June 7, 2018
2018 NCAA Outdoor Championships — Day #2
EUGENE, Ore. – The 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championships continued Thursday, with the University of South Carolina track & field team earning two more All-America finishes. Rougui Sow collected first-team honors in the long jump, while the women’s 4x100m relay squad took home second-team status.
Through two days in Eugene, the Carolina men’s team occupies 15th place, with eight points. The Gamecock women sit in 26th, with two points.
The Gamecocks opened the day in the first heat of the 4x100m relay. Maiya Dendy, Stephanie Davis, Milan Parks and Makyla Stanley finished fifth in their heat and 14th overall to earn second-team All-America honors. The quartet turned in a time of 44.17, their second-best mark of the year.
The All-America finish is the second for Dendy and Parks, two members of Carolina’s 2017 4×1 squad. It’s the 16th time in program history that Carolina has earned an All-America finish in the women’s 4×1.
Aliyah Abrams ended her individual season on Thursday night in the 400m. In her second career NCAA Outdoor Championships appearance, the redshirt sophomore finished 18th, with a time of 53.09.
Sow was outside of a finals berth when she stepped on the runway for her final preliminary long jump attempt, but she booked three more jumps with a leap of 21-0 ¾. The junior matched that effort twice during the final three rounds, and she finished seventh on the evening to collect first-team All-America honors.
The Le Havre, France, native is now a four-time first-team All-American having finished in the top-eight in each of her four NCAA postseason runs. She’s now the only Carolina women’s long jumper in history to earn two All-America finishes outdoors.
The Gamecocks ended the day with the 4x400m relay. Davis, Abrams, Precious Holmes and Tatyana Mills stopped the clock in 3:37.70 to finish in 17th place.
The Gamecock men were idle Thursday. Their eight points came Wednesday from senior Josh Awotunde, who earned the silver medal in the shot put.
FROM THE COACH
“We’re proud of Rougui. She’s a tough competitor. It was tough out there. It’s tough at this meet here to become an All-American, especially a scoring All-American. We’re really happy to have her come in there and do this for the fourth time. I’m proud of the rest of our group. They came here, and they fought. It’s a little nerve-wracking. Both of our relays were scared to death, but they still had good runs. Seven out of the eight that ran are back next year, which means we have a lot of people back who made it to the NCAA meet.”- Head Coach Curtis Frye
UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS
The Gamecocks are off on Friday but conclude the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championships on Saturday afternoon. Lissa Labiche competes in the high jump, with her national title quest beginning at 3 p.m. PT.
| THURSDAY, JUNE 7, 2018 • 2018 NCAA OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS • WOMEN’S RESULTS | ||
| Long Jump | ||
| 7. Rougui Sow | 6.42m | 21-0 3/4 | |
| 4x100m Relay Semifinals (Top 8 Advance to National Championship Final) | ||
| 14. Dendy, Davis, Parks, Stanley | 44.17 | |
| 400m Semifinals (Top 8 Advance to National Championship Final) | ||
| 18. Aliyah Abrams | 53.09 | |
| 4x400m Relay Semifinals (Top 8 Advance to National Championship Final) | ||
| 17. Davis, Abrams, Holmes, Mills | 3:37.70 | |
