May 7, 2003
Complete Meet Notes in PDF Format
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Women’s Outdoor Meet By Meet Results in PDF FormatDownload Free Acrobat Reader
Men’s Outdoor Meet By Meet Results in PDF FormatDownload Free Acrobat Reader
South Carolina travels to the Orange & Purple Classic hosted by Clemson University. The meet was not originally on USC’s schedule, but was added to prepare for next weekend’s SEC Outdoor Championships in Knoxville, Tenn. Competition at Clemson is slated for Saturday, May 10 at the Rock Norman Track Complex. USC’s women’s team is currently ranked No. 2 in the nation by Trackwire Online while the men’s team is No. 6.
The Gamecocks had a solid weekend of performances at the Penn Relays despite the rainy and cool weather in Philadelphia.
USC’s men’s shuttle hurdle team lit up the Franklin Field track by posting an American and World-Record time of 53.94. The quartet of Corey Taylor, Fred Townsend, Charles Ryan and Kenneth Ferguson eclipsed the previous collegiate record held by the 1981 Tennessee team that featured Willie Gault on the anchor leg and surpassed the world mark previously held by a 1999 foursome that featured current Carolina volunteer assistant coach Allen Johnson.
Top-ranked Lashinda Demus proved worthy of her ranking by winning the 400m hurdles with a time of 56.90 on day one of competition. Teammate Tiffany Ross ran a season-best time of 57.72 to place third in the event.
Ferguson highlighted the final day of the Penn Relays by winning the 400m hurdles championship with a time of 49.63. He also qualified for the finals of the 110m hurdles but did not race.
Head coach Curtis Frye wore the “yellow hat” during the weekend, a prestigious honor for serving as honorary college women’s referee. He was one of only five honorary referees at the Penn Relays.
Five current USC athletes are ranked among the world’s elite in six events according to the IAAF World Rankings.
Lashinda Demus is the highest ranked Carolina athlete and the only one ranked in multiple events. The sophomore sensation is 13th in the 400m hurdles and 37th in the 400m dash. Antoinette Wilks is the other USC female athlete ranked, holding the 43rd spot in the long jump.
Otukile Lekote leads a trio of USC men, ranked 23rd in the 800m run. Jonathan Fortenberry holds the 41st spot in the 400m run while Kenneth Ferguson owns the 43rd ranking in the 400m hurdles.
