June 2, 2009
COLUMBIA, S.C. – NCAA track and field championship qualifiers were announced Tuesday, and South Carolina was awarded 16 total bids to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, which will be held June 10-13 at John McDonnell Field in Fayetteville, Ark.
The fifth-ranked men’s team earned 10 bids in eight events, double the five bids that the men’s team earned in 2008. Six individuals and both relays were automatic qualifiers after posting top five finishes at the East Region Championships last week, and two individuals earned at-large entries due to their top performances throughout the season.
Leading the men’s selections is senior Jason Richardson (110m hurdles, 13.28 seconds) and sophomore Johnny Dutch (400m hurdles, 48.58 seconds) who lead the nation in their respective events. Also qualifying in hurdles is freshman Booker Nunley who is ranked No. 4 nationally in the 110m hurdles. Under assistant coach Lawrence Johnson, two men earned bids in the pole vault with freshman Marvin Reitze gaining an automatic bid after his silver medal finish at regionals and junior Elliott Haynie earning an at-large bid with a top mark that ranks sixth in the NCAA. SEC Champion Jason Cook will compete in the shot put, and the Gamecocks also earned bids in the 100m dash (Johnathan Hancock, at-large) and 200m dash (Antonio Sales, automatic).
In addition to the eight individuals, the 4x100m relay team of Hancock, Sales, Quentin Moore and Obakeng Ngwigwa earned a bid as well as the 4x400m relay team of Ngwigwa, Dutch, Moore and Aaron Anderson.
The women’s team earned six bids in five events, matching the total number of bids earned in 2008. Four individuals and both relays earned automatic bids due to their performances in Greensboro last weekend. In the 100m dash, sophomores Lakya Brookins and Gabrielle Glenn qualified, the first outdoor championship bid for Brookins – the NCAA Indoor Champion in the 60m dash – and the second bid for Glenn. Junior Brandi Cross will compete in the 400m dash for the second consecutive year. Senior Liza Todd becomes the first Gamecock to earn a bid in the women’s pole vault since 2006 after the Columbia-native took fifth at regionals.
The 4x100m relay lineup will consist of Brookins, Glenn, Shayla Mahan and Breehana Jacobs. In the 4x400m relay, Carolina’s team includes Cross, Glenn, Jacobs and Porche Byrd. Sophomore Janica Austin and freshman Kelsey McCorkle will also be in the relay pool.
