South Carolina Earns Seven More Victories to Close Gamecock Inaugural
Women's DMR moves into NCAA top-five with strong run
COLUMBIA, S.C. — A groundbreaking weekend came to a close for the University of South Carolina track & field program on Saturday as the Gamecocks notched seven more victories at the Gamecock Inaugural. Five individuals and two relay teams scored wins, giving the team 11 total victories at the first-ever meet at the new Gamecock Indoor Track & Field Complex.
Aliyah Abrams (Women’s 200m Invite), Maiya Dendy (Women’s 60m Invite), Carisma Holland (Women’s Shot Put Invite), Otis Jones (Men’s 800m) and Yann Randrianasolo (Men’s Long Jump Invite) earned individual event wins on Saturday, and Carolina also finished first in the Women’s Distance Medley Relay and Men’s 4x400m Relay Invite. Those seven wins add to the tally started Friday by Arinze Chance (Men’s 400m Invite), Stephanie Davis (Women’s 400m Invite), Anna Kathryn Stoddard (Women’s 3000m) and Noah Walker (Men’s Open 400m).
Carolina’s first win of the day came from Randrianasolo. The two-time All-American continued his march to a third NCAA Championships appearance with a top jump of 7.60m (24-11 ¼), 11 inches clear of the field.
Dendy grabbed the first women’s victory of the day for the Gamecocks as she took the title in the 60m Invite. The senior led the final right out of the blocks and finished with a time of 7.45.
After winning the 600m at Clemson last weekend, Jones was on the track Saturday to make his 800m season debut. The redshirt senior went out quickly and led the entire way, turning in a time of 1:51.29. That’s the 13th-best mark in the NCAA this season.
The Gamecocks took the top two spots in the women’s 200m Invite. Abrams claimed her third individual victory of the season with a time of 23.80, which ranks 18th in the nation this season. Amecia Pennamon came in second with a time of 24.36, a new personal best.
Holland led a Gamecock sweep in the women’s Shot Put Invite. The redshirt freshman took the lead with her fifth attempt and held on with a mark of 15.36m (50-4 ¾). That’s a new PR for Holland and ranks 37th in the NCAA this season. KD Young came in second and Alycia Springs finished third.
The Carolina quartet of Allie Mueller, Briana Reckling, Macie Kavanaugh and Anna Kathryn Stoddard came up with a massive effort to win the Distance Medley Relay. Their time of 11:48.77 ranks fifth in the NCAA this year and sixth all-time in Gamecock history. The second-place squad was also from Carolina, with Maryah Nasir, Sierra Biber, Kelsey Larkin and Hannah Twine running 12:08.87.
Carolina’s 4x400m men’s squad brought home a victory for the second-straight week. Chance, Ty Jaye Robbins, Jones and Jordan Sessom lowered the squad’s season best to 3:10.56, the ninth-fastest mark in the nation this season.
For Chance, it was the second victory of the weekend after his electric performance Friday night in the 400m. The senior broke a Carolina indoor record with a mark of 46.15, which also set the Guyanese national record and is the top time in the NCAA this season.
Jones and Stoddard also finished the weekend with a pair of victories as Carolina completed its first home meet in its new facility.
FROM THE COACH
“Aliyah ran a good 200. I think she’s excited about running the 200. It’s part of Coach Karim’s preparation for her to get to be a 51-second quarter miler. That was a training race for her. It makes me nervous when long sprinters drop down to the 200, but she got through it. It was a good win.”
“We think the DMR is an event we can score in at the conference meet. Right now, we’re about 10 seconds away from that point, but we know there are some points in the DMR. Our kids understand that we’ve got a mark on the board, but they understand what the ultimate goal is: to get to the point where we score at our conference meet. That’s very difficult in the SEC. Right now, being ranked fifth in the country is outstanding. It’s exciting, but we’ve got to keep focused.”- Head Coach Curtis Frye
UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS
The Gamecocks head to the Big Apple next weekend for the Dr. Sander Invitational, the event runs Jan. 25-26 at the New Balance Track & Field Center at the Armory in New York City.
| SATURDAY, JAN. 19, 2019 • GAMECOCK INAUGURAL • MEN’S RESULTS | ||
| Shot Put Invite | ||
| 3. Eric Favors | 17.79m | 58-4 ½ | |
| Long Jump Invite | ||
| 1. Yann Randrianasolo | 7.60m | 24-11 ¼ | |
| Pole Vault Invite | ||
| 4. Bryce Simpson | 4.65m | 15-3 | |
| –. Armand Woodley | NH | |
| –. Seth Rabinowitz | NH | |
| Weight Throw Invite | ||
| 5. Malik Paul | 16.31m | 53-6 1/4 | |
| 11. Isaiah Davenport | 14.57m | 47-9 3/4 | |
| High Jump Invite | ||
| 8. Kobe Franklin | 1.98m | 6-6 | |
| Open 200m | ||
| 11. Parker Howard | 22.31 | |
| 60m Invite Final | ||
| 3. Evan Miller | 6.74 | |
| 5. Darrell Singleton Jr. | 6.87 | |
| 6. Ronald Fuller | 6.96 | |
| 800m | ||
| 1. Otis Jones | 1:51.29 | |
| 7. Blake Newcomb | 1:55.55 | |
| 11. Ian Fladd | 1:56.72 | |
| 5000m Invite | ||
| 9. Carson Strom | 15:57.32 | |
| 4x400m Relay Invite | ||
| 1. Chance, O. Jones, Robbins, Sessom | 3:10.56 | |
| SATURDAY, JAN. 19, 2019 • GAMECOCK INAUGURAL • WOMEN’S RESULTS | ||
| Pole Vault Invite | ||
| 3. Adele Blalock | 3.70m | 12-1 1/2 | |
| 9. Pressley Perry | 3.20m | 10-6 | |
| 11. Sam Silber | 3.00m | 9-10 | |
| –. Brianna Stamps | NH | |
| Weight Throw Invite | ||
| 4. Amanda Murphy | 17.03m | 55-10 | |
| 7. Nina Gambacorta | 15.70m | 51-6 | |
| 10. KD Young | 15.04m | 49-4 | |
| Long Jump Invite | ||
| 3. Makyla Stanley | 5.63m | 18-5 3/4 | |
| High Jump Invite | ||
| 6. Dymier Jeffery | 1.65m | 5-5 | |
| Shot Put Invite | ||
| 1. Carisma Holland | 15.36m | 50-4 3/4 | |
| 2. KD Young | 14.95m | 49-0 3/4 | |
| 3. Alycia Springs | 14.00m | 45-11 1/4 | |
| 60m Invite Final | ||
| 1. Maiya Dendy | 7.45 | |
| 60m Hurdles Invite Final | ||
| 4. Milan Parks | 8.40 | |
| 5. Caitlyn Little | 8.41 | |
| 800m | ||
| 2. Sierra Biber | 2:13.80 | |
| 200m Invite | ||
| 1. Aliyah Abrams | 23.80 | |
| 2. Amecia Pennamon | 24.36 | |
| 5000m Invite | ||
| 2. Brooke Wilson | 17:34.41 | |
| 3. Cailin Saylor | 17:51.71 | |
| 4. Colleen Openshaw | 17.52.26 | |
| Distance Medley Relay | ||
| 1. Mueller, Reckling, Kavanaugh, Stoddard | 11:48.77 | |
| 2. Nasir, Biber, Larkin, Twine | 12:08.87 | |
