Jan. 16, 2015

BLACKSBURG, Va. – A record-setting jump from Leanne Morrison highlighted the first day of the Virginia Tech Invite. She and senior Erika Rucker each posted wins to open the two-day meet, and the Gamecocks would see four different athletes put their names in the record book.

The highlight would come in the women’s triple jump, where Leanne Morrison won for the second time in as many weekends, and set a new national standard in the process. Her final jump of the day would come in at 13.24 meters (43 feet, 5.25 inches), almost a half foot longer than the previous program record set by Rodena Barr in 2000.

Along with setting a new program record for the indoor, Morrison now sits as the nation’s leader in the event entering the weekend. The previous long mark was 12.93 meters from Maryland’s Thea LaFond. Not to be outdone, Natasha Dicks also entered the record book with the eighth-longest jump in program history at 12.36 meters.

On the men’s side of the triple jump, Michael Wamer also had a career day. His jump of 15.40 meters (50 feet, 6.25 inches) comes in at number four all-time for the indoor season. It’s the longest jump by any Gamecock since the 2011 season, and earned him second place in the event Friday night.

In the track events, Anna Todd continued to build on a fast start to the indoor season with a strong time in the 1000-meter race. She would finish tenth overall in the event, but her time of 2:56.01 is the second-fastest time ever in the indoor season in program history. She now trails only her own 2014 time of 2:52.84.

Erika Rucker would notch Carolina’s second win of the evening, taking the 500-meter race by more than a full second (1:10.06). Tyler Brockington would finish second overall in the 60 meters and Morrison finished third in the 60-meter hurdles to round out the women’s top-three finishes.

In the men’s track events, four Gamecocks would finish within .09 seconds of one another in the 60-meter hurdles. Jussi Kanervo finished second overall with a time of 7.87, followed closely by Dondre Echols (7.91), Isaiah Moore (7.94) and Jermaine Collier (7.96). Echols would be the top finisher in the 300m, coming in fourth (34.44).

The meet will come to a close tomorrow, with a full day of events starting at 11 a.m.