Gamecock Women Win Armory Invitational

Feb. 4, 2017

NEW YORK CITY — The University of South Carolina women’s track & field team was victorious on Saturday, topping a highly-regarded field to capture the 2017 Armory Track Invitational. On the men’s side, Carolina was also successful, finishing in second place at the Armory Track Center in Manhattan.

The Gamecock women’s crew finished with 89 points, while Ohio State came in second at 77 points and Oklahoma third, with 72. On the men’s side, Ohio State won the meet with 103 points. Carolina tallied 78.5, and UTSA rounded out the podium with 55.

Carolina won three women’s events on Saturday, as Taranisha Taylor (60mH) and Natasha Dicks (triple jump) took home individual titles while the 4x400m relay squad was victorious in the invitational section. The Carolina men added a victory in the 200m, where Ncincilili Titi topped the field. Precious Holmes added a fifth victory, in the 400m invitational, on Friday.

Overall, the Gamecocks produced 16 different scorers on Saturday, including seven podium finishes.

Both sets of Gamecocks earned second-place finishes in the 4x200m relay. For the women, Briana Haith, Aliyah Abrams, Holmes and Marisa Bellamy combined for a time of 1:36.76. On the men’s side, DeVon Lewis, Darryl Dunham, Alexandre Asselin and Jordan Griffin finished in 1:31.79.

Carolina had four finalists in the 60mH, and three of the Gamecocks finished in the points. Taylor set another PR with a mark of 8.25 to win the race and rise to 23rd nationally in the event. Milan Parks came in sixth with a time of 8.46, and Rougui Sow was .01 behind her to place seventh.

Dicks continues to lay the foundation for a successful postseason run in the triple jump, and that continued Saturday with a victory in the Big Apple. The senior recorded a mark of 42-4 to take home the 10 points.

Isaiah Moore finished on the podium for a fourth consecutive week when he placed third in the 60mH. Moore entered the meet ranked 10th nationally in the event, and he recorded a time of 7.90 Saturday.

Otis Jones put points on the board with a fifth-place result in the 800m invitational. His time of 1:51.24 was a new personal best and ranks eighth in Carolina history.

In the weight throw, Clarence Gallop tallied four more points for the Carolina men with a fifth-place finish. His best effort was 61-1 ¼.

Tyler Brockington was on the track in the 200m and earned a fourth-place finish for the Gamecock women. The senior finished the final in 23.87.

Titi opened his day in the 60m finals, but a false start knocked him out of the race. The junior didn’t let that disappointment keep him from dominating the 200m final, though. He entered the final as the top seed and won the race with a time of 20.88 to score 10 big points. Teammate Ryan Bermudez finished fourth, at 21.95.

The Gamecock women got points from the entire lineup this weekend, with the 4x800m relay squad joining in the fun. Emily Crounse, Maya Evans, Maddie Beaubien and Anna Kathryn Stoddard turned in a time of 9:28.95 to finish fourth and set the sixth-fastest time in Carolina history.

Carolina entered the final women’s event, the 4x400m invitational, with an eight-point lead. They clinched the overall victory with a resounding relay win as Holmes, Brockington, Haith and Abrams turned in a time of 3:36.22.

Carolina capped the day with a sixth-place result in the men’s 4×4 invitational. Bermudez, Ty Jaye Robbins, Jones and Griffin crossed the line in 3:17.49.

NOTABLE

During the day’s festivities, head coach Curtis Frye was awarded the Louise Tricard Sportsmanship Award from the Armory Track Foundation. Long a favorite in New York City, Frye’s Gamecocks have attended the Armory Invitational for all 17 years of its existence.

QUOTING HEAD COACH Curtis Frye

UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS

The Gamecocks are in Clemson next week for the Tiger Paw Invitational. The meet will be held Feb. 10-11 at the Clemson Indoor Facility, and for Carolina, it will be the second appearance in the Upstate this season. The Gamecocks won a team-high 10 events at their season opener, the Clemson Invitational, on Jan. 14