Gamecock Pair Earns SEC Weekly Honors

Feb. 21, 2017

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — University of South Carolina track & field student-athletes Taranisha Taylor and Eric Favors were honored by the Southeastern Conference on Tuesday for their performances last Friday at the Tiger Tuneup. Taylor was named Women’s Runner of the Week, and Favors was honored as Men’s Freshman of the Week.

The weekly SEC honors are the first for both Gamecocks and the first for the Carolina program since Feb. 16, 2016, when Dondre Echols was named SEC Runner of the Week.

A senior from Portsmouth, Va., Taylor finished third in the 60mH last weekend at the Tiger Tuneup, Carolina’s final event of the indoor regular season. Her time of 8.27 was just .02 off of her personal best.

Taylor has achieved that PR of 8.25 twice this season, at both the Armory Invitational and the Tiger Paw Invitational. She won the 60mH at the Armory and also took the event at the season-opening Clemson Invitational. That time ranks sixth-best in Carolina history, ninth this season among SEC runners and 27th overall in the NCAA.

Favors finished second at the Tiger Tuneup in the shot put, his fifth top-five result this season across two different events. His mark at Clemson was 58-1 ¼.

The redshirt freshman from Pomona, N.Y., carries a season-best performance of 59-7 ½, which is the seventh-best mark in the SEC this year. It is also the top mark achieved by a freshman this season across the NCAA ranks.

UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS

South Carolina takes part in the SEC Indoor Championships this weekend in Nashville, Tenn. Hosted by Vanderbilt University, the two-day postseason event runs Feb. 24-25.