March 10, 2014

NEW ORLEANS – South Carolina senior Jeannelle Scheper has been named the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Southeast Region Female Field Athlete of the Year for the indoor season. Scheper is the first Gamecock to earn a regional nod from the USTFCCCA since sprinter Lakya Brookins swept the indoor and outdoor honors in 2011.

Scheper, a senior from Gros-Islet, St. Lucia, has been the Division I leader in the high jump since her first meet of 2014. She recorded a top-ranked clearance of 6-2¾ (1.90m) at two different Virginia Tech meets and the SEC Championships, where she finished runner-up on misses while co-setting a new meet record. The SEC loss on misses to Leonita Kallenou of Georgia was the lone blemish on her season.

Last season, the indoor and outdoor school record holder earned gold at the 2013 SEC Indoor Championships, the first Gamecock to do so in the discipline, and shared silver at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Scheper, a four-time All-American, is the first male or female in South Carolina history to earn an All-America certificate in the high jump and is the only Gamecock female to clear 6′.

Each of the nine regions honored both genders’ top track athletes and field athletes and the top men’s and women’s head coaches and assistant coaches. Award winners were determined by a vote of USTFCCCA member coaches.

Scheper will look to add more to her resume on Saturday at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, N.M, at the Albuquerque Convention Center.