Gamecock Women's 4x4 Steals the Show at Florida Relays
Carolina national champions run NCAA's top time in first race since NCAA indoor meet
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of South Carolina’s 4x400m relay squads rose to the occasion on Saturday night, putting an exclamation point on the team’s week at the 2019 Florida Relays. The top highlight came from the women’s quarter-milers, who posted the fastest time in the NCAA this season with a thunderous come-from-behind victory over the host Gators in front of a raucous crowd at Percy Beard Track.
Running together for the first time since their NCAA indoor national title earlier this month in Birmingham, Stephanie Davis, Aliyah Abrams, Tatyana Mills and Wadeline Jonathas posted a time of 3:27.53. That’s the best mark in the NCAA and the second-best mark in the world this season, and it also goes down as the fourth-best time in South Carolina history.
It took a heroic closing stretch by Jonathas to win the NCAA title in Birmingham, and the junior from Gonaives, Haiti, was even better Saturday in Gainesville. Jonathas trailed both Florida and Alabama heading into the final straightaway, but she turned on the jets to speed past both the Gators (3:27.76) and the Crimson Tide (3:28.60).
THAT CLOSING STRETCH!!! 🔥🔥🔥
Wadeline Jonathas wasn’t even on the screen when the Florida Relays 4x400m reached the final straightaway.
But running the #1 time in the @NCAATrackField wasn’t supposed to be easy…
— Gamecock Track & XC (@GamecockTrack) March 31, 2019
The men’s 4×4 squad also brought their A game on Saturday night, finishing fourth in the Jimmy Carnes 4x400m Relay. Arinze Chance, Otis Jones, Quincy Hall and Ty Jaye Robbins logged a time of 3:04.08. Most importantly, that mark ranks fifth in the NCAA and eighth in the world this season, and it’s also the eighth-best mark in Gamecock history.
Overall, the Gamecocks wrapped up the meet with 24 top-10 finishes in Gainesville, including 11 on Saturday with just 16 entries.
The Gamecocks got rolling on Saturday morning with a podium finish in the men’s shuttle hurdle relay. Noah Walker, Tyler Jones, Spencer Flores and Kaden Briggs won their heat and finished third overall with a time of 1:00.15.
Carolina got a sixth-place effort from their men’s sprint medley relay. Yohance Thomas, Parker Howard, Jordan Sessom and Blake Newcomb stopped the clock in 3:25.26.
In the women’s 4x100m, Carolina finished just a shade outside of the program’s all-time top-10 list. Davis, Makyla Stanley, Amecia Pennamon and Jonathas finished eighth overall and fifth among college teams with a time of 43.86. That’s the eighth-best mark among NCAA teams this season.
The Carolina distance crew had already posted four new program top-10 marks in Gainesville, and they added a fifth when Allie Mueller, Maryah Nasir, Macie Kavanaugh and Sierra Biber took part in the 4x800m relay. The quartet’s time of 9:02.50 was the seventh-best in program history, and they finished 10th on Saturday.
The Gamecocks worked their way back on to the podium in the women’s 4x200m relay. Pennamon, Abrams, Mills and Stanley came in third overall and second collegiately with a run of 1:33.00.
The Carolina men were electric in the 4x200m, posting the top college time and the fourth-best effort of the day overall. Arinze Chance, Darrell Singleton Jr., Evan Miller and Quincy Hall stopped the clock in 1:21.87, the second-best mark in Carolina history and the best run by a Gamecock team in the 4×2 since 2009. The Gamecocks finished just .27 short of a school record and beat Western Kentucky, the second-fastest squad in their heat, by nearly three seconds.
In addition to the relay races on the track, several field events were contested on Saturday, including two Gamecocks in action in the men’s shot put. In the college division, Ben Bonhurst tallied a season best and finished fourth with a throw of 17.59m (57-8 ½). In the invitational flight, Eric Favors finished sixth with a throw of 18.44m (60-6) in his outdoor season opener. That puts him #14 on the 2019 NCAA leaderboard and #4 on Ireland’s all-time shot put list.
Armand Woodley continued his strong senior campaign in the pole vault. The Orlando, Fla., native finished fourth Saturday by clearing 5.22m (17-1 ½). That’s the 12th-best mark in the NCAA this season.
FROM THE COACH
“We had a really good weekend. Our kids are buying in and working hard. Our 4×4 continues to do really well. Aliyah ran 50.3 and Wadeline ran 50.5, and that closing stretch was awesome. It didn’t look like she was going to catch Florida, but I had confidence she’d get it done, and she did. Our men had a good run in the 4×4 as well. Quincy was great on the third leg, and we think we can run a little faster. We also did a great job in the 4×2, both men and women, and I think our women’s 4×1 probably punched their regional ticket. Armand and Eric were great in the field, and overall, I’m really happy with what we accomplished this weekend. Our distance women also gave great efforts all weekend. We figured some things out for Penn Relays in a few weeks, and I think we have several groups that can win wagon wheels. I’m proud about what we did this week and excited for Georgia next week.”- Head Coach Curtis Frye
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UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS
The Gamecocks make the trip to Athens, Ga., next week for the Spec Towns Invitational. The meet will be held April 5-6.
| SATURDAY, MARCH 30, 2019 • FLORIDA RELAYS • MEN’S RESULTS | ||
| Pole Vault | ||
| 4. Armand Woodley | 5.22m | 17-1 1/2 | |
| –. Bryce Simpson | NH | |
| Shot Put | ||
| 4. Ben Bonhurst | 17.59m | 57-8 1/2 | |
| Shot Put Inv. | ||
| 6. Eric Favors | 18.44m | 60-6 | |
| Shuttle Hurdle Relay | ||
| 3. Walker, T. Jones, Flores, Briggs | 1:00.15 | |
| Sprint Medley Relay | ||
| 6. Thomas, Howard, Sessom, Newcomb | 3:25.26 | |
| 4x100m Relay | ||
| 26. Chance, Singleton, Miller, Valentine | 40.44 | |
| 4x800m Relay | ||
| –. Petersen, Fladd, Newcomb, Strom | DNF | |
| 4x200m Relay | ||
| 4. Chance, Singleton, Miller, Hall | 1:21.87 | |
| Jimmy Carnes 4x400m Relay | ||
| 4. Chance, O. Jones, Hall, Robbins | 3:04.08 | |
| SATURDAY, MARCH 30, 2019 • FLORIDA RELAYS • WOMEN’S RESULTS | ||
| Shot Put | ||
| 12. Carisma Holland | 14.46m | 47-5 1/4 | |
| Sprint Medley Relay | ||
| 11. Parks, Coquillaud-Salomon, Williams, Biber | 4:05.80 | |
| 4x100m Relay | ||
| 8. Davis, Stanley, Pennamon, Jonathas | 43.86 | |
| 4x800m Relay | ||
| 10. Mueller, Nasir, Kavanaugh, Biber | 9:02.50 | |
| 4x200m Relay | ||
| 3. Pennamon, Abrams, Mills, Stanley | 1:33.00 | |
| Tom Jones 4x400m Relay | ||
| 1. Davis, Abrams, Mills, Jonathas | 3:27.53 | |
