May 12, 2018

Outdoor Meet #9 ââ’¬” 2018 SEC Outdoor Championships Day #2

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Josh Awotunde set a new school record and brought home a silver medal in the shot put Saturday as the University of South Carolina track & field team competed at the 2018 SEC Outdoor Championships. Awotunde threw 20.77m, breaking a 19-year-old Carolina watermark to earn his fourth career SEC medal.

After two days, the Gamecock men are in 10th place with 11 points, while the Carolina women are in 11th place with 10 points. The vast majority of points are up for grabs Sunday, with both the men and the women’s holding finals in 14 of 21 events.

Awotunde and Georgia’s Denzel Comenentia engaged in a classic battle on Saturday afternoon, with both student-athletes achieving outdoor personal bests. Comenentia led after one round with a mark of 64-9 ¾, which Awotunde topped in round two with an effort of 65-3 ½. Comenentia matched that mark on his third attempt, with Awotunde answering by throwing 67-0 ½ on his third effort.

In round four, Comenentia retook the lead by hitting 67-6 ¾, and Awotunde broke the school record for the first time on his fifth attempt, at 67-6. Both athletes then recorded their best marks of the day in round six, with Comenentia throwing 68-6 and Awotunde breaking the Carolina record for a second time, ending the competition with a mark of 68-1 ¾.

Awotunde broke the school record of 67-3 ½ set in 1999 by Brad Snyder. An Olympian in 1996, 2000 and 2004, Snyder ended his career as an eight-time SEC champion and three-time NCAA champion.

Awotunde’s mark of 20.77 ranks third overall in the NCAA this outdoor season.

On the women’s side, four Gamecocks posted scoring efforts Saturday. Jordan Fields entered the final event of the heptathlon in ninth place, needing to make up 25 points to get into scoring position. The redshirt freshman got the job done, running the 800m in 2:27.75 and finishing eighth overall in the heptathlon, with 4,769 points. That’s the seventh-best heptathlon score in Carolina history.

In the javelin throw, Shelby Freedman was outside of qualifying position when she stepped in for her third preliminary throw. But that effort, 156-4, was her best attempt of the season, and it sent the senior into scoring position. Freedman finished eighth at her final SEC Championships, adding a point to the Carolina tally.

KD Young put points on the board at her first SEC Outdoor Championships, finishing sixth in the shot put. Young’s top attempt was her last, a heave of 51-11. She was the top freshman finisher on Saturday night, earning SEC All-Freshman Team honors for the second time this season.

Carolina’s final scoring effort of the day came from Rougui Sow in the long jump. The three-time All-American finished fourth, with a season-best jump of 21-6 ¾. It was her third career top-five finish at a conference championship, and she now holds the eighth-best mark in the nation this season.

On the men’s side, Yann Randrianasolo earned Carolina’s first three points with a sixth-place effort in the long jump. His third jump was his best of the day, a leap of 25-10 ¼. It’s the third time that Randrianasolo has scored for the Gamecocks at the conference meet, including a silver-medal finish at the 2018 indoor championship.

In addition to the scoring Gamecocks, two Carolina runners advanced out of track prelims Saturday. Caitlyn Little finished sixth in the opening round of 100m hurdles with a time of 13.10, seventh-best in Carolina history. It’s also the 11th-best mark in the East Region this season, and she’ll compete for an SEC title Sunday at 6:40 p.m. ET.

Ncincilili Titi also booked a spot in Sunday’s 100m final. The senior’s time of 10.27 was the seventh-best effort of the evening. He’ll go for the 100m SEC title Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET before running in the 200m final at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Titi ran the meet’s fastest 200m qualifying time Friday night, pacing the field in 20.22. Teammate Otis Jones, who was off Saturday, will also compete for a conference championship on Sunday after advancing out of 800m prelims Friday night.

FROM THE COACH