March 24, 2017

COLUMBIA, S.C. — History was made on Friday as the University of South Carolina track & field program officially opened the Sheila & Morris Cregger Track with its first competition — the 2017 Weems Baskin Invitational. South Carolina celebrated the day by winning five events at their new home, with many more victories sure to come Saturday on the second day of the meet.

On the men’s side, Markus Leemet grabbed a pair of event wins on Friday, while Olivia Hassler and Rougui Sow each collected individual triumphs and the women’s 4x800m relay team came from behind for another victory. The majority of the meet’s action is scheduled for Saturday.

Carolina got off to a great start with a win in the men’s javelin B flight. Leemet was the winner, with a top effort of 178-9. The victory was historic, as the senior became the first individual to win an event at Cregger Track.

The Gamecocks added another victory in the women’s javelin, as Hassler was the winner. The senior’s effort of 143-11 was two feet clear of the field as she won her 2017 season debut.

Leemet visited the winner’s circle for a second time when he won the B flight of the pole vault competition. The senior cleared 13-3 ¼ as Carolina swept the podium in the event. Chris Cochran finished second at 13-9 ¼, and Richard Fish came in third, at 13-3 ½.

Sow was competing in the long jump for the first time since she earned First Team All-America laurels at the NCAA Indoor Championships two weeks ago. Her mark of 21-2 ½ is equal to her effort from NCAAs, and it ranks as the third-best outdoor effort in Carolina history.

South Carolina’s last win of the day came in the women’s 4x800m relay. The quartet of Maya Evans, Maddie Beaubien, Anna Kathryn Stoddard and Allie Mueller trailed by almost seven seconds heading into the last leg, but Mueller turned on the jets to claim the top prize in the most exciting race of the day. The group’s time of 9:08.93 is 10th-best in the history of Gamecock track & field.

Overall, the Gamecocks finished with 12 podium results on Friday. Of the 19 Carolina student-athletes who were in action at Cregger Track, 63.2 percent finished in the top three of their event.

NOTABLE

• Clarence Gallop finished third in the hammer throw on Friday but climbed the Gamecock record books in his first competition at Cregger Track. The senior’s mark of 217-6 is a new PR and ranks third in school history.
• The first official race at Cregger Track was the B flight of the women’s 400m. Virginia Tech’s Jada Gundran will go down in history as the first athlete to win a track event at South Carolina’s new home.

QUOTING HEAD COACH Curtis Frye

UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS

The Gamecocks continue the Weems Baskin Invitational on Saturday. Events begin at 9 a.m. ET, with single-day admission available for just $5.