May 30, 2002
USC continues competition today in the second day of the NCAA Track and Field Championships in Baton Rouge, La. It’s a busy day at the track for the Gamecocks with a number of preliminaries and the finals of the women’s long jump and heptathlon. The following is a list of who will compete today, Thursday, May 30.
FINALS TONIGHT
Heptatlon
Tacita Bass will compete in the second day of the heptatlon. She is currently in fifth place, just four points out of fourth. She finished 11th in 2001. She will compete in the long jump, the javelin and the 800m today.
W Long Jump – 7:30 pm
Antoinette Wilks – MVP of the SEC Championships after finishing as the runner-up in the long and triple jumps and third in the heptathlon … Seeded No. 9 with a jump of 20′ 5 1/4 … Has the ability to hit a big one that could win it all.
PRELIMS TONIGHT
110m hurdles – 6pm
Corey Taylor – enters the meet with a time of 13.74 — seeded No. 14.
100m hurdles – 6:15 pm
Tiffany Ross – the SEC runner-up enters with a personal best of 13.30 and is currently No. 10 in the NCAA.
400 Meters – 6:30 pm
Otis Harris – fifth at SECs … time of 45.42, a school record, is No. 8 in NCAA
Jon Fortenberry – sixth at SECs … time of 45.71 is No. 12 in the NCAA
400m – 6:45 pm
Lashinda Demus – time off 51.24 won the SEC meet two weeks ago … No. 1 in the NCAA
Demetria Washington – time of 51.94 is No. 3 in the NCAA … NCAA runner-up in 2001
Lisa Barber – finished sixth at USAs in 2001 … time of 52.80 is No. 14 in the meet, but she knows how to run the 400m
100m – 7 pm
Andre Totton – time of 10.23 is No. 13 in the NCAA
100m – 7:15 pm
Aleen Bailey – time of 11.33 is No. 6 in the NCAA … SEC runner-up two weeks ago … Jamaician National Champion in the 100m and 200m in 2001.
M 4x400m Relay – 8:20 pm
Men’s team of Fortenberry, Harris, Otukile Lekote and James Law enters the meet seeded at No. 2 with a school record time of 3:02.49
W 4x400m Relay – 8:35 pm
Women’s team of Ross, Demus, Washington and Barber set the collegiate record earlier this year with a time of 3:26.98 … USC will probably not run all four ‘A’ runners on the relay so that foursome will be rested after a number of other races.
100m
Aleen Bailey – 7:15 pm.
Bailey was the runner-up at the SEC meet and has the school record at 11.33. She is seeded No. 6.
NO SLACK IN THE GAMECOCK ATTACK
When Tacita Bass throws the javelin at 4:30 today, she will start USC on quite a roll for the night. A Gamecock athlete will be competing on the track from 6 pm until 8:50 pm, with the exception of the men’s and women’s 1500m. USC will be represented by at least one athlete in the both short hurdles, both 400m, both 100m and both 4x400m relays.
FINISHING ON TOP?
Demetria Washington has an indoor NCAA title in the 400m and she would like to close out her senior year outdoors with the same outdoors. But she will receive quite a bit of competion from her own teammate Lashinda Demus. The Dynamic Duo will also look for Monique Henderson of UCLA and Allison Beckford of Rice to try to split up what they would like to be a 1-2 finish. Washington was the 400m champion at last year’s World University Games and also made the semi-finals of the same event at the World Championships.
JUST LIKE THE POSTMAN
With rain that started at Noon and looks to continue through the evening, the NCAA Outdoor meet will go on. Compeition would only stop if there were lightening and thunder.
