Feb. 24, 2007
LEXINGTON, Ky. — South Carolina’s men’s and women’s track and field teams completed the second day of competition at the SEC Indoor Championships on Saturday at Nutter Field House in Lexington, Ky. The men reside in 10th place with four points heading into the final day Sunday, and the women have nine points for seventh place.
Precious Akins gave the women five points with a fourth-place finish in the 20-pound weight. Aymara Albury passed Akins’ best throw of 60-8 1/2 on her final attempt with a mark of 62-1 1/4 for third. Still, Akins’ finish was the best of her career at the SEC Indoor Championships and marked the first time a Gamecock scored in the 20-pound weight since Mamee Groves took fourth in 2002.
Curt McGill put the men on the scoreboard after placing fifth in the heptathlon with a PR 4,810 points to tally four team points. He scored 797 points in the 60m hurdles, 603 in the pole vault and 469 in the 1,000m. The Gamecocks’ Eddie Stoudemire did not compete in the final two events of the heptathlon after sustaining a groin injury in the 60m hurdles. He did, however, score 905 points in the 60mH with a PR run of 8.31.
South Carolina qualified three women for Sunday’s finals of the 60m hurdles with Chiquita Martin, Ronnetta Alexander and Brittney James all running their first NCAA provisional times of the year at 8.33, 8.37 and 8.39. Martin was fourth in the prelims, followed by Alexander in sixth and James in ninth. James and Martin’s times were both personal records a well.
Natasha Hastings placed first in the prelims of the 400m, running 51.62 for the fastest time by an American in 2007 on an oversized track. It also was a PR for the junior, who ran 51.70 earlier in the season at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational in New York City. Her 51.62 time was .03 seconds from tying the school record held by Lashinda Demus. Hastings has three automatic NCAA marks in the 400 this year.
Stephanie Smith also qualified for the 400 finals Sunday with a seventh-place finish in 53.47, her best time of the season. Krystal Cantey just missed a spot in the finals, running a PR 54.21 to end in 10th place.
Shalonda Solomon notched qualifying times in the 60m and 200m, finishing fifth and second in the prelims with times of 7.36 and 23.09. Solomon has run automatic NCAA qualifying times in the 200 in each of her three races this year.
The men’s quarter mile saw Keith Hinnant place eighth in a time of 46.97, his first provisional NCAA time of the season. Quentin Moore also had a provisional mark at 47.24 but did not qualify for the finals placing 12th.
Johnny Baez took eighth and made the finals in the 800m thanks to a PR time of 1:51.56. Ray Miley was one spot away from competing Sunday, as he posted a time of 1:52.31 for 10th.
In the men’s 60m hurdles, the Gamecocks had a setback when Thomas Hilliard, IV, clipped the last hurdle and stumbled to the finish line in a time of 8.10. He finished in 10th place, just one shy of qualifying for Sunday’s championship event. Hilliard entered Saturday with the fifth-fastest time in the nation among NCAA hurdlers. Jason Richardson, who ranks third in the NCAA for the 60mH, did not compete because of a hamstring injury.
The day ended with Rebecca Chain running a PR 10:01.45 in the 3,000m, breaking her previous mark by over 11 seconds. It also was her best time of the season by over 23 seconds and stands as the seventh-best time in South Carolina history.
MEN’S TEAM STANDINGS AFTER 5 EVENTS
1. Arkansas 46, 2. Florida 34, 3. Georgia 26, 4. Tennessee 21, 5. Auburn 19, T6. Alabama 15, T6. LSU 15, 8. Kentucky 8, 9. Mississippi 7, 10. South Carolina 4
WOMEN’S TEAM STANDINGS AFTER 5 EVENTS
1. Arkansas 45, 2. Georgia 36, 3. Tennessee 25, 4. LSU 19, 5. Florida 18, 6. Mississippi 15, 7. South Carolina 9, 8. Vanderbilt 8, 9. Kentucky 7, 10. Alabama 6, 11. Mississippi State 4, 12. Auburn 3
Men’s 60-Meter Dash (Prelims)
17. Johnathan Hancock 6.94, 19. Nick Lytle 6.97
Men’s 200-Meter Dash (Prelims)
22. Nick Lytle 22.03, 26. Johnathan Hancock 22.51
Men’s 400-Meter Dash (Prelims)
8. Keith Hinnant 46.97 (Q), 12. Quentin Moore 47.24, 20. Jonathan Fortenberry 48.21, 23. Jamil James 48.47
Men’s 800-Meter Run (Prelims)
8. Johnny Baez 1:51.56 (Q), 10. Ray Miley 1:52.31
Men’s Mile Run (Prelims)
17. Daniel Williams 4:24.12
Men’s 60-Meter Hurdles (Prelims)
10. Thomas Hilliard, IV 8.10
Men’s Long Jump (Finals)
9. Derek Pressley 22-10
Men’s Shot Put (Finals)
13. Jason Cook 54-6 1/2, 15. Jim Mitchell 52-6 3/4
Men’s Heptathlon – All Events (60m-1,000m-60mH-HJ-PV-LJ-SP)
5. Curt McGill 4,810 points (769-469-797-619-603-700-776)
Eddie Stoudemire DNF (816-DNS-905-696-DNS-821-511)
Men’s 1,000-Meter Run (Heptathlon)
11. Curt McGill 3:21.55, Eddie Stoudemire DNS
Men’s 60-Meter Hurdles (Heptathlon)
2. Eddie Stoudemire 8.31 (905 points), 8. Curt McGill 8.77 (797 points)
Men’s Pole Vault (Heptathlon)
T8. Curt McGill 12-11 1/2 (603 points), Eddie Stoudemire DNS
Women’s 60-Meter Dash (Prelims)
5. Shalonda Solomon 7.36 (Q), 24.Dishari’ck Howze 7.96
Women’s 200-Meter Dash (Prelims)
2. Shalonda Solomon 23.09 (Q), 14. Chiquita Martin 24.16, T28. Trier Young 25.80, 30. Dishari’ck Howze 26.24
Women’s 400-Meter Dash (Prelims)
1. Natasha Hastings 51.62 (Q), 7. Stephanie Smith 53.47 (Q), 10. Krystal Cantey 54.21, 11. Brandi Cross 54.59, 15. Faraign Giles 55.04, 24. Tawana Watkins 57.49, 25. Nikeshia Brown 57.58
Women’s 3,000-Meter Run (Finals)
19. Rebecca Chain 10:01.45, 27. Casey Gale 10:42.62
Women’s 60-Meter Hurdles (Prelims)
4. Chiquita Martin 8.33 (Q), 6. Ronnetta Alexander 8.37 (Q), 9. Brittney James 8.39 (Q), T13. Trier Young 8.59, 17. Reanna Townsend 8.87
Women’s Pole Vault (Finals)
T9. Sallie Gurganus 11-6 1/2, T13. Liza Todd 11-6 1/2
Women’s Long Jump (Finals)
16. Brittney James 18-7 3/4, 21. Reanna Townsend 17-0 3/4
Women’s 20-Pound Weight (Finals)
4. Precious Akins 60-8 1/2
