Track and Field . February 28, 2026

Gamecock Women Claim Fifth at SEC Indoor Championship

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (Feb. 28, 2026) – South Carolina Track & Field put a bow on the 2026 SEC Indoor Championship on Saturday night at the R.A. ‘Murray’ Fasken Indoor Track & Field facility in College Station, Texas.

South Carolina’s women’s team placed fifth overall with 60 points for the best team finish since 2009 and the most points since scoring 78.5 in 2006. As for the men, South Carolina scored 29 points to finish 11th overall.

Salma Elbadra earned the lone gold medal for South Carolina on the closing day, running 4:30.72 for the program’s first ever individual champion in the SEC Indoor Women’s Mile. The Gamecocks earned 16 combined points from JaMeesia Ford in the 200m and the women’s 4x400m relay of Akala Garrett, Cynteria James, Ford and Zaya Akins. Ford secured her third consecutive podium finish in the 200m, finishing runner-up with a time of 22.61. The 4x400m quartet clocked the second fastest time in school history, running 3:26.85 for the silver medal.

The women also earned points from Garrett and Joslyn Hamilton in the 60-meter hurdles, Alexis Brown in the 60m sprint and Akins in the 400m. Garrett broke her own 60mH school record set last night when she crossed the line in 8.04 to place fourth overall, while Hamilton took home eighth with a mark of 8.10. The duo becomes the first scorers in the women’s 60mH since 2021 and the first pair of Gamecocks to score in the event since 2011. Brown claimed sixth overall in the women’s 60m sprint, running 7.21 to become the first Gamecock scorer since 2011. Akins scored for the second consecutive season at the indoor conference meet, running 52.27 in the 400m finals to secure eighth overall.

On the men’s side, Jaouad Khchina was the highest individual scorer after finishing third overall in the men’s mile, running 4:02.99. Khchina represents the fourth time in the last five years that the Gamecocks have podiumed in the mile. Josiah Wrice and Jasauna Dennis each scored in the men’s 400m for the second consecutive season, both running new personal bests. Wrice finished fourth overall with a new personal best time of 45.34, ranking second in program history. Dennis clocked 45.63 to improve on his personal best with the fourth fastest time in Gamecock indoor history. Logan Montgomery scored in his first indoor conference meet as a Gamecock, placing eighth in the shot put after throwing 18.48m (60-7.75).

The final points for the men came from the men’s 4×400 meter relay as Wrice, Dennis, Devan Crumpton and Andrew Salvodon took home fifth after running 3:05.05.

The Gamecocks will turn their focus to the 2026 NCAA Indoor Championship in Fayetteville, Ark. This year’s indoor national championship meet will begin on Friday, March 13 and conclude on Saturday, March 14.

Men’s Team Standings
1. Arkansas – 113.2
2. Ole Miss – 67
3. Texas A&M – 66.2
—
11. South Carolina – 29

Men’s Individual Results
400 Meters (Finals)
4. Josiah Wrice – 45.34*
6. Jasauna Dennis – 45.63*

1-Mile (Finals)
3. Jaouad Khchina – 4:02.99

3000 Meters
— Jaouad Khchina – DNF

4×400 Meter Relay
5. Wrice, Dennis, Crumpton, Salvodon – 3:05.05

Pole Vault
9. Khaliq Muhammad – 5.31m/17-5

Shot Put
8. Logan Montgomery – 18.48m/60-7.75
15. Brandon Dennis – 17.44m/57-2.75*

Women’s Team Standings
1. Florida – 77
2. Arkansas – 73
3. Georgia – 68
—
5. South Carolina – 60

Women’s Individual Results
60 Meters (Finals)
6. Alexis Brown – 7.21

200 Meters (Finals)
2. JaMeesia Ford – 22.61

400 Meters (Finals)
8. Zaya Akins – 52.27

1-Mile (Finals)
1. Salma Elbadra – 4:30.72