Stoddard Scores, Lindley Makes Final on Day 1 of SEC Championships

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The University of South Carolina track and field saw one scorer and one finalist come out of the opening day of the 2021 SEC Outdoor Championships on Thursday. Anna Kathryn Stoddard finished seventh in the 10000m while Lindley matched the seventh place finish to make the 400m hurdles final on Saturday. 

Stoddard’s 10000m performance was the final race of the day for the Gamecocks, and it was the second-straight 10000m event the Gamecocks scored in dating back to the last contested SEC Outdoor Championships back in 2019. Stoddard improved her lifetime best in the event, and narrowly moved up to No. 3 in school history with her time of 34:32.65. Heather Stone finished 13th in the event in a time of 35:29.43 while Brooke Wilson finished her first career 10000m on Thursday night. 

Lindley is the first Gamecock woman to reach the 400m hurdles final since Tyler Brockington won the event in 2017, a race that was contested in Columbia, S.C. Although the performance was not Lindley’s best of the season, it slots her into a loaded final in her first appearance at the SEC Outdoor Championships. 

Carolina finished day one with a number of close calls with three individuals finishing in 10th place, missing out on the final by one position. Evan Miller in the 200m was 10th in a time of 20.95 while Noah Walker and De’Andreah Young both finished 10th in the 400m hurdles. 

In the men’s decathlon, after five events have been completed, Elisha Brooks sits in ninth among the 15 competitors and is in position to make a push on Friday. Brooks has totaled 3628 points through the opening day and posted personal records in the 400m, 100m and the shot put. 

Competition resumes at 2:45 p.m. ET on Friday with the decathlon 110m hurdles and the women’s hammer begins shortly after at 3 p.m. ET. The rest of the track events will begin at 7 p.m. with the men’s 110m hurdles. 

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ALL ESTIMATED START TIMES ARE IN EASTERN TIME: