COLUMBIA, S.C. — The University of South Carolina’s outdoor track & field season kicks into high gear this week as the Gamecocks make their annual trip to the Florida Relays. The meet will be held March 28-30 at Percy Beard Track in Gainesville, Fla.

As usual, the Florida Relays meet features one of the deepest and most diverse fields in collegiate track & field, with over 70 teams in attendance from NCAA Divisions I, II, and III and the NAIA. Ranked DI programs include #3 Alabama, #4 Florida, #10 Georgia, #11 Florida State, #18 Kentucky, #19 Indiana, #20 Tennessee, #24 North Carolina A&T and #25 South Carolina on the men’s side, along with top-25 women’s programs #6 Florida State, #7 Kentucky, #8 Miami (Fla.), #10 Florida, #12 Alabama, #15 Georgia, #16 Tennessee, #18 Virginia Tech and #25 Georgia Tech.

WATCH THE GAMECOCKS LIVE ON SEC NETWORK+

SEC Network+ provides live coverage of the Florida Relays on each of the final two days of the meet. Subscribers can watch the Gamecocks in action Friday from 1-5 p.m. ET and Saturday from 2:30-745 p.m. ET.

QUOTABLES

“I want to see our team handle their nerves this weekend, because they’re in some fast heats. This meet is just preparation. How we handle this is important because it will be the conference meet before we have to handle this kind of stress again. We’ve got to get to that point after two meets that weren’t on that level. Quincy is running against one of the top hurdlers in the nation, and we’re going in the championship flight of the shot put. Those are important events to find out where we are, and it’s going to show he we handle the conference and regional meets. That’s what I’m looking for – can we handle the pressure?”– Head Coach Curtis Frye

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LAST TIME OUT • MARCH 22-23 • GAMECOCKS DOMINATE BUCCANEER INVITATIONAL, WINNING 18 EVENTS

The Gamecocks were in complete control of the Buccaneer Invitational, held March 22-23 in Charleston, S.C. South Carolina won 18 event titles at the meet, by far the most at the seven-team event.

Jordan Fields (women’s high jump), Carisma Holland (women’s discus and shot put), Wadeline Jonathas (women’s 200m), Kelsey Larkin (women’s 1500m), Rivaldo Leacock (men’s 400m hurdles), Morgan Lee (women’s 5000m), Milan Parks (women’s 100m hurdles), Malik Paul (men’s discus), Ty Jaye Robbins (men’s 400m), Bryce Simpson (men’s pole vault), Makyla Stanley (women’s long jump and 100m), Hailey Sweatman (women’s pole vault) and Noah Walker (men’s 110m hurdles) won individual titles on the final day of the meet. Carolina also won the men’s 4x100m relay and both 4x400m relays.

Carolina’s NCAA-winning 4x400m quartet raced the 200m on Saturday, and the Gamecocks dominated the race from start-to-finish. Jonathas won with a time of 23.20, the eighth-best mark in Carolina history, and Aliyah Abrams was second at 23.33, the 10th-best time on the Gamecock records list. Those times rank seventh and 10th, respectively, on the 2019 NCAA list.

Fields set a new outdoor personal best on Saturday, clearing 1.75m (5-8 ¾) to move up to sixth on the Carolina records chart and 15th in the NCAA this season. Freshman Dymier Jeffery came in second; her effort of 1.70m (5-7) is 10th-best in Carolina history.

GAMECOCKS DOT NCAA LEADERBOARD AFTER TWO WEEKS

Several Gamecocks are off the fast starts this outdoor season, including six student-athletes in the NCAA top-10 through two weeks. Redshirt senior Isaiah Moore leads the way; his 110mH time of 13.67 is second nationally after two meets.

Yann Randrianasolo (triple jump, 15.61m) and Wadeline Jonathas (200m, 23.20) each rank seventh in the NCAA in one event, while Noah Walker is listed eighth in the 400mH at 51.45. Aliyah Abrams (200m, 23.33) and Otis Jones (800m, 1:50.65) each hold down the No. 10 spot in one event.

Each member of the Gamecock roster is aiming to finish the season in the East Region top-48 of their event, which guarantees a spot at the NCAA East Regional Preliminary Round, May 23-25 in Jacksonville, Fla.

CAROLINA MEN OPEN OUTDOOR SEASON RANKED 25TH

The South Carolina men are listed 25th in the first USTFCCCA national rankings of the outdoor season. The rankings use a combination of marks attained in previous collegiate seasons and those achieved in the early stages of 2019.

Three Gamecocks hold preseason top-10 rankings on the men’s side. Quincy Hall is listed second in the 400m (44.60), Isaiah Moore is sixth in the 100mH (13.47) and Yann Randrianasolo is eighth in the long jump (7.99m).

The Gamecock women are ranked 74th to start the season. Leading the way is senior Hanifah Abdulqadir, whose triple jump mark of 13.30m is ranked 16th.

THREE GAMECOCKS LISTED IN FLOTRACK PRESEASON RANKINGS

Three Gamecocks are ranked in the outdoor preseason top-15 in their primary events by FloTrack. On the men’s side, former Pan American and U.S. Junior champion Quincy Hall is ranked fifth in the 400m hurdles, and two-time All-American Yann Randrianasolo holds the No. 10 spot in the long jump.

On the women’s side, the Gamecocks are represented in the FloTrack rankings by Aliyah Abrams. The national runner-up in the indoor 400m is listed ninth in the preseason outdoor rankings according to the publication.

MARCH 15-16 • GAMECOCKS WIN MEET-HIGH 11 EVENTS AT BLACK AND GOLD CHALLENGE

South Carolina opened its outdoor campaign March 15-16 at the Black and Gold Challenge in Orlando, Fla. Despite fielding a limited group of entries, the Gamecocks led the meet with 11 event victories.

The Gamecocks notched three program top-10 marks in Orlando as part of their 11 victories. Anna Kathryn Stoddard won the women’s 1500m with a time of 4:34.23, the ninth-best mark in Carolina history, and long jump All-American Yann Randrianasolo competed in the men’s triple jump, where his mark of 15.61m ranks seventh on the records list. The women’s 4x800m crew of Allie Mueller, Maryah Nasir, Sierra Biber and Macie Kavanaugh laid down the eighth-best time in Carolina history, 9:04.39.

Additional victories in Orlando came from Otis Jones (men’s 800m), Lissa Labiche (women’s high jump), Isaiah Moore (men’s 100mH), Darrell Singleton Jr. (men’s 100m), Jeremiah Talbert (men’s 400m), Noah Walker (men’s 400mH), Armand Woodley (men’s pole vault) and the men’s 4x400m relay. Talbert’s win came in his first outdoor event as a collegian, and he was part of the winning 4×4 crew along with Walker.

MARCH 8-9 • 4X400M CHAMPIONSHIP HIGHLIGHTS NCAA INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

The Gamecocks enter the outdoor season on the heels of the program’s best NCAA Indoor Championships in over a decade. The Carolina women finished tied for seventh, their first NCAA top-10 finish since 2007, while the Gamecock men tied for 20th, their best result at the national indoor meet since 2010.

The highlight of the meet was Carolina’s national championship in the women’s 4x400m relay. Stephanie Davis, Aliyah Abrams, Tatyana Mills and Wadeline Jonathas ran 3:30.76 to edge Texas A&M (3:30.85) and Arkansas (3:30.86) for the crown. It’s the 47th NCAA event championship in Gamecock history and the first since 2015. It’s also the program’s seventh women’s 4x400m relay NCAA title and the first since 2007.

The women’s mile relay was one of five first-team All-America finishes for the Gamecocks. Abrams placed second in the women’s 400m, and Quincy Hall took fourth in the men’s 400m then led the men’s mile relay to a fifth-place result. Isaiah Moore added an eighth-place finish in the men’s 60m hurdles.

Jonathas (women’s 400m) and Arinze Chance (men’s 400m) earned second-team All-America laurels while Yann Randrianasolo (men’s long jump) was an honorable mention finisher.

GAMECOCKS TAKE HOME THREE INDOOR ALL-SEC HONORS

South Carolina earned three All-SEC nods at the 2019 SEC Indoor Championships, held Feb. 22-23 in Fayetteville, Ark. Junior Quincy Hall collected first-team All-SEC honors by winning the individual men’s 400m championship. Hall set a school record in the final, running 45.69 to earn Carolina’s first SEC title on the indoor track since Jason Richardson took the 60m hurdles in 2009.

The Carolina women’s 4x400m relay squad and senior hurdler Isaiah Moore earned second-team All-SEC honors. The 4×4 quartet of Stephanie Davis, Aliyah Abrams, Tatyana Mills and Wadeline Jonathas won silver with a time of 3:29.56, second-fastest in the nation this season. Moore tallied his second-career SEC medal by winning bronze in the 60m hurdles.

Overall, Carolina finished 10th in the men’s competition and 12th on the women’s side.

RETURNING ALL-AMERICANS LOOKING FOR MORE OUTDOOR SUCCESS

The Gamecocks feature seven student-athletes with past outdoor All-America finishes. On the women’s side, Aliyah Abrams, Stephanie Davis, Maiya Dendy, Milan Parks and Makyla Stanley already own All-America honors from past seasons, with Abrams taking first-team status as part of Carolina’s 2016 bronze-medal winning 4x400m relay.

On the men’s side, Isaiah Moore and Yann Randrianasolo each return with outdoor All-America results under their belts. Moore was a first-team finisher in 2017 after taking eighth in the 100m hurdles.

The 2019 NCAA postseason begins May 23-25, as the top-48 qualifiers in individual events and the top-24 qualifiers in each relay compete at the NCAA East Regional Preliminary Round in Jacksonville, Fla. The top-12 finishers at each Regional go on to the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships, June 5-8 in Austin, Texas.

UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS

The Gamecocks are in Athens, Ga., next week for the Spec Towns Invitational. The meet is the first chance for the Carolina multi athletes to compete in the decathlon and heptathlon, and competition will be fierce in every event. Georgia hosts the competition April 5-6.