Meet Info

Events: 2018 NCAA East Regional — Day #1

Host: USF

Date: May 24, 2018

Location: Tampa, Fla.

Venue: USF Track & Field Stadium

Gamecock NCAA Qualifiers

Student-Athlete	Event	Time/Mark
Lissa Labiche	High Jump	1.80m
Yann Randrianasolo	Long Jump	7.82m
Rougui Sow	Long Jump	6.18m

TAMPA, Fla. — Three Gamecocks earned trips to Eugene on Thursday night as the University of South Carolina track & field team opened the 2018 NCAA East Regional. Lissa Labiche, Yann Randrianasolo and Rougui Sow each finished in the top-12 of their respective events on Thursday to clinch spots at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championships.

All three of Carolina’s Thursday qualifiers came from the Gamecock jumps squad. Labiche advanced to the NCAA Championships in the high jump, while Randrianasolo and Sow will compete for the long jump national title.

Labiche was perfect on Thursday, clearing 1.70m, 1.75m and 1.80m without a miss. Only 11 jumpers cleared 1.80, bringing the competition to a close and sending Labiche to Eugene in two weeks. A two-time Olympian, this will be her first trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Randrianasolo was on the bubble heading into his third and final men’s long jump attempt, but he left no doubt on his last effort of the day. The Toulouse, France, native jumped 7.82m (25-8), the third-best mark of the day, to book his first ticket to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Sow was about 10 minutes away from beginning her flight of the women’s long jump when stormy weather rolled into the Tampa area. The resulting delay lasted nearly four hours, pushing Sow’s first jump back to 10:30 p.m. ET. But when the competition began, the three-time All-American delivered. Her best effort on Thursday night, 6.18m (20-3 Â½) was good for 10th place and a spot in the NCAA Championships.

Each of Carolina’s qualifiers will be making their second NCAA Championships appearance of the season after qualifying for the national indoor meet in March. Sow finished eighth at the NCAA Indoor Championships to earn first-team All-America status, while Randrianasolo and Labiche each came in 14th.

Two Gamecocks opened their NCAA postseason runs by advancing to the quarterfinals on the track. Rivaldo Leacock got the job done first, finishing third in his heat of the 400m hurdles to earn an automatic quarterfinal berth. His time of 51.49 was a new collegiate best, and he will run for an NCAA Championships spot Friday at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Aliyah Abrams moved on to the quarterfinals in the 400m. Running the event for the first time in over a month, the redshirt sophomore showed no signs of rust as she finished second in her heat with a time of 52.53. Abrams will go for a spot in Eugene Friday at 1:15 p.m. ET.

FROM THE COACH

“Lissa had a great one. It was awesome. Her approaches were great. She listened to Coach (Delethea Quarles). She did everything that was necessary, and that’s what great athletes do. The listen to coaching, and they follow through in a championship environment.”

“If (Yann) can bring that kind of effort to Eugene, we expect him to be in contention to be a first-team All-American. That’s the goal we set up. There was no wind on that jump. That was probably his best jump this year. He’s jumped further in distance, but that effort had no wind behind him and was under that pressure.”- Head Coach Curtis Frye

UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS

The NCAA East Regional continues Friday for the Gamecocks. Carolina is action beginning at 9:30 a.m. ET, with six Gamecocks competing, including three with a chance to qualify for the NCAA Championships tomorrow.

THURSDAY, MAY 24, 2018 Â• 2018 NCAA EAST REGIONAL Â• MEN’S RESULTS
Pole Vault (Top 12 Advance to Nationals)
16. Armand Woodley	5.15m \| 16-10 3/4

Long Jump (Top 12 Advance to Nationals)
3. Yann Randrianasolo	7.82m \| 25-8

400mH First Round (Top 24 Advance to Quarterfinals)
17. Rivaldo Leacock	51.49Q

800m First Round (Top 24 Advance to Quarterfinals)
25. Otis Jones	1:49.53
THURSDAY, MAY 24, 2018 Â• 2018 NCAA EAST REGIONAL Â• WOMEN’S RESULTS