March 23, 2002

Columbia, SC – On the final day of competition at the Weems Baskein Invitational Track Meet, the University of South Carolina ran away with the competition winning 16 events and qualifying three for the NCAA Championships. The Gamecocks competed against over 20 teams from across the nation at the two-day event at the Weems Baskin Track Facility.

Lashinda Demus and Tiffany Ross both had provisional qualifying times for the NCAAs in the 400m hurdles as they finished first and second, respectively. Demus had a time of 57.59 while Ross had a time of 59.03.

Mikisha Lewis won the women’s 800m race with a time of 2:13.94. Jenny Lake won the 1500m run with a time of 4:40.65.

USC’s relay teams performed spectacularly as they Carolina won the 4x100m relay with a time of 45.76 and the 4x200m relay with a time of 1:35.96. South Carolina set a meet record in the women’s 4x300m relay with a time of 2:34.07 and in the 4x400m relay with a time of 3:33.48, which is also a provisional qualifying mark for the NCAAs.

Chelsea Hammond won the High Jump with a mark of 1.65m and Antoinette Wilks won the Long Jump with a mark of 6.07m. Lori Tvarkunas, Rachel Farabee, and Karlee Butler finished one, two, three, respectively in the Pole Vault with marks of 3.35m, 3.20m, and 3.05m.

On the men’s side, Corey Taylor won the 110m hurdles with a time of 14.16 while Chris Steddum won the Pole Vault competition with a mark of 5.00m.

Carolina won the 4x200m relay with a time of 1:24.32 and then went on to set a meet record in the 4x400m relay with a time of 3:06.54. That time qualifies the 4x400m relay team for the NCAAs. USC’s men also won the Sprint Medley with a time of 3:18.43.

Chris Vanderbrink won the Hammer Throw with a mark of 52.10m. Scott Alsup, Garry Martin, and Fred Townsend finished second, third, and fourth, respectively in the Javelin Throw with marks of 54.44m, 53.00m, and 51.62m.

South Carolina next competes at the Raleigh Relays in Raleigh, NC and the Florida Relays in Gainesville, FL on March 29-30th.