July 27, 2006
Columbia, SC – Gamecock track and field athletes continue to represent Carolina proudly with strong performances during this summer’s international meets. With four current athletes, one alumnus and one signee striking gold internationally, USC’s track and field team showed unparalleled dominance in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Trinidad and hopefully China in the near future.
Rising sophomore Kettiany Clarke represented her home country of Jamaica in the Caribbean Athletic Championships where she won the women’s Under-20 100 hurdles with a time of 13.60. Also running the opening leg of the winning 4x100m relay team, Clarke showed her natural sprint speed as the relay clocked an impressive 44.74. Her performances at the Jamaican Junior Trials qualified her for not only the Trinidadian held Caribbean Athletic Championships, but also this year’s World Junior Championships in Beijing to be contested August 15-20, 2006.
While in Beijing, Clarke may run into her future teammate, new signee Brandi Cross, a Texas high school standout who will be running the 400 meters for the USA. To qualify for the World Junior Championships in China, Cross ran a blistering 51.96 to take second at the Finishline USA Junior Nationals held June 21-25. After securing her spot on the international team for Beijing, Cross navigated 400 meters in a time of 53.81 to win the Caribbean Scholastic Invitational, a tune up meet for our American medal hopefuls. Held in Carolina, Puerto Rico (how fitting) the Scholastic Invitational saw Brandi show incredible versatility, running a leg on both the winning 4×100 and 4x400m relays. Gamecock fans should definitely keep an eye on Ms. Cross.
Clarke and Cross were not the only ones to blaze the track in the Caribbean!
Rising juniors Jason Richardson, Shalonda Solomon and Natasha Hastings, and alumnus Kenneth Ferguson all competed at the Under 23- North American and Caribbean Athletic Championships in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Shalonda Solomon, the NCAA indoor and outdoor 200m champion, mined gold in her specialty with a time of 22.90. With her second place finish in the 100m (11.39s) and a swift anchor leg on the winning 4x100m relay (43.53s), Solomon walked away as the most highly decorated athlete at the championships.
Seven time All-American Natasha Hastings was close with her strong performance in the 400m and 4x400m relay, a double medal performer. Before running the second leg of the winning 4x400m, Hastings traveled the track in a time of 52.11, displaying her consistency and winning the silver medal.
On the men’s side, four time All-American Jason Richardson won silver in the 110m hurdles with a time of 13.87. Richardson’s performance completed the gold-silver sweep for the USA. In the intermediate hurdles, Gamecock alumnus Kenneth Ferguson dominated the field with a runaway victory clocked at 48.80. His success did not stop there. In addition to a hurdle title, he also ran the fastest leg of the men’s silver medal 4x400m relay team.
In the end, one can only say that this summer is the summer of the Gamecock. Former Gamecock NCAA champions Terrence Trammell, Otis Harris, Tiffany Ross-Williams and Lashinda Demus, to name a few continue to run well in Europe as well. As our track and field athletes past, present, and future continue to nab victories; we urge your continued support of our track and field athletes.
