May 28, 2014

The Gamecocks travel to Jacksonville, Fla., for the NCAA East Preliminary Round with 24 entries looking to advance to the 2014 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore. The three days of competition at Hodges Stadium at the University of North Florida begins with SEC bronze medalist Kaleb Zuidema in the men’s javelin at noon on Thursday, and ends with the women’s 4×400-meter relay on Saturday evening.

WEEKEND INFORMATION
Dates: Thurs., May 29 – Sat., May 31
Time: Thurs. – Field 12 p.m., Track 4:30 | Fri. – Field 10 a.m., Track 5 p.m. | Sat. – Field 12 p.m., Running 6 p.m.
Location: Jacksonville, Fla.
Facility: Hodges Stadium
Meet Schedule | Live Results

The women’s team earned 11 bids from 10 individual athletes, in addition to both the 4×100 meter and 4×400 meter relays. Sophomore Ahtyana Johnson will run in both the 100 meters and 200 meters. Seven men combined for 11 individual entries in addition to the 4×100-meter relay. Seniors Chris Royster (100m, 200m) and Eric Winfrey (200m, 400m) along with freshman Jussi Kanervo (110mH, 400mH) will compete in two events each.

A top-12 finish this weekend books a ticket to Track Town USA for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Six of South Carolina’s men’s entries are a top-12 seed at this weekend’s event with Collier holding the top Gamecock seed at No. 4 in the 110-meter hurdles. Five women’s entries are in the same position, including both relays. Pole vault school record holder Petra Olsen has the top women’s seed, entering the meet as the No. 9 seed.

For the fifth straight season, the country has been split into two regions – East and West – with the top 48 athletes (24 relays) in each region qualifying for the Preliminary Round. The East Preliminary is being held in Jacksonville, Fla., with the West Preliminary taking place at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark. The top 12 finishers in each event at the regional rounds will advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore., June 11-14.

South Carolina Men – NCAA East Preliminary Qualifiers
Event – Name – Class – Mark – Regional Seed
100m – Chris Royster – Sr. – 10.30 – No. 18
100m – Kendall Kee – So. – 10.40 – No. 32
200m – Chris Royster – Sr. – 20.84 – No. 24
200m – Eric Winfrey – Sr. – 21.15 – No. 44
400m – Eric Winfrey – Sr. – 47.28 – No. 42
110mH – Jermaine Collier – So. 13.65 – No. 4
110mH – Jussi Kanervo – Fr. – 13.77 – No. 8
110mH – Dondre Echols – So. – 13.82 – No. 12
400mH – Jussi Kanervo – Fr. – 51.02 – No. 8
4x100m – Kee, Royster, Echols, Winfrey – 39.60 – No. 8
Javelin – Kaleb Zuidema – Fr. – 69.87m // 229’2″ – No. 12

South Carolina Women – NCAA East Preliminary Qualifiers
Event – Name – Class – Mark – Regional Seed
100m – Ahtyana Johnson – So. – 11.50 – No. 23
200m – Ahtyana Johnson – So. – 23.51 – No. 24
400m – Precious Holmes – Fr. – 52.89 – No. 11
400m – Briana Haith – Fr. – 53.72 – No. 26
100mH – Chalese Davis – So. – 13.42 – No. 25
400mH – Tyler Brockington – So. – 57.74 – No. 11
400mH – Tamera Harris – Jr. – 58.58 – No. 22
4x100m – Brockington, Harris, Bandy, Johnson – 44.50 – No. 10
4x400m – Johnson, Haith, Brockington, Harris – 3:35.49 – No. 11
High Jump – Sarah Graham – So. – 1.78m // 5-10.00 – No. 21
Pole Vault – Petra Olsen – Sr. – 4.26m // 13-11.75 – No. 9
Long Jump – Alexis Murphy – So. – 6.10m // 20-00.25 – No. 40
Triple Jump – Natasha Dicks – Fr. – 12.74m // 41-09.75 – No. 34