March 9, 2004

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The NCAA announced its performance lists for the 2004 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships on March 12-13. Included among the athletes headed to Fayetteville, Ark., are 13 Gamecocks and the USC women’s 4x400m relay team.

Lashinda Demus is the defending National Champion in the women’s 400m.

Eight women and five men comprise Carolina’s qualifiers. Leading the way for the women will be Lashinda Demus, who returns to defend her 400m NCAA title won last season. Demus enters the event in 2004 with the No. 4 seed based upon her qualifying time of 51.59. The California native will also compete in the 60m hurdles, where she is seeded eighth with a qualifying time of 8.19.

Chelsea Hammond is USC’s highest-seeded female athlete at No. 2 in the pentathlon. She finished as runner-up in the event with 4,133 at the SEC Indoor Championships.

Tony Allmond and Rodney Martin, Jr., are USC’s highest-seeded male athletes, both at No. 7. Allmond will attempt to repeat last season’s Indoor All-American performance after posting a season-best mark of 7.80 in 2004. Martin makes his first appearance at the NCAA’s and enters the meet with a season-best time of 20.84 in the 200m.

The USC women’s 4x400m relay team of Stephanie Smith, Shevon Stoddart, Tawana Watkins and Lashinda Demus is seeded second. At the SEC Championships, the quartet recorded a season-best time of 3:29.53, just off the pace set by LSU.

Competition in Fayetteville begins Friday morning with heptathlon events and continues throughout the day. Saturday’s schedule begins with pentathlon and heptathlon in the morning and event finals throughout the evening. For complete performance lists and event schedules, visit the official website for the NCAA Indoor Championships at www.ncaasports.com.

USC’s 2004 NCAA Indoor Championship Participants: Ronnetta Alexander (60m Hurdles); Tony Allmond (Long Jump); Khalilah Carpenter (60m and 200m); Lashinda Demus (400m and 60m Hurdles); Adrian Durant (60m); Chelsea Hammond (Pentathlon); Alexis Joyce (60m); Rodney Martin, Jr. (200m); Stephanie Smith (200m and 400m); Chris Steddum (Pole Vault); Shevon Stoddart (400m); Fred Townsend (Heptathlon); Erica Whipple (200m); USC Women’s 4x400m Relay (Stephanie Smith, Shevon Stoddart, Tawana Watkins and Lashinda Demus).