Favors Scores, Gamecocks Secure Four Individual Finalists at SECs

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The University of South Carolina track and field team began their championship season at the 2020 SEC Indoor Championships in College Station, Texas on Friday. Senior Eric Favors helped get the Gamecocks on the board with a fifth-place finish in the shot put while Stephanie Davis earned the top prelim spot in the women’s 400m. 

“Both our men and women’s 400m runners really stood out today,” South Carolina head coach Curtis Frye said. “[Rayon Buttler] made a final in the 800m which is awesome. [Eric Favors] got us on the board in the shot put with his second-best throw ever. Taking fifth in the SEC is big and we’re so proud of him.”

Favors nearly matched his personal best in the shot put by tossing 19.42m (63-8 3/4) to earn his fifth-place finish. Favors has now scored three of his four years at the indoor conference championship and made the finals all four years of his indoor career. He’ll have to wait to find out if he’s qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships as he did not improve his 16th-place mark in the country of 19.43m. 

For Davis it was a huge personal best that led the women’s program on the first day of the SEC Championships. Davis’ 52.25 slips her past teammate Aliyah Abrams on the Gamecocks’ indoor top 10 list, putting her at No. 7. Davis’ time not only made program history but puts her as the top time headed into the 400m final tomorrow night. 

On the men’s side of the 400m it was Quincy Hall and Arinze Chance who qualified for Saturday’s final. Hall took care of business in his heat, clocking a 46.59 to finish in fourth among the preliminaries. Chance joined Hall as a heat winner, coming in at 47.02 to finish sixth and cement his place in tomorrow’s final. 

Carolina’s fourth individual finalist is junior Rayon Buttler who made his SEC Indoor Championships debut for the Gamecocks. Buttler finished fifth in a time of 1:50.66, just behind his lifetime best in the event he ran last season at the junior college level. 

Carolina also achieved a number of notable personal bests. Anna Kathryn Stoddard improved her best 5000m time by nine seconds to take 11th in the event. Caitlyn Little ran a personal best time of 8.21, just missing the 60m hurdles final by 0.01. Knowledge Omovoh dropped her 400m personal best down to 54.94 while De’Andreah Young’s 55.32 also was a personal best. 

“We know everyone on our squad was giving it their best shot today,” Frye said. “That’s all we can ask for from our team, their best shot. No one folded, no one didn’t line up and give it a fight. We know we have things that we can do well tomorrow and all we can focus on is having out personal bests.” 

The Gamecocks will have a jam packed day of action on Saturday at the SEC Indoor Championships. Elisha Brooks and Kaden Briggs will continue their heptathlon debuts at 10 a.m. Brooks, a freshman, sits in ninth after the first day of action. 

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