Gamecocks Rise in USTFCCCA Rankings
Jan. 23, 2017
MEN’S RANKINGS // WOMEN’S RANKINGS // 2017 GAMECOCK ROSTER // 2017 GAMECOCK SCHEDULE
NEW ORLEANS – With two weeks of indoor competition in the rearview mirror, both University of South Carolina track & field programs remain in the USTFCCCA National Top-25 Rankings, released Monday. The Carolina men improved three spots over their preseason ranking, to No. 19, while the Gamecock women’s team held steady at No. 24.
In the season’s first USTFCCCA’s Southeast Regional Rankings, the Carolina men are ranked second, and the women are fourth.
South Carolina’s men’s squad features four student-athletes that currently hold one of the top-10 marks in their individual event: Josh Awotunde (3rd, shot put), Isaiah Moore (6th, 60mH), Ncincilili Titi (9th, 200m) and Michael Wamer (9th, triple jump). Additionally, Tye Williams ranks 11th in the high jump, and Ben Bonhurst owns the No. 23 shot put mark.
Moore, Titi and Wamer were each victorious in their events at both the Clemson Invitational and Vanderbilt Invitational. Awotunde was victorious at Clemson and tallied the top collegiate mark at Vanderbilt, a throw of 63-0 ¾ that currently leads the SEC.
On the women’s side, Natasha Dicks owns the nation’s ninth-best triple jump effort, Aliyah Abrams is ranked 10th in the 400m, and newcomer Rougui Sow holds the 10th-best long jump mark after making her collegiate debut at Vanderbilt. The Carolina 4x400m relay team ran the nation’s 14th-best time last week at Vanderbilt, while senior Taranisha Taylor posted the country’s 24th-best 60mH time in a winning run at Clemson two weeks ago.
Monday’s rankings utilize a composite of top marks from the 2016 season along with new personal bests achieved in 2017. Carolina took advantage of three new personal records on the men’s side to rise in the rankings, with Awotunde, Wamer and Williams achieving new bests already this season. For the Carolina women, Sow’s long jump mark is a new entry into Carolina’s rankings list. A complete breakdown of the marks used to determine this week’s rankings can be found here.
The USTFCCCA rankings will exclusively use marks from the 2017 season on Feb. 13, 2017.
UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS
The Gamecocks are in Fayetteville, Ark., next week for the Razorback Invitational, held Jan. 27-28. SEC Network will televise a portion of Saturday’s action beginning at 2 p.m. ET and concluding at 5:30 p.m. ET.
