Skip to main content
Partner logo
Mobile Icon Link Mobile Icon Link Mobile Icon Link
Gamecocks+

April 11, 2018

Outdoor Meet #6 — Tenessee Relays

Meet Info

Event: Tennessee Relays

Host: Tennessee

Date: April 12-14, 2018

Location: Knoxville, Tenn.

Venue: Tom Black Track

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The University of South Carolina track & field team gets its first look at the 2018 SEC Championship venue this week, when the Gamecocks journey to Knoxville, Tenn., for the Tennessee Relays. The three-day meet runs Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Tom Black Track.

The Gamecocks will compete against a strong field with an eye toward postseason preparation. In addition to the hosts from Tennessee, Carolina will line up against SEC rivals Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Mississippi State along with Ohio State, Indiana, Duke, Virginia Tech, Penn, Eastern Michigan, Southern Illinois, Middle Tennessee, Kent State, Cincinnati and Wake Forest.

WATCH THE GAMECOCKS LIVE ON SEC NETWORK+

Portions of Friday and Saturday’s competition will be streamed live through SEC Network+. Subscribers can watch Friday’s feed beginning at 10 a.m. ET, while Saturday’s coverage starts at 11:30 a.m. ET.

FROM THE COACH

“This week is very important. You always want to get familiar with the hotel you’ll be staying in at the conference meet and how you’ll travel back and forth. How much time does it take to get from your hotel to the track, so we can get our timing right, so we can put the athletes in the proper position? We’ve got to know where the water is in relation to the track. Emergencies — where are you going to go if there is a thunderstorm? Where’s the tent area, and where are we going to set up? That’s a big part of the preparation. Everything from this point on is tapering ourselves for the conference championship.” — Head Coach Curtis Frye

STARTING LINEUPS

LAST TIME OUT • APRIL 6-7 • CAROLINA FINDS SUCCESS AT SPEC TOWNS INVITATIONAL, GAMECOCK INVITATIONAL

Three Gamecocks won their events April 7 at the Gamecock Invitational, the team’s second home meet of the season. Aliyah Abrams won the 400m, while Josh Awotunde took home the discus title and KD Young captured the shot put. Young’s performance was perhaps the most significant; her mark of 52-4 ½ ranks sixth in Carolina history.

Several Gamecocks also took part in the Spec Towns Invitational, April 6-7 in Athens, Ga. Yann Randrianasolo won the long jump competition at Georgia, while Lissa Labiche took third in her outdoor high jump collegiate debut.

Two-time NCAA qualifier Markus Leemet made his season debut at the Bulldog Decathlon. The senior scored 7,351 points, the 10th-best mark in the NCAA this season.

LAST TRIP TO KNOXVILLE

South Carolina last traveled to Knoxville for the 2010 SEC Championship. The Carolina men’s team finished third, a program record, while the women placed eighth.

The Gamecocks won three SEC titles in their 2010 trip to Knoxville, including titles from Beatrice Biwott (women’s steeplechase), Johnny Dutch (men’s 400m hurdles) and Elliott Haynie (men’s pole vault).

GAMECOCK MEN RANKED 16th IN LATEST USTFCCCA POLL

The Carolina men’s team is ranked No. 16 in the latest USTFCCCA national poll, which was released April 9. It’s the second-straight weekend Curtis Frye’s team has ben ranked 16th. The Gamecocks opened the outdoor season at the No. 13 spot, their highest spot in the national poll since the third week of 2016, when the Gamecocks were listed 11th.

On the women’s side, Carolina is ranked 35th this week. The Gamecocks opened the year at No. 30.

This week’s USTFCCCA national polls utilize previous personal bests from last season as well as new PRs set during the first four weeks of the 2018 campaign. A complete listing of the marks used to determine this week’s poll can be found here.

GAMECOCKS IN THE NCAA EAST REGION INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS

Through four weeks of outdoor competition, the Gamecocks have 21 individual student-athletes and two relay teams accounting for 25 NCAA Division I East Regional top-50 marks in their respective events. The top-48 in each event at the conclusion of the SEC Championships will qualify for the NCAA East Regional Preliminary Round, May 24-26 in Tampa, Fla.
• Ncincilili Titi ran an East Region-leading time of 20.36 in his 200m season debut at the Florida Relays. His time ranks third in the NCAA this season.
• Rougui Sow jumped a season-best 21-6 at the Spec Towns Invitational, third in the region and fourth in the NCAA. Makyla Stanley is not far behind, holding the No. 21 spot at 19-11 ¾.
• Two Gamecocks hold regional top-10 rankings in men’s shot put. Josh Awotunde locks down the No. 4 spot (64-10 ¾) and Eric Favors is ranked 10th (61-5 ½). Awotunde’s mark is sixth-best in the NCAA.
• Yann Randrianasolo is ranked fifth regionally and eighth in the country in the long jump, setting a PR of 25-9 ½ at the Weems Baskin Invitational. He’s also ranked 33rd regionally in the triple jump, with a mark of 49-2 ½.
• Hanifah Abdulqadir made her triple jump debut at the Florida Relays, and she ranks fifth in the East at 42-11 ¾. That’s ninth-best in the NCAA.
• Otis Jones ran a time of 1:49.37 in his 800m effort at Florida Relays, ninth-best in the region.
• Rivaldo Leacock is listed 11th in the 400mH with a time of 51.60.
• Two Gamecocks are ranked in women’s shot put listings: KD Young (52-4 ½; 11th) Alycia Springs (51-5 ¾; 14th).
• Aliyah Abrams returned from a redshirt season to run a 400m time of 52.90 at the Black & Gold Challenge. That’s currently ranked 12th regionally. Teammate Stephanie Davis (54.41; 47th) is also in the top-50.
• Hailey Sweatman‘s pole vault PR of 13-1 ½, set in chilly conditions at the Weems Baskin Invitational, is ranked 21st in the East.
• Awotunde is currently 21st regionally in the discus, at 179-1, a mark achieved at the Gamecock Invitational.
• In the pole vault, Armand Woodley is ranked 22nd in the East with a mark of 16-10 ¾.
• Shelby Freedman is ranked 24th in javelin, throwing 153-2 in her season-opener.
• Caitlyn Little moved up to 33rd in the East standings in the 100mH at the Weems Baskin Invitational with a mark of 13.59. Milan Parks ran 13.66 at the Gamecock Invitational, which is listed 39th.
• Lissa Labiche made her high jump debut at the Spec Towns Invitational, and her mark of 5-7 ¼ is listed 35th.
• Ty Jaye Robbins ran a 400m PR in Florida and is listed 40th with a time of 47.52.
• Markus Leemet is ranked 10th nationally in the decathlon, with 7,351 points. The top-16 in the nation at the end of the conference championship weekend advance to the NCAA Championships regardless of region.
• Two Carolina women’s relays are highly-ranked; the Gamecock 4x100m squad is listed 19th (44.90) and the 4×4 squad is slotted 29th this week (3:39.95).

MARCH 29-31 • TITI, SPRINGS NET VICTORIES AT FLORIDA RELAYS

Two Gamecocks were victorious at the Florida Relays, held March 29-31 in Gainesville, Fla. The most impressive performance came from Ncincilili Titi, who made his season-debut outdoors and ran a blistering-fast 20.36 in the 200m despite cold, rainy conditions. Titi’s time ranks tops in the East Region and second in the NCAA so far this season. There’s still plenty left in the tank for the senior, who ran faster than 20.36 three times last season.

Carolina’s second win came from Alycia Springs, who took the collegiate flight of the shot put. The sophomore’s mark of 51-5 3/4 is a new PR and ranks seventh in Carolina history.

Josh Awotunde made his outdoor shot put season debut in Florida, finishing second with a mark of 64-10 3/4. That’s the fifth-best effort in the NCAA so far this season. Hanifah Abdulqadir competed in the triple jump for the first time outdoors this year, finishing third with an effort of 42-11 3/4. That’s the fourth-best effort in Carolina history and ranks sixth in the nation. The Gamecocks also got podium finishes out of their men’s sprint medley relay and women’s shuttle hurdle relay teams.

MARCH 23-24 • GAMECOCKS DOMINATE WEEMS BASKIN INVITATIONAL

South Carolina hosted the Weems Baskin Invitational March 23-24 and won 10 events, the most of the 50 teams in Columbia. Over 1,500 student-athletes competed at Sheila & Morris Cregger Track, setting a new meet record.

Individually, Yann Randrianasolo led the way; his long jump mark of 25-9 1/2 ranks fifth in Carolina history and fourth in the NCAA East Regional. Eric Favors also had a career day in the shot put. His mark of 61-5 1/2 ranks sixth in Carolina history and fifth in the region. Last but not least on the men’s side, Josh Awotunde earned a win; he threw 178-3 in the discus in his first outdoor meet of 2018.

On the women’s side, Aliyah Abrams was part of three wins, including an individual victory in the 400m, her second week in a row winning the event. Shelby Freedman (javelin) and Hailey Sweatman (pole vault) also won for the second-straight week. Sweatman set a new PR with a vault of 13-1 1/2, which is listed ninth in the region. Amanda Murphy earned her first collegiate victory, taking the open hammer throw. Finally, the Carolina women earned victories in the 4×300, 4×400 and 4×800 relays, with Abrams running the first leg on the 4×3 and 4×4.

MARCH 16-17 • FOUR GAMECOCKS VICTORIOUS AT BLACK & GOLD CHALLENGE

The South Carolina track & field team opened the 2018 outdoor season at the Black & Gold Challenge, hosted in Orlando, Fla., by UCF. Following several weeks of indoor postseason competition plus a week of training in the Florida sun, Carolina sent a slimmed-down lineup to compete over the weekend, but those that were in action started the outdoor season on the right foot.

Four Gamecocks tallied an event win. On Friday, Hailey Sweatman won the pole vault; her mark of 12-11 1/2 was a new PR and the seventh-best mark in Gamecock history. Shelby Freedman also was victorious, winning the javelin in her first collegiate meet since the 2016 outdoor season.

On Saturday, another returning Gamecock earned a victory, as Aliyah Abrams returned for her first event since the 2017 NCAA Indoor Championships to take the 400m. Her time of 52.90 was her best season-opener yet. Rivaldo Leacock also got into the winner’s circle with a victory in the 400mH on the men’s side.

TITI NAMED SEC SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

University of South Carolina senior Ncincilili Titi earned SEC Men’s Indoor Track & Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors on Feb. 21. Titi is the fourth Gamecock in history to win the league’s Scholar-Athlete honor in track & field, joining Natasha Hastings (2007), Marvin Reitze (2012) and Jeannelle Scheper (2015). Titi finished fifth nationally in the 200m and holds a 3.400 GPA.

SEVEN GAMECOCKS EARN ALL-AMERICA LAURELS AT NCAA INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

South Carolina sent seven student-athletes to the 2018 NCAA Indoor Championships in College Station, Texas. Josh Awotunde (shot put), Ncincilili Titi (200m) and Rougui Sow (long jump) earned First-Team All-America honors, with Awotunde’s bronze-medal finish leading the way. Titi placed fifth in his event, and Sow eighth. The All-America honor was Titi’s seventh, while Sow became a three-time First-Team honoree.

Four additional Gamecocks qualified for the meet and left as Second-Team All-Americans: Hanifah Abdulqadir (triple jump), Jordan Fields (high jump), Lissa Labiche (high jump) and Yann Randrianasolo (long jump). All four Gamecocks left College Station with their first career All-America honor.

The South Carolina men finished tied for 21st, their best finish since 2010.

QUARLES EARNS USTFCCCA REGION ASSISTANT COACH OF THE YEAR LAURELS

Assistant head coach Delethea Quarles was named USTFCCCA Southeast Region Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year, the organization announced at the conclusion of the indoor season. Quarles, who is in charge of Carolina’s jumpers and multi athletes, guided five of her student-athletes to NCAA Indoor Championships berths.

“This is long overdue. This award hasn’t existed for very long, but in my opinion Coach Dee has been a coach of the year for 20 years,” South Carolina head coach Curtis Frye said. “Coach Dee could have won this award many times before, but there are a lot of great teams and great coaches in our region. She’s a mentor to so many young coaches in our business, and so many coaches around the business are excited to see Coach Dee get her due. I’m so happy she’s finally being recognized by her peers; it says a tremendous amount about how well-respected she is in our profession.”

FOUR GAMECOCKS NAMED INDOOR ALL-SEC PICKS

Four members of the University of South Carolina track & field team were honored as All-Southeastern Conference selections for the 2018 indoor season. Josh Awotunde earned First-Team All-SEC laurels, Lissa Labiche and Yann Randrianasolo were Second-Team honorees and KD Young was named to the All-Freshman Team.

Awotunde was honored as a First-Team selection after winning the shot put at the 2018 SEC Indoor Championships. The senior from Franklinville, N.J., dominated the field, and his mark of 21.33m (69-11 ¾) set a new SEC meet record and a new Carolina program record. It’s ranked as the 10th-best mark in collegiate history.

UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS

Carolina’s final home meet of 2018 is scheduled for Saturday, April 21 when the Gamecocks host the 2018 USC Open. The meet begins at 9 a.m. ET at Sheila & Morris Cregger Track.

Related stories