May 7, 2005
Clemson, S.C. – South Carolina athletes were all over the track with top finishes in almost every event as the Gamecocks competed at the Orange and Purple Classic hosted by rival Clemson on Saturday.
The Gamecock field athletes led the women’s team with five title wins for the day and a number of top-five finishes. Leading the Gamecocks with an impressive performance in the field was sophomore thrower Precious Akins. Akins won the shot put with a throw of 45’7, finished first in the discus with a distance of 175’7 and finished third in the hammer with a mark of 167’3. Gamecock Reanna Townsend finished second in the javelin with a throw of 95’5, while Chelsea Hammond finished third with a distance of 92’0.
Junior jumper Kemesha Whitmire claimed a win in the long jump with a leap of 20’9, while Cheryl Terrio captured a win in the pole vault with a height of 12’11 ½, a regional qualifying mark. Junior Monica Bozenski also had a win in the high jump with a height of 5’6.
On the track, the women’s team was led by freshman All-American Amberly Nesbitt, who claimed one of two wins for the Gamecocks. Nesbitt finished first in the 100m dash with a time of 11.72, while Sharee Howze and Moncia King finished 10th and 11th, respectively, with times of 12.51 and 12.57. Camille Clemmons-James and King also ran the 200m dash, finishing 15th and 18th with times of 25.72 and 26.16.
Freshmen Faraign Giles and Nikeshia Brown also claimed top finishes for the Gamecocks with third and fifth places in the 400m dash, running 56.91 and 57.25. In the women’s 800m, junior Shay Shelton led the Gamecocks with a second place finish time of 2:11.46, while freshman Rebecca Chain was the top South Carolina finisher in the 1500m with a second place time of 4:49.45. Freshman Amy Wike finished fourth with a time of 5:02.38.
The Gamecocks continued to dominate in the hurdles, finishing second, third, ninth and 13th in the 100m hurdles. Sophomore All-American Ronnetta Alexander was the top Gamecock finisher with a regional qualifying time of 13.62, while senior All-American Shevon Stoddart also ran a regional qualifying time of 13.78 for a third place finish. Junior All-American Tawana Watkins followed with a second place in the 400m hurdles with a time regional qualifying time of 58.62.
In relay events, the Gamecocks claimed second place in the 4x100m relay with a time of 47.41 ran by King, Howze, Giles, and Chelsea Kaczmarek. The 4x400m relay consisting of Kaczmarek, Brown, Giles and King finished first with a time of 3:46.78. For the men’s team, freshman Keith Hinnant had the top finish of the day, claiming the 400m title with a regional qualifying time of 46.67. Junior Williams Emase continues to run well in the 800m, finishing second with a regional qualifying time of 1:49.51. Matt Hoffman finished 11th in the event with a time of 1:58.70.
In other events, freshman Nick Lytle finished 15th in the 100m dash with a time of 11.08, while freshman Jamil James finished seventh in the 200m with a time of 21.52.
Gamecock hurdles Jason Richardson and Thomas Hilliard finished sixth and fifth in the 110m hurdles and the 400m hurdles, respectively, with times of 14.51 and 53.64.
In the field, pole vaulter Dan McKenzie had a great performance finishing first in the event with a regional qualifying height of 16’6 ¾. Freshman Derek Pressley finished ninth in the long jump and fifth in the triple jump with leaps of 21’3 ¼ and 47’0 ¼.
Gamecock throwers also saw a lot of action on Saturday. Freshman Joseph Schroeder finished fourth in the discus with a distance of 151’4, while Tyler Trout and Jason Cook finished fifth and eighth, with distances of 149’2 and 139’8, respectively. Cook also finished fifth in the shot put with a distance of 42’2, while Trout finished fourth in the hammer with a distance of 170’5. Schroeder finished eighth in the javelin with a distance of 180’10 and sophomore Jacob Minksey finished fifth in the hammer with a distance of 166’7, followed Anthony Faulkner finished ninth with a throw of 142’4.
The Gamecocks will be heading to Nashville, Tenn. next week for the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championship, May 12-15.
