April 13, 2005

Columbia, S.C. – USC women’s track and field freshman All-American Shalonda Solomon was named Southeastern Conference Runner of the Week after her impressive performance at the 33rd Gatorade Classic in Knoxville, Tenn., last weekend.

For the second consecutive week Solomon had an outstanding performance, totaling three titles and two first place relay finishes in the Gamecocks’ last two competitions. After winning the 200m, finishing second in the 100m and running a leg of the winning 4x100m relay in inclement weather at the Yellow Jacket Invitational in Atlanta, Ga., on April 2nd, Solomon put on a repeat performance in Knoxville, stepping it up a notch to claim both the 100m and 200m titles on Saturday, April 8th. Solomon won the 100m with a regional qualifying time of 11.37, only to follow with a first-place performance in the 200m, running a personal best and regional qualifying time of 22.72. Solomon also ran a leg of the 4x100m relay that won the title and broke an eight-year old Gatorade Classic record with a regional qualifying time of 43.58.

Solomon, the 2004 National Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year, earned her first All-American honors at the 2005 NCAA Indoor Championship in Fayetteville, Ark., after finishing fifth in the 200m and anchoring the 4x400m relay that won the national title.