May 25, 2017

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The University of South Carolina track & field team opened the 2017 NCAA East Regional Preliminary Round with an outstanding group of performances Thursday evening at the UK Outdoor Track & Field Complex. Long jumper Rougui Sow qualified for next month’s NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore., while all five runners that were in action advanced to the quarterfinal round.

Sow is the second Gamecock to earn a spot in Eugene, where she will join decathlete Markus Leemet. Ryan Bermudez (400m), Tyler Brockington (400mH), Precious Holmes (400m), Otis Jones (800m) and David Winters (100m) will have their chance to join Sow and Leemet tomorrow after successful first-round efforts on Thursday.

Sow stood outside of the top-12 going into her third and final long jump of the evening and knew she needed a strong effort to make it to Eugene. The Le Havre, France, native delivered; her mark of 21-0 ½ was the eighth-best of the evening, sending Sow to the NCAA Championships in her first season with the Gamecocks.

Brockington ran in the sixth and final heat of the 400mH, and she dominated the race right from the gun. The senior’s time of 59.50 won her heat, earning an automatic qualifying spot in Friday’s quarterfinal. Her time was 18th-best overall on the evening.

Winters got out of the blocks quickly and finished second in his 100m heat for an automatic quarterfinal berth. His time of 10.20 blew away his previous Gamecock PR, and it ranks sixth all-time in school history. It was also the fourth-fastest time in the field on Thursday.

In the women’s 400m, Holmes closed strong to take fourth in her heat with a time of 53.56. That mark was the second-best among non-automatic qualifiers and matched her season best from the SEC Championships. It was also the 15th-best time of the day Thursday.

Just minutes after Holmes earned a bid to the quarterfinals, Bermudez was on the track in the men’s 400m. In his final regional meet, the senior came in at 47.07, just off his personal best. After a DQ, he moved up to third in his heat for an automatic qualifying spot, and his time was 12th overall in the first round.

Jones secured his first career trip to the NCAA quarterfinals with a time of 1:50.10, his second-best run of the season. The mark was the 20th-best of the day and earned the second-to-last qualifying spot for Friday’s round of 24.

QUOTING HEAD COACH Curtis Frye

UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS

The NCAA East Regional continues Friday in Lexington, with the Gamecocks scheduled to compete beginning at 4:30 p.m.