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Gamecocks Celebrate 2018 Campaign at Annual Team Banquet
Track and Field  . 

Gamecocks Celebrate 2018 Campaign at Annual Team Banquet

by Rob Walden

Carolina reflects on last season while setting the tone for 2019


COLUMBIA, S.C. — The University of South Carolina track & field team celebrated another successful campaign last weekend as the Gamecocks held their 2018 awards banquet. Carolina welcomed back recent graduates, guests and current student-athletes for a night of reflection and celebration at Williams-Brice Stadium.

Before the awards were handed out, the Gamecocks heard from Carolina alumna Tiffany Ross-Williams. A member of Carolina’s 2002 outdoor national championship team, Ross-Williams won two NCAA individual titles and represented the United States at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She was a 12-time All-American and a six-time SEC Champion, and she still holds three Gamecock program records.

Carolina head coach Curtis Frye had many academic accomplishments to celebrate from another outstanding season in the classroom. Rising senior Allie Mueller was honored as a Google Cloud Academic All-American, while teammates Eric Favors, Rivaldo Leacock, Markus Leemet, Ncincilili Titi, Armand Woodley, Aliyah Abrams, Shelby Freedman, Amecia Pennamon, Rougui Sow, Alycia Springs and Hailey Sweatman took home USTFCCCA All-Academic selections. Both the men’s and women’s teams were honored as USTFCCCA All-Academic squads for the 10th-consecutvie season. The women posted a 3.41 GPA while the men set a program record in the spring with a 3.33 GPA.

The Gamecocks recognized another extensive list of All-Americans from the 2018 campaign, highlighted by recent graduate Josh Awotunde, who earned a bronze medal at the NCAA Indoor Championships and a silver at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Titi and Yann Randrianasolo each joined Awotunde in earning All-America laurels indoors and outdoors for the men’s squad. For the women, Hanifah Abdulqadir, Jordan Fields, Lissa Labiche and Rougui Sow earned indoor All-America status while Labiche, Sow, Stephanie Davis, Maiya Dendy, Milan Parks and Makyla Stanley earned outdoor All-America finishes.

Five Gamecocks earned All-SEC recognition last season, punctuated by Awotunde’s conference championship in the indoor shot put. Randrianasolo and Labiche took home indoor All-SEC trophies while Awotunde, Woodley and Otis Jones stood on the podium at the SEC Outdoor Championships. KD Young was an SEC All-Freshman Team selection.

On the men’s side, Titi and Awotunde were named Team MVP’s for the 2018 season, while Abrams and Labiche were honored on the women’s side. Awotunde (indoor and outdoor shot put), Titi (outdoor 200m) and Tye Williams (indoor high jump) broke school records last season. A full list of award winners can be found in the sidebar to the right.

UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS

South Carolina returns to action soon, with the indoor season beginning in January and the outdoor campaign scheduled to start in March. The Gamecocks will compete five times at home, including three meets at their renovated indoor facility. Carolina will release its complete 2019 schedule in the coming weeks.