Gamecocks to Send 29 Entries to NCAA East Preliminary Championship
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The University of South Carolina track and field team will send 29 student-athletes to the NCAA East Preliminary Championships in Jacksonville, Fla., the NCAA announced today.
The Gamecocks will send 17 entries on the women’s side with 12 entries coming from the men’s squad. A total of 48 individuals in each event along with the top 24 relay teams were accepted with the top 12 in each event advancing to the NCAA Outdoor Championships that will take place in Eugene, Ore., from June 9-12.
A total of eight South Carolina entries will enter the NCAA East Preliminary Championships ranked in the top 12 of their respective events, five on the women’s side and three on the men’s side. Amongst the top 20 in each event the Gamecocks have an increased total of 19 that will be in serious contention for the top 12 spots to advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Carolina’s Rachel Glenn highlights the entries with a No. 1 ranking heading into the preliminaries in the women’s high jump. Her 1.91m (6-3 1/4) mark that she brings in was set at the very track back on April 30 at the UNF Invitational. Glenn’s season-best leap is also good enough for the No. 2 overall national ranking.
The women’s 4x400m relay is nearly at the top of the declared lists with the second-best time of 3:28.73, a time that the squad of Aliyah Abrams, Stephanie Davis, Alysia Johnson and Ashton Lindley put up at the SEC Outdoor Championships last week. That loaded 4x400m relay team will all also compete individually in Jacksonville with Abrams, Davis and Johnson all competing in the open 400m while Lindley will enter the regional with the eighth-best time and the top ranked freshman.
The top-ranked men’s entry is William Spencer Jr. in the men’s 400m hurdles. The outdoor rookie is the second-highest ranked freshman in the event at 49.82 and is joined by veteran Rivaldo Leacock in the event, Leacock comes in as the No. 9 ranked individual in the event with a season-best time of 50.67.
Eric Favors highlights Carolina’s men in the field, entering with the No. 7 ranked shot put mark, Favors will look to use the momentum of his outdoor SEC runner-up finish last weekend when he hit a new lifetime best of 19.85m (65-1 1/2). Malik Paul will also look to throw his way to the NCAA Outdoor Championships with the No. 13 ranked mark in the discus.
Other top 15 ranked entries for the Gamecocks include indoor All-Americans Evan Miller (200m) and Filip Demsar (110m hurdles) that will be serious threats to finish in the top 12. Miller, who has a outdoor season best of 20.50, will be in the mix while Demsar’s season-opening time of 13.77 will have to be improved on for the outdoor rookie to advance to Eugene.
A full list of declared, and accepted, marks can be found here. For a full list of South Carolina declared, and accepted, entries see at the bottom of this page.
The Preliminary Championships will begin on Wednesday, May 26, and run through Saturday, May 29. The men will compete on Wednesday and Friday and the women will compete on Thursday and Saturday. Each day of the competition will be streamed on Watch ESPN or on the ESPN app.
Subscribe to South Carolina on Stanza to get schedule updates directly in your calendars. Keep up with Carolina track and field on Twitter and Instagram (@GamecockTrack) and on Facebook, so you do not miss any content during the 2021 season.
South Carolina Entries
Women (Regional Ranking, Name, Event):
3. Aliyah Abrams – 400m
12. Stephanie Davis – 400m
20. Alysia Johnson – 400m
26. Knowledge Omovoh – 400m
36. Anna Kathryn Stoddard – 5000m
44. Anna Kathryn Stoddard – 10000m
T20. Destinee Rocker – 100m Hurdles
T20. Caitlyn Little – 100m Hurdles
8. Ashton Lindley – 400m Hurdles
18. De’Andreah Young – 400m Hurdles
13. 4x100m Relay
2. 4x400m Relay
1. Rachel Glenn – High Jump
20. Jordan Fields – High Jump
16. Hailey Sweatman – Pole Vault
29. Alycia Springs – Shot Put
39. KD Young – Shot Put
Men (Regional Rank, Name, Event):
15. Evan Miller – 200m
27. Jackson Junkins – 400m
15. Filip Demsar – 110m Hurdles
4. William Spencer Jr. – 400m Hurdles
9. Rivaldo Leacock – 400m Hurdles
33. Noah Walker – 400m Hurdles
39. EJ Richardson – 400m Hurdles
13. 4x400m Relay
27. Jackson Marseille – High Jump
35. Dillon McCarthy – Pole Vault
7. Eric Favors – Shot Put
13. Malik Paul – Discus
