Feb. 5, 2009

New Balance Collegiate | Fri.-Sat., Feb. 6-7

Live Results | Schedule of Events | Meet Notes

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina’s annual trek to New York City marks the start of the indoor “championship season” as Gamecock head track and field coach Curtis Frye calls the yearly slate of prestigious meets that begins in February and ends with the NCAA Indoor Championships in mid-March. The Gamecock women – ranked No. 11 in the latest USTFCCCA poll – and Gamecock men – currently No. 14 in the poll – will take a contingent of 44 athletes to compete at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational held at the historic Armory Track and Field Center in upper Manhattan.

“The Armory has the best atmosphere for an indoor meet,” Frye said. “You have to have a good atmosphere for peak performance. You can run with no crowds, but it’s not the same as running around good energy. New York brings energy. They love track and field. We have had many kids from that area like Natasha Hastings, Shevon Stoddart and Chelsea Hammond, and the people that supported them now support the Gamecocks. With men from the area like Keith Hinnant and Ray Miley, that’s our history and in turn those people feel like the Gamecocks are a force to reckon with. The New Balance Invitational and Penn Relays are our way to reward our fans in those areas.”

With more than 100 universities competing, the meet is the first time this season that the Gamecocks will get the chance to go head-to-head against many of the nation’s other top programs as the men and women each will face six teams currently ranked in the top 10 including No.3/4 Oregon, No. 5/1 Texas A&M, No. 6/8 Florida State, No. 7/6 Texas, No. 10/5 LSU, women’s No. 2 Tennessee and men’s No. 8 BYU.

“The Gamecocks get to be recognized on Madison Avenue,” Frye said. “It’s an experience that helps our kids feel confident with themselves. In a meet like this, they are players with Oregon, Texas A&M, Florida State, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas where they all come to play and our kids get to be a force. It’s an experience all track and field athletes should experience. Going there isn’t about New Balance. This is about gaining experience to get to the NCAA’s. This is all about our potential NCAA athletes. It’s designed to get you ready for SEC’s, NCAA’s and to get in the top 10 in the country as a team.”

One athlete that knows he’s going to the NCAA’s is hurdler Jason Richardson who holds the nation’s only automatic time in the 60m hurdles at 7.58. The 2008 Outdoor NCAA Champion hasn’t competed since that run, and the six-time All-American will also sit out this weekend, missing the trip to The Armory for the first time since 2006.

“Jason Richardson and Trier Young are our two impact players that are not as healthy as I’d like,” Frye said. “Jason is 75 percent there, next week he’ll be 90 percent and he’ll be back to 100 percent in time for the SEC Championships. We don’t want to rush Jason because he has a chance to be a big impact for us.”

One of the most anticipated events on both sides is the 4x400m relay. The top three women’s teams in the nation will all compete in the championship heat along with Carolina whose time of 3:40.41 is just short of a provisional mark. The men have the nation’s fourth-fastest time this year at 3:09.34 and will compete against three of the top 10 teams. They will use a different lineup this week with Johnny Dutch running leadoff and three-time relay All-American Quentin Moore switches to anchor.

“Our relays are strong,” Frye said. “Eleven teams get to nationals, so these next three weeks everyone with a good team needs to take advantage of these opportunities. This weekend gets you set. Teams are coming all the way from the West Coast to run on one of the fastest tracks. This is the first time that people get the chance to run head to head. We need to protect our fourth position, and that means we need to run faster times when we go out.”

Carolina’s sprinters will get chances to improve their times on the fast track, especially on the women’s side where injuries have caused slow starts to the season. Sophomore Lakya Brookins has a provisional time of 7.33 in the 60m, good for fifth in the nation, but returning All-Americans Shayla Mahan, Gabrielle Glenn and Porche Byrd have not had many chances to run yet this season in their events. The Gamecocks have seen early positives from the other 400m runners though in junior Brandi Cross and freshman Nadonnia Rodrigues, who hold two of the top times this year. Rodrigues, a Brooklyn native and the top runner coming out of high school, has started strong with a win in her first collegiate race at 53.52. Securing spots and establishing top times is essential before the team heads to the Tyson Invitational next weekend.

“In the short sprints, Shayla Mahan hasn’t been completely there, and she needs to get established,” Frye said. “Kya Brookins has had great runs so far and we need her to continue what she’s doing. Our sprints will go head to head against teams like Baylor and LSU; the players that will make an impact at the NCAA’s will be here. We need to secure our standing in the open 400m with Brandi and Nadonnia. We need to be top five in the nation, and they’re sitting at two and seven right now.”

Ronnetta Alexander and Trier Young will both compete in the women’s 60m hurdles. Young has not competed since the season opening Kentucky Invitational, but the New Jersey native is ready to step back on the track. Alexander has one of the top times in the nation in her first season since 2007.

“Ronnetta Alexander has come on strong since her Achilles injury,” Frye said. “She’s 12th nationally this week and we have to get her top five. Being a provisional qualifier is OK, but if you are top five after the first championship weekend, you have a good chance to make NCAA’s. The rest of our open athletes need to be top eight.”

On the men’s side, Frye is also looking for a strong week from his sprinters. A trio of All-Americans are in search of earning their first provisional times of the year. Johnathan Hancock is just shy of qualifying in the 60m while Antonio Sales and Quentin Moore will look for strong runs in the 200m and 400m, respectively.

“Quentin needs to be a consistent 400 runner,” Frye said. “He went down and won at Florida, but that was the last time he was out. He and OB (Obakeng Ngwigwa) are the one’s we’re looking to step up. This is a week that Antonio Sales needs to step up in the 200m. This week we look for him to run under 21.3 seconds. This will be his run. Johnathan Hancock also needs to make finals at this meet. He has experience and it’s time that he becomes a player on the NCAA level.”

The field events will also encounter heavy opposition with teams such as Kansas and BYU in the pole vault, Tennessee in the shot put and LSU’s Walter Henning in the weight throw. Freshman Marvin Reitze has the third-best freshman mark in the pole vault at 16-08.75 (5.10m). Michael Zajac hit a provisional mark in the weight throw (64-07, 19.68m) in his first meet of the season while Jason Cook is just shy of a provisional mark at 56-09.50 (17.31m).

“Marvin is a week behind everyone else because he got here from Germany late, but he’s opening up fast,” Frye said. “Our staff is making a tremendous commitment to make sure things happen for our athletes. Coach Lawrence Johnson decided he would drive up early in the morning with the poles so that there are no problems getting them there. He and our graduate assistant will make sure that our athletes are prepared for the pole vault. Another one doing well is Matt Shuler who hit a PR last week. These athletes are coming along, and it’s our staff’s commitment that allows it.”

“Coach Sergent is a developing coach,” Frye continued. “Some places get guys that throw top marks right away, but Coach Sergent is good at developing. Jason Cook is ready to go. Sixty feet is a number that indoors will get you to NCAA’s in the shot put. Mike has a provisional in the weight throw but it’s No. 20 in the country. He needs to throw a full meter better, and competing against Henning will help bring out his best.”

The Gamecocks will follow up the trip to New York with a flight to the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark., next Friday for the second weekend of the “championship season.”