Jan. 17, 2014

Day 1 Results

BLACKSBURG, Va. – Facing its toughest competition of the season, South Carolina recorded 17 top-10 finishes on the first day of the Virginia Tech Invitational. Sophomore Anna Todd set a new school record and freshman Natasha Dicks, redshirt junior Drew Ricci, sophomore Jermaine Collier and junior Eric Winfrey all entered the all-time Gamecock top-10 performance list for their respective events. Dicks won the women’s triple jump and junior Erika Rucker topped the field in the 300-meter dash.

Todd smashed the 1,000-meter school record by five seconds with her run of 2:52.84. The previous best time by a Gamecock came from Scolastica Jepngetich in 2011 at 2:57.81. In the men’s 1,000-meter run, Ricci ran the third-fastest time in school history. Clocking in at a personal-best 2:27.65, Ricci finished in third place. It was the first race of the year for both Gamecocks.

Natasha Dicks did not disappoint in her triple jump debut. The freshman posted a mark of 41-02.50 (12.56m) to best the field by nearly a foot and a half. The jump is the fifth-best in Gamecock history and the sixth-best in the NCAA entering the weekend. Dicks is scheduled to participate in the long jump tomorrow, an event she won at last weekend’s Gamecock Open #1.

Hitting the track for the first time this year, Rucker cruised to the 300-meter dash victory. The six-time All-American bested her competition by nearly a second.

South Carolina flexed its muscles in the hurdles early and often, with Collier leading the way. The Gamecock ran his first-ever sub-eight-second time in the prelims at 7.97. In the finals, Collier shaved even more time off his PR, blazing to a 7.80 for second place. The time ranks fourth in the country based on times entering the weekend. It is also the ninth-fastest time in school history. Less than an hour later, Collier returned to the track to capture fourth place in the 500 meters.

Winfrey continued to hit his stride after a strong performance at last weekend’s home meet. The sprinter ran the ninth-fastest 60-meter dash in school history with his new personal best of 6.74 to take second in the finals. The time is the 13th-fastest in the country entering the weekend. Winfrey added a second-place finish in the 300-meter dash later in the night with a time of 33.56.

Collier was not the only success in the 60-meter hurdles. Sophomore Dondre Echols’ season-best of 7.90 got him third place in the finals and would rank him 10th in the NCAA. Freshman Jussi Kanervo finished fifth with a time of 7.99.

On the women’s side all three competitors in the Garnet and Black set new personal bests. Sophomore Tyler Brockington and redshirt sophomore Sarah Graham posted their lifetime bests in the prelims; Brockington qualified in the top spot with an 8.57 with Graham crossing at 8.70. Freshman Mollie Williams took sixth in the preliminary round, but went on to finish second in the finals with a new personal-best 8.53.

Two other Gamecocks were just behind Winfrey in the 60-meter dash. Senior Chris Royster matched his PR of 7.80 in the finals for fourth and junior Chris Walker ran the fastest time of his career at 6.87 in the prelims. Walker nearly matched his performance in the finals with a 6.88 for sixth place.

Senior All-American Vashti Bandy set a new lifetime best in the women’s 60-meter dash. Her time of 7.56 earned her fourth place.

After collecting a win in the weight throw last weekend with the best throw of his career, redshirt junior Andrew Seay continued to build on the performance. Seay added nearly two feet to last week’s mark to post a throw of 60-04.50 (18.40m).

Competition continues tomorrow at Rector Fieldhouse. Field events start the day at 11 a.m. with the men’s and women’s high jump. Running beings at noon with the 5,000-meter run. The Gamecocks will see their first relay action of the season in the 4×400-meter relay and the distance medley relay.