Jan. 15, 2003

COLUMBIA, S.C. – In the first “Dandy Dozen” of the 2003 track and field season, South Carolina had 12 athletes and both 4x400m relays ranked in 12 different events. Two events, Otukile Lekote in the men’s 800m run and the women’s 4x400m relay, were ranked first. The women’s 4x400m relay team won the national championship last year, recording a new collegiate record and sealing the team national championship for South Carolina.

The Dandy Dozen is the top 12 rankings of the nation’s collegiate athletes by Trackwire.com, the official source of the most widely respected and reported weekly power ranking of NCAA Division I collegiate track & field teams.

Women60m6. Aleen Bailey12. Erica Whipple
200m5. Erica Whipple6. Aleen Bailey7. Miki Barber
400m2. Lashinda Demus3. Demetria Washington5. Miki Barber9. Shevon Stoddart
60m Hurdles6. Tiffany Ross
4x400m Relay1. South Carolina
Long Jump4. Antoinette Wilks

Triple Jump10. Antoinette Wilks
Men400m6. Otis Harris
800m1. Otukile Lekote
60m Hurdles7. Kenneth Ferguson8. Corey Taylor
4x400m Relay2. South Carolina
Pole Vault4. Chris Steddum