April 4, 2015

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GAINESVILLE, FLA. – A 40-year-old record was toppled in the triple jump Saturday afternoon to send South Carolina home with a solid weekend at the Florida Relays. Michael Wamer added nearly six feet to his previous season best in the event, and the Gamecock relay teams also enjoyed a solid day on the track.

Wamer saved his record-breaking mark for his final jump of the day, hitting 54 feet and one half inch to jump to third overall in the competition. He finished as the top collegiate competitor in the field, a full foot better than Alabama’s Jeremiah Green. With his mark of 16.47 meters, Wamer broke Ron Adams’ record of 52 feet, two inches set in the 1975 season. Along with owning the top outdoor triple jump, the sophomore also has the fourth-best indoor mark in the event. His mark ranks second in the country when compared to marks entering the weekend.

It was all relays on the track in day two of the meet, and the Gamecocks held their own against some of the top professionals in the world. The 4×200 team of Chris Walker, Dondre Echols, DeVon Lewis and Greg Chiles finished fourth in the race, but were the top collegiate team in the field. The group’s time of 1:22.80 is now the fifth-best in program history, taking nearly a full second off the previous season best.

After qualifying for the finals on Friday with a strong time, the 4×400 relay team of Ryan Bermudez, Jussi Kanervo, Eric Winfrey and Clayton Gravesande were even better in Saturday’s final. The quartet took almost a full second off Friday’s qualifier, running a 3:07.29 to finish second overall, behind only the Brazilian Olympic `B’ team.

Though the women’s team would only compete in three events total on Saturday, it made them count with season-best times in all three. The 4×800 relay team would be the highlight, running the fifth-fastest race in program history. The combination of Maya Evans, Emily Harding, Martha McCoy and Ashley Miller ran an 8:57.85 race, 15 seconds better than the team’s previous best this season.

The 4×200 relay team of Aalayah Faulcon, Gabby Gray, Nakita Gray and Tamera Harris would be the women’s team’s top relay finisher, taking third in the event with a time of 1:34.52.

After a solid weekend, both teams are poised to make a jump in the upcoming USTFCCCA weekly poll, set to be released Monday. Next up for Carolina will be the Bill Carson Invitational, hosted next weekend by East Carolina.