April 18, 2006

COLUMBIA, SC – Shalonda Solomon, South Carolina’s sophomore sprinting standout from Inglewood, Calif., has been named the SEC Track Athlete of the Week after running world-leaders in two events last weekend. It is the fifth time in six weeks she has won the weekly award.

Solomon broke two school records last weekend – both set by former NCAA champions.

She improved her No. 1 time in the NCAA by winning the 200m Invitational, posting a time of 22.53. Her time is the fastest time in the world this year. The 22.53 in the 200m breaks former NCAA champion Aleen Bailey’s record set in 2002 (22.54).

She also posted a win in the 100m on April 14 with the NCAA’s best time of 11.12 (regional qualifier) in Knoxville. Her time is currently the fastest time in the world this year. The time of 11.12 also breaks another school record, set by Erica Whipple in 2003 (11.15).

Solomon was named the Track Athlete of the Meet at Sea Ray Relays last weekend. She also anchored USC’s 4x100m relay (44.22 – regional qualifier) to victory and ran the second leg on the winning 4x200m assemblage (1:35.08).

In addition, USC’s women jumped up No. 10 (tied with UCLA at that spot) in trackwire.com rankings this week. USC’s men are tied with Baylor and Boise State at No. 22. Texas’ women are No. 1 and Florida State is No. 1 on the men’s side. Both the men and women compete at the North Carolina A&T Invitational this weekend, site of the NCAA Regional in May, as preparation for next weekend’s prestigious Penn Relays in Philadelphia.

Other SEC award winners this week:

SEC MEN’S TRACK RUNNER OF THE WEEK
Xavier Carter, LSU
Sophomore – Sprints – Palm Bay, Fla.

SEC MEN’S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Eric Brown, Arkansas
Senior – Throws – Baldwin City, Kan.

SEC WOMEN’S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Patricia Sylvester, Georgia
Senior – Jumps – River Salle, Grenada