Feb. 15, 2018
Indoor Meet #6 – Track & Field at the UCS Invitational
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The indoor regular season concludes this weekend for the University of South Carolina track & field team, as the Gamecocks send a select group of student-athletes to the UCS Invitational in Winston-Salem, N.C. The meet will be held Feb. 16-17 at the JDL Fast Track, though no Gamecocks are scheduled to compete on the opening day.
Saturday’s action begins at 10 a.m. ET in Winston-Salem. The field includes Arkansas, Brown, Clemson, Duke, Florida, Furman, Georgetown, Georgia, Mississippi, Mount Olive, NC State, North Carolina, Pitt, South Carolina, Villanova, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.
Live video streaming coverage is available all weekend with a RunnerSpace +Plus subscription, which starts at $12.99. Subscribers can watch coverage from Winston-Salem here.
FROM THE COACH
“This week is all about improvement for the athletes that we’re sending to Winston-Salem. We’ve got a group of 10 or so student-athletes that we think have a great shot to score for us next week at the SEC Championships, and we’d like to add a few more to that group. The folks that are competing this week have the opportunity to make an impact in the postseason, but it starts with what they do this weekend. I expect to see plenty of season bests this weekend, and I think the confidence that our kids gain from this meet will carry over to College Station next week.”– Head Coach Curtis Frye
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUPS (Click to Expand)
LAST TIME OUT • FEB. 9-10 • AWOTUNDE’S SCHOOL RECORD HIGHLIGHTS TIGER PAW INVITATIONAL
South Carolina posted 13 top-eight finishes at the Tiger Paw Invitational, held Feb. 9-10 in Clemson, S.C. Carolina’s top performer was Josh Awotunde, who finished second in the shot put. His mark of 66-10 1/2 is a new indoor Carolina record, and it ranks third in the nation this season.
On the men’s side, Otis Jones finished third in the 800m, and his time of 1:48.96 ranks fourth in program history, while Armand Woodley moved to 10th in the Gamecock records with a pole vault mark of 16-8 3/4, which was good for third last week.
On the women’s side, Hanifah Abdulqadir finished third in the triple jump, hitting 42-11. Other Gamecocks to finish in the top-eight at Clemson included Jordan Fields (fifth — high jump), Yann Randrianasolo (fifth — long jump), KD Young (fifth — shot put), Abdulqadir (sixth — long jump), Anna Kathryn Stoddard (6th — 3000m), Lissa Labiche (6th — high jump), Rougui Sow (sixth — long jump), Hailey Sweatman (seventh — pole vault) and Kaylee Wessel (seventh — 5000m).
AWOTUNDE STANDS AT THE TOP OF CAROLINA SHOT PUT LIST
Josh Awotunde broke a 19-year-old Carolina record when he hit 66-10 ½ (20.38m) on his final shot put attempt Feb. 9 at the Tiger Paw Invitational. The mark surpassed the previous school record of 66-8, set in 1998 by Brad Snyder.
Snyder still holds Carolina’s absolute school record in the shot put. He threw 67-3 ½ outdoors as a senior in 1999.
One of the most decorated athletes in Carolina history, Snyder was elected to the Gamecock Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008. He was a three-time NCAA champion, seven-time SEC champion and eight-time All-American in addition to representing his native Canada in the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Olympics.
LAST TIME AT THE JDL FAST TRACK • JAN. 29-30, 2016
South Carolina last traveled to Winston-Salem in 2016 for the JDL-Camel City Invite. Among current Gamecocks, Funlayo Oluwole was Carolina’s top individual finisher, placing 11th in the 60m hurdles, and she joined Aliyah Abrams as part of a second-place result in the 4x400m relay. Allie Mueller took 13th in the 800m on the women’s side, and Otis Jones placed 18th in the men’s 800m.
GAMECOCK MEN RANKED 22nd IN LATEST USTFCCCA POLL
The South Carolina men were one of the biggest risers of the week as the USTFCCCA released its weekly national rankings on Monday. The Gamecocks shot up nine spots and are ranked 22nd, their first top-25 listing of 2018.
Leading the way for Carolina is senior sprinter Ncincilili Titi, who is ranked second in the 200m and 33rd in the 60m. Josh Awotunde also holds down a podium spot, as he is ranked third in the shot put.
The South Carolina women’s squad is down eight spots this week but still ranked 27th nationally. Three Gamecocks are in the top-10 in their event: Jordan Fields (fifth — high jump), Hanifah Abdulqadir (eighth — triple jump) and Rougui Sow (ninth — long jump).
This is the first week of the season that the USTFCCCA’s rankings include only marks achieved as part of the 2018 indoor collegiate season. A complete listing of the marks used to determine this week’s poll can be found here.
GAMECOCKS IN THE NCAA INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
Through five weeks of indoor competition, the Gamecocks have 12 individual student-athletes accounting for 16 NCAA Division I top-50 marks in their respective events.
• Ncincilili Titi leads the way for Carolina; his 200m time of 20.45 from the Clemson Invitational, which at the time was the fastest in the world this season, is now ranked second in the NCAA. Titi is also listed 33rd in the 60m, at 6.69.
• Josh Awotunde holds down the No. 3 spot in shot put after achieving a school record throw of 66-10 ½ at the Tiger Paw Invitational.
• Jordan Fields is listed fifth in the nation in the high jump, at 6-0 ¾, and her pentathlon score of 3,967 is ranked 18th.
• Hanifah Abdulqadir holds two rankings; she’s eighth in the triple jump at 43-4 ¼, and 19th in the high jump, at 5-10 ¾.
• Rougui Sow enters the week ninth in the long jump, with her season-best of 20-11 ¼ set at the Tiger Paw Invitational. She also ran her best-ever 60mH in Clemson; the time of 8.34 is ranked 46th nationally.
• Tye Williams set an indoor high jump school record of 7-2 ½ at Navy, which is ranked 14th nationally.
• Otis Jones moved all the way up to No. 21 in the 800m with his time of 1:48.96 at the Tiger Paw Invitational.
• Yann Randrianasolo jumped 25-1 ¾ at the Columbia Challenge, currently the 27th-best mark in the nation.
• Lissa Labiche is listed 38th in the high jump; her top mark of 5-9 ¾ was set at the Columbia Challenge.
• KD Young threw 52-3 ¼ in the shot put at the Columbia Challenge, 38th in the country.
• Maiya Dendy‘s PR of 7.38 from the Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational is ranked 44th nationally in the 60m.
• Eric Favors moved up to No. 46 in the shot put this week; he threw 59-1 ½ at the Tiger Paw Invitational.
FEB. 2-3 • TEN GAMECOCKS GRAB WINS AT LIBERTY
South Carolina was the top team at the Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational, where it led the field with 10 event victories in the non-scored event. After failing to record a win Friday on the first day of the meet, the Gamecocks came out blazing on Saturday, recording all 10 of their wins on the day. Maiya Dendy (60m and 200m) recorded two wins, while Eric Favors (shot put), Otis Jones (500m), Lissa Labiche (high jump), Yann Randrianasolo (long jump), Rougui Sow (long jump), Armand Woodley (pole vault), and KD Young (shot put) each won a single event. Carolina also won the title in the men’s 4x400m relay, as Arinze Chance, Jones, Rivaldo Leacock and Jordan Griffin were successful.
For Dendy, it’s the second time this season she’s won both the 60 and the 200 on a single day. Woodley set an indoor PR by hitting 5.05m in the pole vault, while Jones ran a PR of 1:03.21 in the 500. Labiche’s victory was her first as a collegian; she finished tied with Hanifah Abdulqadir at 1.76m but closed the meet with fewer misses.
JAN. 26-27 • GAMECOCKS WIN THREE EVENTS IN NEW YORK CITY
South Carolina had another successful weekend at one of its favorite annual stops, the Columbia Challenge at The Armory in New York City. The Gamecocks finished fourth on both the men’s and women’s side of the scored competition. Carolina won three event victories: Josh Awotunde‘s shot put mark of 65-0 3/4 ranks second in school history and third nationally, while Hanifah Abdulqadir‘s 43-4 1/4 in the triple jump is third in school history and eighth in the NCAA. Rougui Sow was also victorious, winning the long jump at The Armory.
Other Gamecocks recording scoring efforts in New York include Tye Williams (2nd — high jump), Lissa Labiche (3rd — high jump), Caitlyn Little (3rd — 60mH), Yann Randrianasolo (3rd- long jump), KD Young (4th — shot put and 6th — weight throw), Heather Stone (5th — 5000m), Ncincilili Titi (5th — 60m), Matt Froschauer (6th — 60mH), Precious Holmes (6th — 500m), Colleen Openshaw (7th — 5000m) Milan Parks (7th — 60mH), Abdulqadir (8th — high jump) and Alycia Springs (8th — shot put). Labiche’s effort was especially notable, as the two-time Olympian made her collegiate debut.
JAN. 19-20 • GAMECOCKS COMPETE AT CLEMSON INVITATIONAL
South Carolina’s season continued in the Palmetto State, where the Gamecocks took on a loaded field at the Clemson Invitational. Five nationally-ranked teams were featured on both the men’s and women’s side and the Gamecocks fared well, collecting eight podium finishes. The star of the show for Carolina was Ncincilili Titi. The senior won the 200m with a time of 20.45. That’s the fastest indoor mark in the entire world this season, the fastest mark in the NCAA, the second-fastest indoor mark in African track & field history and the second-fastest indoor 200m in Carolina history. Titi also set a PR in the 60m, where his time of 6.69 placed third at the event and ranks 19th in the country. Other Gamecocks to finish on the podium include Otis Jones (800m), Tye Williams (high jump) and Armand Woodley (pole vault), Yann Randrianasolo (long jump), Jordan Fields (pentathlon) and KD Young (shot put), Allie Mueller (mile run) and Hanifah Abdulqadir also continued their climbs up the program’s all-time top-10.
JAN. 13 • GAMECOCKS WIN 16 EVENTS AT NAVY WINTER INVITATIONAL
South Carolina opened the indoor season with 16 event victories at the Navy Winter Invitational, which led the way in a field that included Wake Forest, George Mason, Mount St. Mary’s, Penn and the hosts from Navy. The highlight of the day came from senior Tye Williams, whose high jump mark of 2.20m set a new indoor school record. The Gamecock men also got victories from Ncincilili Titi (60m), Otis Jones (500m), the 4x400m relay team, Yann Randrianasolo (high jump) and Josh Awotunde (shot put). On the women’s side, Maiya Dendy was perhaps the most successful Gamecock, winning both the 60m and the 200m. Other Gamecocks to stand in the winner’s circle include Stephanie Davis (400m), Allie Mueller (1000m), Milan Parks (60mH), Jordan Fields (high jump), Hanifah Abdulqadir (triple jump), Rougui Sow (long jump), Hailey Sweatman (pole vault) and KD Young (shot put.). Davis and Young were victorious in their very first collegiate meet, while Abdulqadir won on her first day as a Gamecock. Carolina returns to action Jan. 19-20 at the Clemson Invitational.
NEW SCHOOL RECORD HIGHLIGHTS INDOOR OPENER FOR WILLIAMS
Coming off of a fourth-place finish at the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Championships, expectations were high for Tye Williams at the start of the season. The senior lived up to the hype in his first meet of 2018, setting a new indoor high jump school record with a mark of 2.20m (7-2 ½) at the Navy Invitational. The jump broke the previous record of 7-2 ¼, set in 2011 by David Wilkins, and it gave Williams ownership of both Gamecock records in the high jump after he claimed the outdoor mark of 7-4 ½ at the 2017 Penn Relays.
FLOTRACK LISTS TITI AS NATION’S TOP 200m SPRINTER
University of South Carolina senior Ncincilili Titi was ranked as FloTrack’s No. 1 200m runner in the nation, the publication announced as part of its preseason event rankings. Titi returns for one more collegiate year after qualifying for the NCAA Championships both indoors and outdoors in 2017. The Butterworth, South Africa, native’s outdoor time of 20.14 was the sixth-fastest qualifying mark in the nation last year, and he earned a pair of All-America finishes as a junior.
Titi wasn’t the only Gamecock listed in FloTrack’s preseason individual rankings. On the women’s side, two-time All-American Rougui Sow was listed fourth in the long jump after earning a pair of sixth-place finishes nationally last season. For the men, Isaiah Moore was ranked eighth according to FloTrack in the 60m hurdles and Josh Awotunde held the same ranking in the shot put.
ALL-AMERICAN GROUP READY FOR MORE ACCOLADES IN 2018
The Gamecocks return five 2017 Indoor All-Americans for the start of the 2018 season. For the women’s Aliyah Abrams and Precious Holmes are back after leading the Gamecocks to a ninth-place finish in the 4x400m at last season’s NCAA Indoor Championships, and Rougui Sow finished sixth last season in the long jump indoors before duplicating that feat in the outdoor season.
On the men’s side of things, Josh Awotunde is a national title contender in the shot put after finishing fifth at the NCAA Indoor Championships a year ago. Ncincilili Titi was also a first-team All-America finisher after placing eighth in the 200m.
Sow and Titi went on to earn All-America status outdoors last season, providing plenty of momentum heading into the new year. 2017 Outdoor All-Americans Maiya Dendy (4x100m), Isaiah Moore (110mH), Milan Parks (4x100m) and Tye Williams (high jump) are also back in Garnet and Black this year.
UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS
The indoor postseason starts next week for the Gamecocks. Conference glory is at stake when Carolina competes Feb. 24-25 at the SEC Indoor Championships in College Station, Texas.
