Gamecocks Announce Fall 2017 Signing Class
Nov. 20, 2017
2017 Track & Field Fall Signing Class
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Head Coach Curtis Frye and the University of South Carolina track & field program are excited to welcome 11 new student-athletes into the Gamecock family. Darren Alfred, Malik Beverly, Logan Carroll, Arinze Chance, Mathilde Coquillaud-Salomon, Ronald Fuller, Quincy Hall, Lissa Labiche, Maryah Nasir, Loic Prevot and Hannah Twine each inked a National Letter of Intent during the fall signing period to continue their academic and athletic careers at Carolina.
“This recruiting class is a program changer, and we’re proud to welcome former Olympians, state and national champions and exceptional scholars into our family,” Frye said. “I can’t wait for these student-athletes to get to Columbia, and I commend our entire coaching staff of Andrew Allden, director of operations Penny Boswell, recruiting coordinator Kevin Brown, Hadrien Choukroun, Mike Sergent and Delethea Quarles for the work they put in to sign this class. We expect this group to stand at the top of many podiums, both at the SEC and the national level, during their Gamecock careers.”
DARREN ALFRED • SPRINTS • TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
• Joining the Gamecocks from the University of Trinidad & Tobago
• Son of Sandra Elliot and Kenny Alfred and has four siblings: Chantal, Dwane, Kennecia and Javaki
• Represented Trinidad & Tobago at the 2017 Summer Universiade, finishing eighth in the 400m
• Won Tobago Secondary Schools championships in the 400m and 800m while a student at Scarborough Secondary School.
• Holds a 200m PR of 21.44 and a 400m PR of 46.73
• Chose Carolina because he believes it’s the best place to run fast
COACH BROWN ON ALFRED
“We’re really excited about Darren joining our program. At younger ages, he started off running longer events, the 800 and the 1500, and now he’s starting to move into the sprints. He’s running really fast times to be new to the events. We’re looking forward to his upside and what he brings to the program with experience at the international level.”
MALIK BEVERLY • SPRINTS • CINCINNATI, OHIO
• Runs at Iowa Central CC
• Son of Tracey Spivey
• Ran the NJCAA’s fastest 110m hurdles time in 2017, a mark of 13.78 at the Drake Relays
• Also ran the top 110mH qualifying time at the NJCAA Outdoor Championship and finished as an All-American
• Was a two-time Ohio state champion at a senior at Northwest High School in Cincinnati
• Won the NJCAA Regional XI indoor title in the 60mH and the outdoor region crown in the 110mH and the 4x100m relay, three of his 10 event victories in 2017
COACH BROWN ON BEVERLY
“We’re really excited to sign the No. 1 junior college 110m hurdler that everybody in the country was after. That’s a big win for us. He was excited about the family atmosphere here and the potential to be an Olympian and to be coached by someone who has coached Olympians in his event.”
LOGAN CARROLL • THROWS • MAULDIN, S.C.
• Attends Mauldin High School in Mauldin, S.C.
• Son of Mike and Angie Carroll and has three siblings: Rebecca, Abbie and Mayson
• Plans to major in exercise science at South Carolina
• Is a two-time All-Region performer and won the Chick-fil-a and Bojangles meet championships in 2017
• Finished third in the state as a junior
• Holds PRs of 55-1 in the shot put and 155-0 in the discus
• Also letters in football for the Mavericks
• Chose Carolina because he knows the team will never let him fail and because it is the most family-oriented team he has ever seen
COACH SERGENT ON CARROLL
“We see Logan as a diamond in the rough. He was very football-focused early in high school, and then his junior year he really blossomed and threw 55 feet in the shot put. He still hasn’t really spent a lot of time working really hard at track. We can teach a lot of stuff, but the one thing we can’t teach is what he has: levers and physics. He’s a huge guy and has tons of room to improve physically and technically.”
ARINZE CHANCE • SPRINTS • GEORGETOWN, GUYANA
• Competes for the University of Trinidad & Tobago, where he earned a National Engineering Technicians Diploma with distinction after posting a 3.53 GPA
• Son of Philip and Hazel Chance and has one sibling, Damali
• Represented Guyana in the 2017 CARIFTA Games
• Holds the University of Trinidad & Tobago’s school record in the 300m
• Carries a 200m PR of 21.76 and a 400m personal best of 46.81
• Chose Carolina because the team works assiduously to ensure they are fully prepared and because of the coaching staff’s kind and friendly persona
COACH BROWN ON CHANCE
“Arinze comes with a lot of experience competing in elite-level competitions. We are looking forward to his great experience coming in but also for him to be a very, very good athlete, as, like most of our athletes, he hasn’t had the opportunity to compete for a long time. We’re excited about him.”
MATHILDE COQUILLAUD-SALOMON • HURDLES • NANTES, FRANCE
• Signed with Carolina at 16 years of age
• Daughter of Maguy Salomon
• Attends Centre Educatif Nantais pour Sportifs
• Ran the 100m hurdles at the 2017 U18 World Championships in Kenya, finishing fifth.
• Versatile athlete who has also competed in the heptathlon
• Holds a PR of 13.66 in the 100mH, achieved at the U18 World Championships this summer
• Attained a 60mH personal best of 8.47 last December at a meet in her hometown of Nantes
COACH CHOUKROUN ON COQUILLAUD-SALOMON
“Mathilde had a great year last year. What really attracted us to her was that she’s been training as a heptathlete, and not a hurdler. We believe she has a big, big improvement to make once we get more specific in her training. She’s only 16 years old, so she can only get better.”
RONALD FULLER • SPRINTS • HOPKINS, S.C.
• Attends Lower Richland High School in Columbia
• Son of Amanda Fuller and Ronald Fuller, Sr.
• Plans to major in computer science at Carolina
• Won the South Carolina state championship in the 100m dash in 2017
• Is a nine-time All-State honoree across the 100, 200m and 4x100m relay
• Earned Lower Richland’s Athlete of the Year award each of the last three seasons
• Competed at New Balance Nationals in 2017, finishing third in the 100m
• Chose Carolina because of the opportunities he will have to pursue a computer science degree, because of the world-class coaching staff and for the opportunity to train at Carolina’s first-class facilities.
COACH BROWN ON FULLER
“We’ve been watching Ronald run since he was in the younger age groups, in Junior Olympics and AAU. Watching him run, he’s garnered All-America honors in those events. We’re looking forward to his senior year and watching him improve on his times and also looking forward to having a hometown guy join us here at our program.”
QUINCY HALL • SPRINTS • KANSAS CITY, MO.
• Attends College of the Sequoias in Visalia, Calif.
• Son of Ieica Hall
• Plans to major in kinesiology at Carolina
• Won the CCCAA California State Championship in the 400m, 400m hurdles and 4x400m relay in 2017
• Won the 400mH at the 2017 USATF Junior Championships, running 49.51 in the finals
• Earned the 400mH title at the 2017 Pan American U20 Championships with a meet record time of 49.02
• Ran 45.12 to win the 400m at the 2017 Mt. Sac Relays
• Won two Missouri state titles in the 400m as a high school student at Raytown South HS in Raytown, Mo.
• Chose to continue his career at Carolina so he could train under the legendary Coach Frye
COACH BROWN ON HALL
“Quincy Hall is the No. 1 junior athlete in the world in the 400m hurdles. To bring in an athlete that’s No. 1 in the world in his age group — you can’t help but be excited about that. This guy comes in with high credentials and high expectations. I think he’s the guy who can meet those expectations, so we’re really, really excited about an athlete of his caliber and the person he is joining our program.”
LISSA LABICHE • HIGH JUMP • SEYCHELLES
• Is a two-time Olympian, representing Seychelles in the high jump at London 2012 and Rio 2016
• Plans to major in business at Carolina
• Finished 29th in the high jump at the Rio Olympics with a mark of 1.85m and 20th in London, when she also hit 1.85m
• Won the high jump at the African Championships in 2012 and 2016 and the African Games in 2015
• Jumped 1.91m to earn the title at the 2017 Jeux de la Francophonie in Ivory Coast
• Holds a PR of 1.92m in the high jump and 6.27m in the long jump
• Chose Carolina to get out of her comfort zone, meet new people and get an incredible education
COACH CHOUKROUN ON LABICHE
“We were excited the first time we talked to Lissa. She smiled at us and was laughing the whole time, so we felt like she was part of the family right away. I think she did too, because she didn’t even look for another school after she talked to us. We’re excited because she’s jumped 1.92m, and she’s also a very good long jumper. She’s a very well-rounded athlete. She’s going to help us a lot, and I believe we can take her to an Olympic medal at the next Olympics.”
MARYAH NASIR • DISTANCES • COLUMBIA, S.C.
• Attends Heathwood High School in Columbia
• Daughter of Robyn and Leon Bass
• Plans to major in nursing at Carolina
• Is a three-time South Carolina track & field state champion, earning the title in the 800m, 1600m and 3200m
• Also owns a cross country state title in the 5K
• Qualified for the Foot Locker Cross Country National Championships in 2015, when she finished third, and 2016, when she placed 11th
• Chose Carolina because she fell in love with her future teammates, the downtown setting of the University and the quality of the facilities on her official visit
COACH ALLDEN ON NASIR
“Maryah is a multiple-time state champion in the private school league and ran the fastest time on the state meet course this year as a senior, so that’s very impressive. She’ll give us a very solid low 18-minute performer in cross country, and she’s got some very nice stats in terms of the 800 and 1500. I think she’ll be an excellent middle distance runner in college.”
LOIC PREVOT • SPRINTS • Cayenne, French Guiana
• Joins Carolina from Nanterre University
• Son of Myriam Prevot
• Was the 2015 U18 French National Champion in the 400m
• Represented France at the 2017 European U23 Championships, the 2017 European U20 Championships and the 2015 IAAF World Youth Championships
• Ran his 100m PR of 10.39 at a meet in Kourou, Guyana, in 2016
• Holds a PR of 20.86 in the 200m and 46.30 in the 400m
• Versatile runner who is ranked among France’s top-40 athletes in both the 60m and the 400m
COACH CHOUKROUN ON PREVOT
“We’re very excited, because Loic hasn’t really lifted a bar in the weight room. We’re very excited about his times knowing that he is 6-6. When you’re that fast with no weight room and that tall, it says a lot about your potential.”
HANNAH TWINE • DISTANCES • COLUMBIA, S.C.
• Currently attends AC Flora High School in Columbia
• Daughter of Shelton and Rebecca Twine
• Plans to major in exercise science at South Carolina
• Was an All-State honoree in both track and cross country as well as a Region MVP in the 5K
• Led AC Flora to a regional title and a fourth-place finish at the state meet in 2016
• Also named the Falcons’ Team MVP in both track & field and cross country
• Chose Carolina because of the way the team is also pushing each other to be better, the coaches and the quality of Carolina’s academic programs
COACH ALLDEN ON TWINE
“To me, the most interesting thing about Hannah is that she’s essentially been running for two years. This is her second year of cross country, and she’s only got one year of track under her belt, so I think she’s got a lot of upside, and I think she’s going to continue to make very rapid improvement.”
UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS
The Gamecocks will begin their 2018 track & field season in January, with the schedule to be released in the coming weeks.
