Gamecocks Start Weekend at Razorback Invitational

Jan. 27, 2017

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COLUMBIA, S.C. — The University of South Carolina track & field program opened the 2017 Razorback Invitational on Friday night, and several Gamecocks stood tall against one of the toughest fields in the sport. Ncincilili Titi, Rougui Sow, Tye Williams and Yann Randrianasolo each turned in a scoring performance for Carolina at the Randal Tyson Track Center.

After one day of competition, the Gamecock men are in ninth place with 11 points, and the Carolina women are 11th with five points. Texas A&M tops the men’s standings, at 46 points, and Georgia paces the women’s field, with 52. Only seven of the 17 events have been completed on the women’s side, and the men finished six events on Friday.

The meet continues to serve as a postseason preview for the Gamecocks, who are ranked 19th in the USTFCCCA men’s poll and 24th in the women’s poll. Counting Carolina, the field in Fayetteville features 18 nationally-ranked teams.

Titi provided one of the highlights of the night for Carolina with a new PR of 20.78 in the 200m. Running alongside reigning NCAA champion Christian Coleman from Tennessee, Titi placed second in his heat and fourth overall. The time ranks sixth in the nation this season and was good for the Carolina men’s team’s first five points in the meet’s team standings. It’s also the third-fastest time in program history.

After making her collegiate debut last week, Sow turned in another strong performance on Friday. The France national team member’s long jump mark of 20-5 ¼ was good for fourth place and accounted for the first five Carolina points on the women’s side this week.

Williams crossed the 7-foot plateau for the first time last week at Vanderbilt, and while he couldn’t duplicate the feat on Friday, he still turned in a valuable performance for the Gamecocks. The junior finished fifth in the high jump and scored four points with a mark of 6-11.

Randrianasolo made his collegiate debut on Friday and earned the final two points of the night for the Gamecock men. In his first meet as a Gamecock, he hit 24-3 ¾ in the long jump and finished in seventh position.

Carolina student-athletes took their first swing at multi events on Friday. Jordan Fields broke three existing collegiate personal bests to finish ninth in the pentathlon with 3,667 points, while Kara Lyles set a pair of personal bests to finish 10th, at 3,413. On the men’s side, Markus Leemet stands sixth in the heptathlon with 3,040 points. Three of the seven events remain.

NOTABLE

Senior Clarence Gallop just missed scoring for the Gamecocks in the weight throw. His effort of 60-7 ¼ was good for ninth place, just four inches shy of a scoring position.

QUOTING HEAD COACH Curtis Frye

UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS

The Gamecocks will finish the Razorback Invitational on Saturday. Events begin at 11:15 a.m. ET, and SEC Network will televise a portion of Saturday’s action beginning at 2 p.m. ET.