March 15, 2008
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The South Carolina men’s and women’s track programs concluded competition Saturday at the NCAA Indoor Championships at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark. The Gamecock men came in 30th overall with eight points with the women taking 53rd with three points.
Krystal Cantey, Faraign Giles, Brandi Cross and Porche Byrd earned All-America honors after scoring for the women’s team in the 4×400-meter relay. The Gamecocks came in sixth for three points at 3:33.992 after Penn State took the 3:34.00 split at 3:33.991 to take fifth. Cantey was the lead runner and was followed by Cross who ran a 52.23 split after taking a DNF in the 400-meter dash Friday. Giles ran the third leg followed by Byrd who took anchor.
“It’s not a good place to be but you see so much promise,” South Carolina coach Curtis Frye said. “On our women’s side, all we had was the mile relay. A couple of bumps didn’t go our way. We have to move on and learn from it. Losing the kind of juniors we had last year (Shalonda Solomon, Natasha Hastings and Amberly Nesbitt) that would be seniors this year hurts us a great deal. Leadership is an important ingredient in being able to manage championships. We have to raise sophomores and freshmen into juniors and seniors. It’s hard when you only have Faraign Giles in the women’s program that’s a senior with everyone else a sophomore and freshman. The future is bright but it doesn’t feel good in the present. I have to be positive and put it together outdoors.”
The SEC Championship men’s 4×400-meter relay team was not able to finish the event after a stumble in the third leg. Keith Hinnant and Aaron Anderson ran the first two legs for the Gamecocks before Jussi Heikkila took the baton for the third leg. Heikkila gained ground on heat leader TCU after passing a runner from Texas Tech, but for the second consecutive night at the championships a Carolina runner had to take a DNF after contact with another runner caused Heikkila to fall.
The Gamecocks earned five All-American honors overall for the 2008 indoor season. Jason Richardson earned his fifth All-American nod after placing second in the 60-meter hurdles Friday at 7.53. The women’s 4×400-meter relay team earned the other four nods, marking the 10th straight year that the women’s mile relay took home All-America honors. The nod is the third for Cantey, fourth for Giles, second for Cross and first for Byrd.
“We had a tough meet,” Frye said. “Jason Richardson had a great meet. Our kids were running really good on the mile relay on the men’s. Incidents happen indoors, especially when some don’t have as much experience indoors. If Jussi doesn’t get clipped, that puts you in position to win the mile relay. That makes you ninth in the country; in turn we end up 30th.”
South Carolina opens the outdoor season next week at Coastal Carolina from March 20-22 for the Shamrock Invitational.
Men’s 4×400-Meter Relay (Final)
DNF. Hinnant, Anderson, Heikkila, Moore
Women’s 4×400-Meter Relay (Final)
6. Cantey, Giles, Cross, Byrd 3:33.992
