April 7, 2002
The South Carolina Track and Field Team put up another tough performance this weekend as the women finished second and the men finished third at the Gatorade Classic at the Tom Black Track, hosted by the University of Tennessee.
While competing against four other Southeastern Conference teams, the women qualified nine for the NCAA Championships and set a school record in the 100m dash while the men qualified one for the NCAA Championships.
Junior Aleen Bailey ran 11.38 in the 100 meter dash which not only provisionally qualified her for the NCAAs, but also set a school record as well. Freshman teammate Khalilah Carpenter finished third in the same race with a time of 11.70.
In the 100 meter hurdles, the Gamecocks finished one-two-three. Tiffany Ross finished first with a NCAA provisional mark of 13.46. Shevon Stoddart finished second with a provisional mark of 13.77 while Antoinette Wilks rounded out trio with a time of 13.96. Tacita Bass finished sixth in the race with a time of 14.75.
The second one-two-three finish for the Gamecocks came in the 200 meter dash. Aleen Bailey (23.85) finished first, followed by Khalilah Carpenter (24.12) second, and Demetria Washington (24.15) finishing third.
South Carolina ran in another spectacular one-two-three finish in the 400 meter hurdles for the second straight weekend. While last weekend it was Lashinda Demus, Tiffany Ross, and Shevon Stoddart finisheing one-two-three, this week Tiffany Ross finished first with a NCAA automatic qualifying time of 58.14. Tacita Bass was the runner-up with a provisional time of 59.10 and Shevon Stoddart finished third with a provisional time of 59.39.
The South Carolina 4 x 400 meter relay team set a provisional qualifying mark of 3:38.00 while winning the race. The 4 x 100 meter relay team also set a provisional qualifying mark of 44.89 as they won the relay race.
Two-time Track and Field News Athlete of the Year winner Lashinda Demus won the 400 meter dash with a NCAA automatic time of 52.32. Erica Whipple finished fourth with a time of 54.84.
Antoinette Wilks and Tacita Bass finished third and fourth, respectively, in the long jump competition. Wilks had a mark of 19 feet 4.25 inches while Bass had a mark of 19 feet 3.25 inches.
On the men?s side, South Carolina finished second in the 4 x 100 meter relay with a provisional qualifying time of 39.83. Jarred Johnson finished third in the 400 meter hurdles competition with a time of 52.76.
Corey Taylor was the runner-up in the 110 meter hurdles race with a time of 13.96. James Law and Thomas Lewis finished third and fourth, respectively, in the 200 meter dash. Law had a time of 21.31 and Lewis had a time of 21.85.
Otukile Lekote finished second in the 800 meter run with a time of 1:49.69. Chirs Vanderbrink finished fourth in the hammer throw competition with a mark of 175 feet 9 inches. Scott Alsup finished fourth in the javelin with a mark of 188 feet, 11 inches.
In the pole vault competition, Chris Steddum finished second with a mark of 17 feet, one inch while Jared Farabee finished third with a mark of 16 feet 7.25 inches.
The Gamecocks next compete on April 10th as they host the South Carolina State Collegiate Track and Field Championships at the Weems Baskin Track Facility. Field events start at 2:30 p.m. while track events will begin at 4:00 p.m. Admission is free to the public.
