March 15, 2003
Fayetteville, Ark. – Highlighted by an individual NCAA Championship by Lashinda Demus and a pair of school records in the men’s and women’s 4×400 relays, South Carolina totaled 21 All-Americans on its way to a second-place tie on the women’s side and a fifth-place tie by the men.
The USC women tied for second with Florida at 44 points as LSU took the title with 62 points. The men finished in a three-way tie for fifth place.
“It was a great finish for us,” said head coach Curtis Frye. “We wanted to finish among the top five and to finish second on the women’s side is a great accomplishment. I am happy with the results.”
Demus won the women’s 400 meter dash title with a time of 51.79, her season-best mark. Teammate Demetria Washington placed fifth in the event with a time of 52.32.
“I was just thankful to get to the finals because of all the tough competitors in the preliminaries,” said Demus. “I am very thankful to get the win.”
“Lashinda ran a great race in the 400,” said Frye. “She demonstrated how big time athletes do big time things in big situations.”
The women’s 4×400 relay team set a school-record of 3:28.25 but finished as runners-up to Texas who set a collegiate record with a time of 3:27.66. The quartet of Tiffany Ross, Miki Barber, Demetria Washington and Demus went back and forth throughout the race with the Longhorns, including on the anchor leg.
The men’s 4×400 relay team also set a school-record with a time of 3:05.10, capped by Jonathan Fortenberry’s late charge down the final stretch, to finish third.
Fortenberry recorded a strong finish by placing fourth in the men’s 400m by running a time of 46.01. Aleen Bailey placed fifth in the women’s 60 meter dash with a time of 7.30 and Otukile Lekote placed seventh in the 800m run with a time of 1:48.68.
Thirteen different athletes earned All-American status during the meet.
USC's 2003 Indoor All-Americans:
Tony Allmond - long jumpAleen Bailey - 60m, 200mMiki Barber - 200m, 400m, 4x400 relayLashinda Demus - 400m*, 4x400 relayKenneth Ferguson - 60m hurdles, 4x400 relayJonathan Fortenberry - 400m, 4x400 relayOtis Harris - 4x400 relayOtukile Lekote - 800m, 4x400 relayTiffany Ross - 4x400 relayCorey Taylor - 60m hurdlesDemetria Washington - 400m, 4x400 relayErica Whipple - 200mAntoinette Wilks - long jump
* NCAA Champion
For complete NCAA Indoor Championship results visit www.ncaa.org. The meet will be broadcast on a tape-delayed basis on Monday, March 17 from 1:30-3:30 p.m. ET on espn2.
