $10 fee for any adults wishing to attend the meet. Children that are 17 and under gain entry for $5, while kids 2 and under are free. Students/faculty/staff get in free with their valid Carolina Card identification.
Meet Information
The Gamecock Opener will begin at 9 a.m. with the men and women’s high jump. The first track event will be the men’s 3k beginning at 11 a.m. There is a full slate of events scheduled, with the final event being the 4x400m relay for the men at 6:45 p.m. and the women at 7:10 p.m. Doors are set to open at 8 a.m. A total of 22 teams are set to compete this weekend with 13 of them being from the Palmetto State.
Eyes on the Top-25
The Gamecocks enter Saturday’s meet coming off the Clemson Opener back on Dec. 8. Carolina has eight individual student-athletes inside the Top-25, five of which come from the men’s side. Anthony Greenhow ranks 11th in the country in the 60m with a time of 6.70. Nate Figgers and Channing Ferguson will both compete in the high jump this weekend for the Gamecocks, each ranking 14th in the nation with a jump of 2.10m (6-10.75). Theo Mudzengerere and Dylan Targgart lead the way with a pair of Top-3 rankings in their respective events. Mudzengerere, the TCU transfer, ranks second in the NCAA in the triple jump with a mark of 16.00m (52-6), while Targgart sits third in the shot put after throwing 18.91m (62-0.5) in his opening meet.
On the women’s side, Jayla Jamison is the current 200m leader in the NCAA standings, with a time of 23.46. The local Columbia product is also the third leg of the women’s 4x400m relay that ranks first in the NCAA with a time of 3:36.46 – Jamison is joined by JaMeesia Ford, Aalliyah Francis and Zaya Akins on the relay squad. Freshman Cynteria James is third in the standings in the women’s 60m dash with a mark of 7.31.
Nothing Run Likes a Ford
Freshman sprinter JaMeesia Ford ran the second fastest 300-meter time in NCAA history at 35.83 to win the Clemson Opener. In addition to placing second in USTFCCCA history, the Fayetteville, N.C. native broke the program record for the 300m and is currently the world leader in the indoor 300m sprint. Ford’s time also set a new USA U20 record in the 300m sprint.
Season Debuts
The Gamecocks will send out 62 student-athletes to compete in the first home meet of the 2024 calendar year. There will be 13 male athletes making their season debuts, including five making their Carolina debuts. On the women’s side, there will be 27 season debuts, complimented by 11 Garnet & Black debuts.
