Gamecocks Collect Three Wins on Day 1 of Split Weekend

Jan. 25, 2014

Cherry & Silver Invite Friday Results | Cherry & Silver Invite Friday | Hokie Invite Friday Results

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. and BLACKSBURG, Va. – On the first day of competition at the Cherry & Silver Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M., and the Hokie Invitational in Blacksburg, Va., the Gamecocks posted three wins. Senior Jeannelle Scheper grabbed her second high jump win in as many weeks in New Mexico while the Gamecocks swept the men’s and women’s 60-meter dash at Virginia Tech thanks to lifetime-best performances by juniors Kendall Kee and Ahtyana Johnson.

Cherry & Silver Invitational

In an early season showdown between the top two female high jumpers in the NCAA thus far this season, Scheper prevailed. Facing freshman Leontia Kallenou from Georgia, Scheper rose to the occasion and bested her SEC foe. The Gamecock’s clearance of 6’2″ (1.88m) was one bar better than Kallenou’s highest clearance of 6′ 3/4 (1.85m). Scheper had a crack at tying the facility’s collegiate record and her own indoor school record at 6’3″ ¼ (1.91m), but could not clear. As the current collegiate leader, Scheper is on track to return to the facility in March for the NCAA Indoor Championships.

The Gamecocks took two of the top three spots in a field of 27 in the women’s high jump with sophomore Sarah Graham taking third place. Graham had a career night, recording a personal best height of 5’8″ (1.73m). Graham posted three first-attempt clearances in the effort.

Continuing his hot streak to begin the season, junior Eric Winfrey ran a lifetime best 21.31 in the men’s 200-meter dash. The time earned him fourth in the competitive field and is the ninth-fastest time in school history. The time ranks him in the top-20 nationally. This marks the second-straight weekend Winfrey has entered the South Carolina all-time top-10 performance list after his 60-meter dash of 6.74 last weekend ranked ninth in Gamecock history.

After making her collegiate debut in the long jump last weekend, sophomore Alexis Murphy collected another top-four finish. Murphy bested her mark from last week by nearly a foot and a half, posting a jump of 19’9″ (6.02m) to earn fourth place. On the track, Murphy finished 15th in the 200-meter dash that featured a field of 93 runners with a time of 24.69.

Sophomore Jermaine Collier is on his way to another strong weekend showing after a fourth-place finish in the unseeded 400-meter dash tonight. Collier ran a personal-best time of 48.88. He is scheduled to return to the track tomorrow for the 60-meter hurdles and the 4×400-meter relay.

Tomorrow, competition continues for South Carolina at its toughest meet of the season, with the 60-meter hurdle prelims at 12:45 p.m. ET, and the women’s triple jump at 1 p.m.

The Albuquerque Convention Center sits at 4,958 feet above sea level and will host the first Division I NCAA Championship at statistical altitude March 14-15.

Hokie Invitational

A pair of Gamecock sprinters in Kee and Johnson highlighted the night at Rector Fieldhouse in their 2014 debuts. Kee ran a near-PR of 6.76 in the prelims to advance as the top qualifier to the finals. Just under an hour later, the sprinter returned to the track, blazing to the fifth-fastest time in school history for the win. Kee clocked in at a personal-best 6.68. Based on times entering the weekend, the mark is the 13th-fastest in the country this season.

Johnson’s performance paralleled Kee’s as she ran a then-personal-best 7.52 in the preliminary round, besting her previous personal record of 7.63. The time advanced her to the finals as the top qualifier. The Gamecock proceeded to shave even more time off of her lifetime best, clocking in at 7.44 in the finals for the win.

The Gamecock throwers continued their strong start, snagging two top-five finishes in the men’s weight throw. Junior Andrew Seay recorded a throw of 59’10” ¼ (18.24m) to take third. Seay has posted a top-three finish in all three of his events this season. Fellow junior Walker Selby put up a mark of 54’4″ (16.56m) to grab fifth place.

Action continues at the Hokie Invitational tomorrow at 11 a.m. with the first Gamecocks beginning competition at noon.