Jan. 30, 2014

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Gamecocks travel to Winston-Salem, N.C., for the Hilton Garden Invitational at the JDL Fast Track this weekend. The field of teams from across the eastern seaboard will compete on the two-year-old 200-meter oval flat track.

Gamecock sophomore Sarah Graham is slated to travel to Penn State to compete in the pentathlon at The PSU National on Friday beginning at noon. Graham is the only Gamecock making the trip and all five events are scheduled for Friday.

WEEKEND INFORMATION
Date: Fri., Jan. 31- Sat., Feb. 1
Time: Friday – 12 p.m. | Saturday – 9:30 a.m.
Location: Winston Salem, N.C.
Facility: JDL Fast Track
Live Results: Live Results
Meet Schedule: Final Schedule
Participating Teams: Emory, Western Carolina, Wake Forest, High Point, Winston-Salem State, South Carolina State, Georgia Southern, Limestone, North Carolina A&T, Christopher Newport, Converse, UNC Greensboro, Mars Hills, Queens, NC Central, Duke, Auburn, UNC Wilmington Winthrop, North Florida, North Carolina, Buffalo, Campbell, Liberty, Samford

After a split weekend with athletes in New Mexico and Virginia, the Gamecocks regroup for a weekend in Winston-Salem with a trip to The Armory for the Armory Collegiate Invitational on the horizon. The South Carolina women’s squad is the lone ranked team at this weekend’s meet, checking in at No. 15 in this week’s USTFCCCA rankings. SEC foe Auburn joins South Carolina at the weekend competition.

Gamecocks in the Top 25
The top 16 marks/times for each individual event qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships. For the relay events, the top 12 teams will qualify for the championships.

Last Time Out
South Carolina split last weekend, sending squads to the New Mexico Cherry & Silver Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M., and the Hokie Invitational in Blacksburg, Va. At the site of the 2014 Indoor NCAA Championships in New Mexico, the Gamecocks picked up two wins as they faced their stiffest competition of the season. At the Hokie Invite, South Carolina collected four wins.

Men – Cherry & Silver Invitational

• The men’s 4×400-meter relay of Eric Winfrey, Jermaine Collier, Chris Walker and Chris Royster ran a 3:12.02 for a win. The quartet of Nigel Redic, Dondre Echols, Jussi Kanervo and Ryan Bermudez wasn’t far behind, placing third with a 3:14.09
• The men’s hurdlers continued their hot start to the season in New Mexico. Kanervo led a pack of three Gamecocks to the 60-meter hurdle finals with a collegiate best 7.94 in the prelims. Echols and Collier joined Kanervo in the eight-man final. In the final, Echols took third with a season-best 7.86, Collier was fourth (7.88) and Kanervo sixth (8.00). Collier and Echols rank 11th and 17th, respectively, in the NCAA this season.
• Winfrey set a new personal record in the 200-meter dash, clocking in at 21.31 to take fourth. The time puts him at 11th in the SEC this season

Women – Cherry & Silver Invitational

• Collegiate high jump leader Jeannelle Scheper captured her second win in as many weeks, clearing 6’2″ (1.88m) for the win over Georgia’s Leontia Kallenou who ranks second in the NCAA
• Petra Olsen cleared a season-best height of 13’8″ ¼ (4.17m) to earn third place in the women’s pole vault. Olsen ranks 13th in the country and second in the SEC

Men – Hokie Invitational

• Kendall Kee made a big splash in his 2014 debut, taking the 60-meter dash prelims with a near-PR of 6.76. An hour later, he returned for the finals and put up the fifth-fastest time in Gamecock history at 6.68. The time is the 15th best in the country and the sixth-best in the SEC.
• Drew Ricci ran a personal best 1:52.92 to lead a 1-2 Gamecock finish with Juan Stenner (1:54.11)
• In the men’s weight throw, Andrew Seay (18.24m // 59-10.25) and Walker Selby (16.56m // 54-04.00) finished third and fifth, respectively

Women – Hokie Invitational

• Ahtyana Johnson also made an impact in her debut, taking the 60-meter prelims and besting the field in the finals, posting a PR of 7.44. Johnson set a new 200-meter dash PR at 24.17 to finish in second place
• Precious Holmes got her first collegiate win, running a collegiate-best 55.17 in the 400-meter dash
• Kaysee Sullivan continued her top-five streak with a throw of 45’8″ ¾ (13.94m) for fourth place in the women’s shot put

Women’s Team in the Rankings
In the first regular season edition of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division I National Team Computer Rankings, the Gamecock women checked in at No. 15. Two weeks ago, the Gamecocks were 11th in the preseason rankings. The SEC leads the way with eight conference members in the top 25. The Gamecocks as well as the seven other league representatives sit in the top 16.

Up Next
South Carolina heads to the Big Apple for the prestigious Armory Collegiate Invitational at The Armory. The Gamecocks will meet over 100 colleges and universities in New York.