Feb. 27, 2005
Fayetteville, Ark. – South Carolina men’s track and field wrapped up the SEC Indoor Championship in seventh place with 42.50 points to conclude the two-day event at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville on Sunday. Arkansas won the conference title with a total of 155 points, followed by Florida (92), Tennessee (89), Auburn (67.50), Georgia (67), LSU (66), USC (42.50), Ole Miss (33), Alabama (32) and Kentucky (19).
Starting off the final day of competition, freshman Jason Richardson ran a close 60m hurdles race to finish third for the Gamecocks with a time of 7.77. Richardson, who earned an advance to the finals with a time of 7.75 on Saturday, ran the fourth fastest time in school history to score in his first SEC Championship.
Senior captain Rodney Martin and junior Adrian Durant advanced to Sunday’s final in the 60m dash to finish in fifth and eighth places, respectively. Martin, who ran a 6.75, set a new season high, while Durant ran a 6.88.
Martin also set a new personal best and school indoor record, winning his heat and finishing in fourth place in the men’s 200m finals on Sunday. Martin ran a NCAA automatic qualifying time of 20.59, breaking his own record of 20.67 set earlier this season in the same facility at the Tyson Invitational. Wallace Spearmon, of Arkansas, ran a 20.35 to win the title and earn the third fastest time in the country.
Gamecock freshman jumper Derek Pressley scored at his first SEC Championship with a leap of 48’10¼ to earn seventh place in the triple jump. Junior Greig Cryer, who finished third on Saturday in the long jump, passed due to injury.
In the men’s 800m, William Emase showed great strides with a strong third lap to finish eighth in the event with a time of 1:51.33. Emase returned to the track to run the anchor leg of the distance medley relay and lead the Gamecocks to a fourth place finish with a time of 9:56.46, the second fastest time in school history. Also running the DMR was Matt Hoffman, Thomas Hilliard and Shawn Cunningham.
Gamecock success was not limited to only the track. In the field, South Carolina pole vaulters finished the day with two scorers. Sophomore Dan McKenzie vaulted the best performance of his career with a personal best of 16’5 ¼ to finish in a tie for third place for the Gamecocks. Redshirt junior Trey Bell finished tied for sixth with a vault of 15’11¼.
In the final event of the day, the Gamecocks claimed fourth place in the men’s 4x400m relay with a time of 3:07.76, by far the fastest time of the season and the third fastest time in school history.
Results for the SEC Indoor Championship will be available at www.uscsports.com. For more information on the SEC and the Track and Field Indoor Championship, go to www.secsports.com.
