May 29, 2010

GREENSBORO, N.C. – On the final day of competition at the NCAA East Preliminary Round at Irwin Belk Track, seven South Carolina Gamecocks qualified to compete at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, including the sprinting duo of Antonio Sales and Obakeng Ngwigwa who jumped up the South Carolina all-time list in the 200-meter dash.

Overall, Sales participated in two events for nationals and Ngwigwa qualified for three events. Johnny Dutch also qualified for three events total after running the 110-meter hurdles and the 4×400-meter relay.

Dutch took first in his second hurdle event of the weekend when the junior won the 110-meter hurdles at 13.53, advancing him to the national championships in the 110- and 400-meter hurdles. His run came one day after running the fourth-fastest 400-meter hurdle time in NCAA history at 48.12.

Sprint duo Antonio Sales and Obakeng Ngwigwa both punched their tickets to nationals with a five-six finish in the 200-meter dash. Sales ran 20.54 and Ngwigwa ran 20.56 to make the Gamecocks one of only three schools to have multiple 200-meter men’s qualifiers. The times were outdoor personal bests for both as they coincidentally move to fifth and sixth in the South Carolina all-time rankings. The duo also ran the second and final legs of the 4×100-meter relay team that placed fifth to advance. Andre Carter and Quentin Moore ran the other two legs to lead the Gamecocks to a season best time of 39.41.

Ngwigwa, Dutch, Moore and Aaron Anderson took fifth overall at 3:04.76 to qualify for finals. The team finished second in its heat to earn redemption after missing out on a nationals bid during indoor season.

The women’s 4×100-meter relay team of Lakya Brookins, Gabrielle Glenn, Breehana Jacobs and Tatianna Fisher also took fifth overall with a time of 44.29. Glenn and Jacobs teamed with Brandi Cross and Nadonnia Rodrigues on the 4×400-meter relay team to run the eighth best time of the night at 3:35.58 and also qualify for Eugene.

In the women’s hurdles, senior Kettiany Clarke ran a personal best 13.20 but found herself in a four-way tie for the final qualifying spot to Eugene. The times between the runners were split to the thousandth of a second, and Clarke’s 13.200 was third in the tie, pushing her to 13th overall as the first person out of nationals. Landria Buckley of Howard edged her by 0.002 seconds for the final spot.

Sophomore Kelsey McCorkle placed 19th in the women’s 200-meter dash with a time of 23.92. Sophomore Beatrice Biwott took 20th in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at 10:42.84 to end her run this season. The SEC Champion ran out well and remained in second place in her heat until the final 300 meters, and a fall at the water pit slowed her time enough to prevent her from competing at nationals.

Freshman Lincoln Carr placed 28th in the triple jump a 49’6 ½ (15.10m) in his final meet of the year. Senior Jeff Merkt claimed 37th in the discus throw with a top mark of 156-2 (47.60m). Junior Aimee Kodat took 35th in the women’s discus throw with a top mark of 146-4 (44.61m).

The NCAA Outdoor Championships will be held June 9-12 at Heyward Stadium on the campus of the University of Oregon.