Track Heads To Knoxville For SEC Outdoor Championships

May 14, 2003

South Carolina competes in the SEC Outdoor Championships at Knoxville, Tenn., beginning Thursday and concluding Sunday. The women’s team looks to defend the conference championship that they won in 2002, led by Antoinette Wilks who earned the SEC Commissioner’s Trophy for her outstanding performance. USC’s men’s team is looking to improve on its seventh-place finish at last year’s SEC Outdoor Championships. Earlier this season at the SEC Indoor Championships in Gainesville, Fla., the women placed second and while the men’s squad finished third.

The women’s team takes a No. 2 national ranking to Knoxville, including top-rankings held by Lashinda Demus in both the 400m dash and 400m hurdles and a No. 3 ranking held by Aleen Bailey in the 100m dash.

USC’s men are ranked sixth in the nation and feature the country’s top 400m hurdler in Kenneth Ferguson and the No. 2 ranked 800m runner in Otukile Lekote.

Bailey and Chelsea Hammond earned prestigious recognition at the Sea Ray Relays in April, the last time the Gamecocks competed in Knoxville. Each athlete earned the Tony Wilson Memorial Award, given to the outstanding performer for the field events and for running events.

More information on the meet, including live results, can be accessed at www.utsports.com.