Stoddard Shatters Another School Record at Florida Relays

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The University of South Carolina track and field team saw another school record go down a the Florida Relays with Anna Kathryn Stoddard breaking the 5000m program record by 30-seconds on Friday night in Gainesville. The record for Stoddard is her second-straight meet with a school record after shattering the 3000m school record at the Weems Baskin. 

“Today our 5K group had one heck of a day,” South Carolina head coach Curtis Frye said. “AK is on a great progression right now and today’s performance shows that. Where we go with her in the coming weeks in regards to either a 10K or a 5K, we’ll have to explore that as a staff but it is looking right now that she could be getting to an NCAA qualifying standard which is very exciting. Our plans will continue to evolve, and even Heather [Stone] is ahead of schedule where she was a few years ago when she scored for us in the 10K at the conference meet.” 

Stoddard’s time of 16:12.77 crushes Sue McGhie’s 27-year old record that was set back in 1994. Stoddard’s time is also the 17th fastest time in the country this season in the 5000m. Heather Stone was just behind Stoddard in the event with a 16:45.41, the now third-fastest time in school history, improving her previous mark of 16:57.46 back in 2019. 

Fresh off of their No. 12 ranking in the latest USTFCCCA rankings, the women’s team continued to improve on Friday. The women’s 400m hurdles group, led by freshmen Ashton Lindley and Rachel Glenn, continued to perform at a high level with Lindley finishing third at 57.68 and Glenn posting a new PR of 58.30. Synclair Savage also improved on her personal record, and nearly breaking the 6-meter threshold, in the long jump, posting a 5.98m (19-7 1/2) to finish in eighth in the loaded Florida Relays field. 

On the men’s side it was Eric Favors who shined the brightest on Friday. The senior registered his first mark of the season in the shot put competition, finishing as the meet’s runner-up. Favors’ toss of 19.26m (63-2 1/4) puts him inside the top 10 in the nation this year, and puts him sixth in the East Region. 

Evan Miller continued to show his consistency in the 200m, posting a 20.60 to finish fourth, nearly matching his personal record time of 20.50 that he set just last weekend at the Weems Baskin. 

In the field it was Jackson Marseille and Malik Paul who both posted lifetime bests in their respective events. Marseille finished in sixth with a outdoor PR of 2.10m (6-10 3/4) while Paul’s 59.97m (196-9) helped him make the final and finish in seventh for a solid start to his weekend in Gainesville. 

Other notable performances on Friday included EJ Richardson’s PR in the 400m hurdles (52.41) and Sean Petersen’s first career 1500m run in a time of 3:53.75. 

South Carolina continues action at the Florida Relays tomorrow with competition beginning at 10 a.m. Fans can follow the meet on DeltaTiming or can keep up on Twitter and Instagram (@GamecockTrack) and on Facebook. Subscribe to South Carolina on Stanza to get schedule updates directly in your calendars.