March 11, 2009

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina men’s and women’s track and field programs are both ranked in the top 10 in the final USTFCCCA national poll of the indoor season that was released by the organization Wednesday. The Gamecock men improved five spots to No. 9 while the women remained in the No. 8 spot heading into the NCAA Indoor Championships.

The No. 9 ranking is the highest for the men’s team this season. The previous high was the No. 14 ranking that the team held four times this season, including last week after earning a fourth place finish in the SEC Indoor Championships. The women’s team held steady at No. 8 for the second consecutive week after jumping 17 spots the week prior to re-enter the rankings after dropping out in week four.

South Carolina earned 13 entries for the NCAA Indoor Championships that will be held March 13-14 at the Gilliam Track Stadium on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.

Oregon holds the No. 1 spot in the men’s poll for the fourth consecutive week. Texas A&M is No. 1 in the women’s poll, a spot that it has held the entire indoor season.