Jan. 20, 2007
LEXINGTON, Ky. — South Carolina’s women’s track and field team dominated the 200- and 400-meter dashes Saturday at the Rod McCravy Memorial in Lexington, Ky.
Juniors Shalonda Solomon and Natasha Hastings finished 1-2 in the 200m with times of 23.16 and 23.63. It was Solomon’s first 200 race of the season, and her time was an automatic qualifying mark for the NCAA Indoor Championships in March. Solomon is the defending NCAA champion in the event for the indoor and outdoor seasons. For Hastings, it was her second provisional time of the year. Solomon also ran two provisional times in the 60, with her best being 7.37 in the finals for second place.
Hastings took first in the 400 in a meet-record 52.85. Also posting a provisional time in the 400 was freshman Krystal Cantey, who shaved over a second off her time from last week with a 54.28 clocking to finish fourth. Senior Stephanie Smith also had a provisional time at 54.36 for fifth. Junior Faraign Giles finished sixth in the event with a time of 54.69, followed by freshman Brandi Cross in seventh at 54.80, and senior Chiquita Martin was 10th crossing the finish line in 55.62.
South Carolina’s top 4×400 relay team (Cross, Smith, Giles, Hastings) took first-place honors for the second week in a row with a provisional time of 3:36.44. On the men’s side, the Gamecocks (Thomas Hilliard, IV, Ray Miley, Keith Hinnant, Quentin Moore) were third in the event with a time of 3:10.64.
Hilliard ran a pair of provisional times in the 60m hurdles with consecutive 7.91s to place third in the prelims and second in the finals. Nick Lytle gave two strong efforts in the 60 and 200, placing 12th and 13th in times of 6.91 and 21.79. In the 400, Moore missed a provisional qualifying time by just .06 seconds, running 47.31 to place fourth.
In the longer distances, Hinnant and Miley were third and fourth in the 800 with times of 1:53.32 and 1:53.64. Johnny Baez ran the mile in 4:14.22 to record the sixth-fastest time in South Carolina history.
Dan McKenzie led South Carolina’s men in the field events with a 17-0 3/4 mark in the pole vault, good for a provisional figure. It was a career-best for McKenzie at an indoor meet and tied his overall personal record. McKenzie is one of just four Gamecocks in school history to clear 17 feet at an indoor meet.
In the women’s 60m hurdles, Kettiany Clarke was .07 seconds away from a provisional time thanks to an 8.50 mark in the finals that gave her fifth place. Brittney James ran 8.66 in the prelims for the eighth-best time before taking 12th in the finals. James also turned in a solid performance in the long jump with a leap of 19-5 1/2.
Precious Akins moved closer to qualifying for NCAAs in the shot put with a toss of 47-11 3/4. It was an improvement of over nine inches from what the senior threw at Virginia Tech a week ago.
The Gamecocks continue the indoor season next week with the multi-event athletes heading to Clemson, S.C., for the Clemson Heptathlon/Pentathlon beginning Friday, while other members of the team compete in the Diet Pepsi Invitational in Gainesville, Fla.
SATURDAY’S ROD MCCRAVY MEMORIAL RESULTS
Men’s 60m Dash (Prelims)
15. Nick Lytle 6.93
Men’s 60m Dash (Finals)
12. Nick Lytle 6.91
Men’s 200m Dash (Finals)
13. Nick Lytle 21.79
Men’s 400m Dash (Finals)
4. Quentin Moore 47.31, 19. Jamil James, 50.04
Men’s 800m Run (Finals)
3. Keith Hinnant 1:53.32, 4. Ray Miley 1:53.64, 16. Sean Leyh 1:58.02
Men’s Mile Run (Finals)
9. Johnny Baez 4:14.22, 20. Daniel Williams 4:28.32
Men’s 3,000m Run (Finals)
28. Daniel Williams 9:16.94
Men’s 60m Hurdles (Prelims)
3. Thomas Hilliard, IV 7.91, 14. Eddie Stoudemire 8.36
Men’s 60m Hurdles (Finals)
2. Thomas Hilliard, IV 7.91; 13. Eddie Stoudemire 8.46
Men’s 4x400m Relay (Finals)
3. Hilliard, Miley, Hinnant, Moore 3:10.64, 12. South Carolina “B” 3:23.36
Men’s Pole Vault (Finals)
4. Dan McKenzie 17-0 3/4, 15. Jay Lucas, Jr. 14-1 1/4
Men’s Long Jump (Finals)
10. Aaron Searles 21-0 3/4, 11. Derek Pressley 19-10 1/4
Men’s Shot Put (Finals)
10. Jim Mitchell 54-5 1/4, 12. Jason Cook 52-9 1/4, 19. Curt McGill 41-11 1/4
Women’s 60m Dash (Prelims)
3. Shalonda Solomon 7.39 28. Dishar’ick Howze 8.05
Women’s 60m Dash (Finals)
2. Shalonda Solomon 7.37
Women’s 200m Dash (Finals)
1. Shalonda Solomon 23.16, 2. Natasha Hastings 23.63, 7. Stephanie Smith, 24.12
Women’s 400m Dash (Finals)
1. Natasha Hastings 52.85, 4. Krystal Cantey 54.28, 5. Stephanie Smith 54.36, 6. Faraign Giles 54.69, 7. Brandi Cross 54.80, 10. Chiquita Martin 55.62, 21. Nikeshia Brown 58.66
Women’s Mile Run (Finals)
19. Rebecca Chain 5:08.43, 21. Casey Gale 5:12.80, 24. Kelsey Bristol 5:16.44, 34. Anna Petrov 5:34.60
Women’s 3,000m Run (Finals)
14. Casey Gale 10:38.38, 22. Lisa McKinney 11:04.94
Women’s 60m Hurdles (Prelims)
5. Kettiany Clarke 8.55, 8. Brittney James 8.66, 14. Reanna Townsend 9.15, 23. Trier Young 10.21
Women’s 60m Hurdles (Finals)
5. Kettiany Clarke 8.50, 12. Brittney James 9.02, 15. Reanna Townsend 9.20
Women’s 4x400m Relay (Finals)
1. Cross, Smith, Giles, Hastings 3:36.44, 6. South Carolina “B” 3:53.30
Women’s High Jump (Finals)
6. Kettiany Clarke 5-5, 18. Reanna Townsend 5-0 1/4
Women’s Shot Put (Finals)
5. Precious Akins 47-11 3/4
Women’s Long Jump (Finals)
4. Brittney James 19-5 1/2, 11. Reanna Townsend 17-4 1/4
