March 18, 2005
Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina men’s and women’s track and field opened their outdoor season on Friday with the Weems Baskin Relays held at the Weems Baskin Outdoor Track and Field in Columbia, S.C.
Highlighting Friday’s events, junior All-American Kemesha Whitmire set a personal best in the triple jump with a leap of 41’8 _ for first place, defeating runner-up Valentina Howard, of South Carolina State, who jumped for 38’5. Also in the field for the women’s team, junior captain Cheryl Terrio vaulted 12’0 for a first place finish in the pole vault, while Summer Chambliss, of the College of Charleston, finished second with a vault of 9’6 _,
Throwing for USC women’s team, sophomore Precious Akins opened her sophomore outdoor season with a 158’2 throw in the hammer, finishing second to Blessing Egwu, of St. John’s University. Junior Abbie Christianson opened her outdoor season in the javelin finishing third with a throw of 124’04, while teammate Chelsea Kaczmarek finished fourth with a throw of 95’03. St. John’s Grace Zollman won the event with a throw of 135’11.
For the men, Tyler Trout, Jacob Minskey and Anthony Faulkner finished first, second and third in the hammer with throws of 169’4, 167’4 and 141’4 respectively. Freshman Joseph Schroeder debuted in the javelin with a throw of 176’11 for first place, while teammate Tyler Trout came in fifth with a throw of 157’03.
On the track, South Carolina dominated the relays. For the women’s team, South Carolina won the 4x300m relay with a time of 2:39.42, while the 4x1200m relay also finished first with a time of 15:17.19.
Day two of the Weems Baskin Relay will kickoff at 11 a.m. on Saturday with the men’s shot put, women’s discus, men’s and women’s high and long jumps, the men’s pole vault and the men’s and women’s hurdles. The day will conclude with the women’s and men’s 4x400m relay at 3:50 p.m. and 4:10 p.m. Results will be available following the meet at www.uscsports.com.
