March 24, 2012

Complete Results | Photo Gallery

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By Miquel Jacobs
Media Relations Assistant

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina posted 10 wins at the weather-shortened Weems Baskin Invitational Saturday at the Weems Baskin Track. The Gamecock men posted seven wins, and the women’s team earned three wins in the first home meet of the outdoor season.

In the men’s javelin throw, redshirt freshman Joshua Suttmeier improved his mark for the second consecutive week and won his first collegiate competition at 224’2 (68.64m). He improves his mark that ranks No. 2 in the Gamecock history books after just two weeks of collegiate competition.

Junior Jarrod Hutchen jumped the eighth-best mark in program history with his long jump mark of 24’8 ½ (7.53) to win the event. It is the second straight victory to start the outdoor season for Hutchen. In the women’s triple jump, Radiance Basden earned the win at 42’5 ¼ (12.93m) to move to fourth on the Gamecock outdoor all-time list. Basden also finished third in the 400-meter hurdles at 1:01.85.

Sophomore Petra Olsen won the women’s pole vault at an outdoor collegiate best mark of 12’5 ½ (3.80m). Seniors Marvin Reitze and Matt Shuler took first and second in the men’s pole vault with marks of 16’10 ¾ (5.15m) and 16’4 ¾ (5.00m), respectively.

The Gamecocks swept the men’s and women’s 400-meter dash as sophomore Clayton Gravesande won the men’s race at 47.42 and senior Nadonnia Rodriques won the women’s race at 53.79. South Carolina also had the runner-up finishes on both sides of the event. On the men’s side, Andre Carter took second overall at 47.72, and on the women’s side Christal Green took second at 55.00.

Sophomore Chris Royster won the men’s 100-meter dash at 10.47, followed by freshman Damiere Byrd in his outdoor debut in fifth place at 10.72.

Robert Razick won the men’s 1,500-meter run at 3:56.92, and teammates Daniel Novak (4:10.80) and Vince DePiano (4:11.47) took 14th and 15th, respectively. Senior Beatrice Biwott took second in the women’s 1,500-meter run at 4:40.53, followed Megan Rother in 19th (4:58.45) and Erin Fedewa in 23rd (5:02.51).

Freshman Erika Rucker won the women’s 800-meter dash at a time of 2:10.25. On the men’s side, freshman Thomas Gaither led the Gamecocks in the 800-meter dash with a seventh-place finish at 1:56.81.

Freshman Juan Stenner placed second overall and first among collegians in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 52.73. The only runner to cross the line before Stenner was World Championships qualifier and 2010 NCAA Champion Johnny Dutch who finished at 50.66.

The women’s 4×100-meter relay team of Amber Allen, Kelsey McCorkle, Christal Green and Vashti Bandy took second overall at a season best time of 46.45. The men’s relay team placed fourth overall at 41.67.

Sophomore Jeannelle Scheper took was second in the high jump before weather forced the meet to end early. Scheper’s top clearance before the cancellation was 5’8 ¾ (1.75m).

Freshman Chalese Davis finished second in the women’s 100-meter hurdles at 13.88.

Sophomore Emily Laurence took third in the women’s javelin throw at 136’3 (41.54m), falling just three centimeters shy of her mark at last year’s SEC Outdoor Championships that ranked second in the Gamecock record books.

South Carolina travels to Jacksonville, Fla., next weekend to compete at the North Florida Invitational.