March 27, 2015
TUSCALOOSA, ALA. – After a successful opening weekend of the outdoor season, the Gamecock track and field team prepares to get an early test against SEC opponent this weekend at the Crimson Tide Invitational. The two-day meet begins with field events Friday afternoon, then track and field events all day Saturday. Among the competitors facing Carolina will be host Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, and Mississippi State.
WEEKEND INFORMATION
Date: Fri., Mar. 27 – Sat., Mar. 28
Start Time: Fri. – 3:30 p.m. ET | Sat. – 1 p.m. ET
Location: TUSCALOOSA, ALA.
Facility: Sam Bailey Track and Field Stadium
Last weekend, the team won 11 events at the Shamrock Invitational, hosted by Coastal Carolina. The men’s team shined brightest in the relays, winning three of four. In the team scoring, the Gamecocks finished first on the men’s side, routing rival Clemson.
After redshirting the 2014 outdoor season and without indoor eligibility, Jeannelle Scheper made her return to competition for the Gamecocks count in a big way, matching her program record mark in the high jump to win the event. She cleared 1.91 meters (6′ 3″) to win the event and beat the previous facility record by nearly six inches. Scheper was named the USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week, and also earned SEC Field Athlete of the Week honors for her efforts.
Also winning on the women’s side was Alexis Murphy. Her mark of 5.87 meters in the long jump clinched the win, with Natasha Dicks finishing fourth overall and Chalese Davis coming in seventh. In the men’s Friday field events, Kaleb Zuidema won the javelin throw handily, tossing a winning mark of 65.54 meters (215 feet).
For the Saturday finale, seven more events would go for the Garnet and Black, starting with a tight win for Eric Winfrey in the 200m. He edged out former Gamecock great Chris Royster by six thousandths of a second to cross first with a time of 21.47. Clayton Gravesande would account for the second sprint win of the day for the men, taking the 400 before running in the winning 4×4 relay team.
It would nearly be a clean sweep of the hurdles for Carolina on Saturday, as it would account for three titles in four races. Dondre Echols won the 110mH, Jussi Kanervo won the 400mH, and Chalese Davis set a meet record en route to a win in the 100mH.
Closing out the Saturday competition were the field events. Olivia Hassler opened her javelin season with a second-place finish, tossing a mark of 151 feet, two inches. Freshman Shelby Freedman had a solid debut as a Gamecock, finishing third with a throw of 150 feet, one inch. Amy Suttmeier finished seventh in the javelin, and all three would wind up in the program record book (at third, fourth, and fifth, respectively). Josh Awotunde posted top-four finishes in both of his throwing events on Saturday, taking second in the discus and fourth in the shot put.
Serving as captains this weekend will be Clayton Gravesande and Eric Winfrey for the men, and Chalese Davis and Jeannelle Scheper for the women. Clayton is a redshirt senior from Somerset, N.J. who will be competing in the 400 and the 4×100 and 4×400 relays. Winfrey is a junior from Fayetteville, N.C. and will be competing in the 200 and the 4×100 and 4×400 relays. Davis is a senior from Hercules, Calif. and will compete in the 100 and 400 hurdles as well as the 4×100 relay. Scheper is a senior from Saint Lucia who will look to improve on her nation’s-best mark of 1.91m in the high jump this weekend.
