Gamecocks Open 2017 with 10 Victories at Clemson Invitational

Jan. 14, 2017

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The University of South Carolina track & field program opened their 2017 indoor season on Saturday with a hugely successful day at the Clemson Invitational. The Gamecocks won 10 events at the Clemson Indoor Complex and finished with 27 podium finishes.

Both newcomers and veterans were victorious for Carolina on Saturday. Hailey Sweatman, Taranisha Taylor, Isaiah Moore, Simon Gyllensten, Tye Williams, Michael Wamer, Josh Awotunde and Ncincilili Titi each won an individual title at Clemson, with several Gamecocks making a mark on the program’s record book. Also, Carolina brought home a win in the women’s distance medley relay and the men’s 4x400m relay.

Overall, Carolina’s 10 victories led all teams on Saturday, giving head coach Curtis Frye and the Gamecocks loads of momentum for the long season ahead.

Sweatman was the first Gamecock to collect a victory on Saturday. Competing in her first collegiate event, the freshman took the women’s pole vault with a mark of 12-5 ½.

Taylor was one of three Gamecocks to qualify for the women’s 60mH finals, joining Milan Parks and Funlayo Oluwole. It was Taylor’s 8.32 that won the event and checked in as the seventh-fastest time in school history. Parks placed fourth and Oluwole sixth.

Moore qualified for the finals of the men’s 60mH in second place, behind Clemson’s Kirk Lewis, but he was the faster man when it mattered most. Moore’s time of 7.91 was one-hundredth of a second faster than Lewis in the finals. Matt Froschauer finished third and Markus Leemet came in fourth.

Gyllensten completed Carolina’s pole vault sweep when he won the men’s title in the afternoon. His mark of 15-9 was six inches clear of the runner-up, and Chris Cochran finished third to put two Gamecocks on the podium.

Williams was victorious in the high jump as Carolina continued their success in the field events. His mark of 6-10 ¾ was just a quarter-inch shy of his previous best, which stands as the sixth-best mark in school history.

As the day neared its end, Wamer provided another huge highlight for the Gamecocks. His effort of 51-9 ¼ won the triple jump and was good for the second-best mark in Carolina history. It’s also the fourth-best mark of the collegiate season to date.

A dominating Carolina effort in the shot put capped a strong day in the field events. Awotunde was the winner, with his throw of 62-6 setting a new personal record and checking in third in the Gamecock record books. In addition, the mark is the third-best in the country so far this season. Eric Favors came in second and Ben Bonhurst added a fourth-place finish.

Carolina got their last individual win of the day as Titi electrified the crowd with a win in the 200m dash. The All-American posted a time of 20.94, a new facility record and the sixth-best time in the nation so far.

Carolina’s distance group got in on the action late in the meet with a victory in the distance medley relay. Emily Crounse, Maddie Beaubien, Anna Kathryn Stoddard and Allie Mueller turned in a time of 12:26.99 to win by nearly five seconds.

The Gamecocks ended the meet with a win in the men’s 4x400m relay. Ty Jaye Robbins, Ryan Bermudez, Otis Jones and Markus Leemet posted a mark of 3:13.94 to edge Clemson out by less than a second.

NOTABLE

After representing Guyana and the Gamecocks in the 2016 Rio Olympics, sophomore Aliyah Abrams got her season started with the 300m dash. Abrams finished second overall and first among collegiate entrants with a time of 37.73. Also, Otis Jones placed second overall and tops among collegiate athletes with a time of 1:03.56 in the men’s 500.

QUOTING HEAD COACH Curtis Frye

UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS

South Carolina stretches out into its first multi-day competition of the season next week, as it participates in the Vanderbilt Invitational. The event runs Jan. 20-21 in Nashville, Tenn., and it’s a preview of the 2017 SEC Indoor Championship, which will be held at the same facility Feb. 24-25.