THE WEEK AHEAD: South Carolina hosts the USC Gamecock Invitational on Saturday at the USC Indoor Facility. Field events are scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. with running events slated to start at 1 p.m.
LAST WEEKEND’S RECAP: The Gamecocks won seven events and recorded six automatic and seven provisional qualifying times at the Meet of Champions in New York.
MEN’S – Otukile Lekote remained perfect in the 800m dash this season and set a meet record with a time of 1:48.90. Corey Taylor was victorious in the 60m hurdles with an automatic qualifying time of 7.74. He also finished fourth in the 60m dash with a provisional mark of 6.72. The 4×400 relay team recorded their fastest time of the season, winning the race with a provisional time of 3:07.82.
WOMEN’S – The women’s 4×400 relay team won their race while recording an automatic qualifying time of 3:34.13, their fastest mark of the season, to break their own meet record set last season (3:35.49). Aleen Bailey won the 200m dash with an automatic qualifying time of 23.28, her fastest of the year. Miki Barber came in a close second with an automatic qualifying time of 23.47 while Erica Whipple placed sixth with a provisional qualifying time of 23.85. Bailey also finished second in the 60m dash with a provisional mark of 7.36.
MEN’S RANK AND FILE: Trackwire’s online poll has the Gamecocks ranked No. 2 with 49 behind only Arkansas (56 points). SEC schools occupy the next three positions with LSU, Mississippi State and Florida rounding out the top five. Nine SEC teams are ranked in the Top 25 with six in the Top 10. South Carolina holds six Dandy Dozen rankings, including three top spots, in the following individual events:
400m – Jonathon Fortenberry (2nd); 800m – Otukile Lekote (1st); 60h – Corey Taylor (1st); Kenneth Ferguson (4th); 4x400m – South Carolina (1st); Pole Vault – Chris Steddum (4th)
WOMEN’S RANK AND FILE: South Carolina holds the No. 5 ranking in the Trackwire Online poll. LSU is ranked No. 1, followed by North Carolina, Texas and Florida (tied for No. 3) and the Gamecocks. Seven SEC teams are ranked in the Top 25, including four in the Top 10. South Carolina holds eight positions in Dandy Dozen rankings in the following individual events:
60m – Aleen Bailey (6th); 200m – Aleen Bailey (2nd), Miki Barber (4th), Erica Whipple (12th); 400m – Demetria Washington (3rd), Miki Barber (6th), Lashinda Demus (7th); 4x400m – South Carolina (2nd)
NATIONAL ACCOLADES FOR USC GRAD: Terrance Trammell, volunteer coach for hurdles and sprints, was named USA Track & Field’s Athlete of the Week for his world-leading performances in the men’s 60-meter hurdles and 60-meter dash last Saturday at the Tyson Foods Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark.
The 2001 World Indoor Championships 60-meter hurdles gold medallist ran topped the field with a time of 7.42 before running a 6.46 to win the Verizon men’s 60-meter dash. Trammel’s win in the 60 meters was his second consecutive triumph on the 2003 Indoor Golden Spike Tour. The USC graduate also won the Verizon men’s 60m on Feb. 7 at the Millrose Games in New York City.
FRESH FACES IN HIGH PLACES: Both South Carolina’s women’s and men’s recruiting classes were honored in the February issue of Track and Field News. The women’s recruiting class was ranked fifth nationally by the publication and is highlighted by a trio of All-Americas: Kristina Shelton (2:09.13), Tawana Watkins (57.48) and Kemesha Whitmire (20-1 1/2). The men’s earned honorable mention and was listed among the top eight classes in the country.
LAKE SINKS SCHOOL RECORD: Jenny Lake established a new 3000m indoor school record last Saturday with a time of 9:44.36 at the Meet of Champions in New York City. The mark shattered the previous record time of 9:54.72 set by Sue McGhie in 1992. Lake, a team co-captain, topped her previous personal best by over 11 seconds.
