March 18, 2017

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The South Carolina track and field program cleaned up on its final day of the Hurricane Invitational Saturday on the campus of the University of Miami. The Gamecocks brought home eight wins, four for the men and four for the women.

The team’s first win of the day came in the women’s shot put, where Alycia Springs built off a solid indoor season with an outdoor-debut toss of 47-2 ½ on her third attempt. Springs later would place fourth in the discus, reaching 148-9. In other field highlights for the women, Nakita Gray made her return to competition after a full year away. The senior finished second in the high jump with a mark of 5-8 ¾.

The men found similar success in the field events, starting with a win in the shot put from Ben Bonhurst. His mark of 61-3 cleared the next closest collegiate competitor ââ’¬” teammate Eric Favors ââ’¬” by over six feet. Bonhurst would also double up in the discus, where he finished third with a best mark of 156-3.

The track events would be where the Gamecocks shined brightest on Saturday. The women earned wins in the 4x100m relay, and individual wins for Precious Holmes in the 400m and Maddie Beaubien in the 800. Beaubien’s time of 2:12.92 was almost two full seconds faster than her top indoor time, set at SECs.

The men saw wins on the track out of the 100m, the 800 and the 110m hurdles. David Winters made his 2017 season debut with the win out of the 100, running a 10.36. Behind him in second place for the event was freshman Darrell Singleton. Jussi Kanervo took the 800m event in 1:55.08, and Isaiah Moore rounded out the winners with a 13.91 time to win the hurdles, almost a full half-second time faster than any other collegiate competitor.

QUOTING HEAD COACH Curtis Frye

UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS

South Carolina officially opens the brand-new Sheila & Morris Cregger Track next weekend, when they host the Weems Baskin Invitational. The meet runs March 24-25, and Gamecock fans interested in volunteering at the event are encouraged to register here.

“There’s a sense of excitement, but we just need to keep calm,” Coach Frye said. “Our big thing right now is to make sure that no one over-extends, people may want to compete more than their body is ready for. Everyone is excited, it’s going to be an incredible atmosphere with 25 teams coming to a world-class facility to compete.”