Gamecocks Punch Another Pair of Tickets to Outdoor Championships

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The University of South Carolina track and field team punched another pair of tickets to the NCAA Outdoor Championships on Friday in Jacksonville, Fla. Malik Paul (Discus) and William Spencer Jr. (400m hurdles) both qualified and adds the total to three men heading to Eugene next month. 

Paul, a senior, earned his first trip to the NCAA Championships in the discus with a ninth-place finish in the discus. Paul, a former walk-on and transfer from USC Beaufort, used his first of three throws (57.30m | 188-0) to secure his spot in Eugene. Paul’s performance makes the Gamecocks two-for-two in the men’s throws with Eric Favors qualifying in the men’s shot put on Wednesday. 

Quick interview with our newest NCAA Outdoor Championships qualifier, @malikpaul16 💪 #Gamecocks | #ncaaTF pic.twitter.com/yN1UdV837j

— Gamecock Track & XC (@GamecockTrack) May 28, 2021

As a freshman William Spencer Jr. dominated his way to the the national semifinals of the 400m hurdles by clocking a personal best 49.68. His time earned him the second-best time in the region and puts him ahead of 2011 world champion 110m hurdler Jason Richardson on the Gamecocks all-time top 10 list in the event. 

Outdoor freshman Filip Demsar finished his collegiate season with a heartbreaker in the 110m hurdles. The Slovenian international finished 13th, needing 12th to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships, with a personal best of 13.69. Demsar’s 13.69 came in the third heat, the only wind legal heat of the three heats, and goes down as the ninth-fastest time in school history. Demsar, who ends the 2020-21 season as an indoor All-American, will next prepare for the European U23 Championships in July. 

Carolina’s 4x400m relay squad just missed a bid to the championships finishing in a time of 3:07.58 in the first of three heats. There will be a special runoff tomorrow at 12 p.m. in the second heat of the 4x400m relay after the stadium, and all lights, went off mid-race. As the results sit on Friday night, the Gamecocks will not have a chance to move up in the standings to earn a spot at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. 

Another pair of season’s came to an end with Evan Miller in the 200m and freshman Jackson Marseille in the high jump. Miller false started in the 200m while Marseille no heighted in the high jump. Miller finishes his best season in the Garnet and Black as an indoor All-American and a two-time scorer at the SEC Championships (once indoors and once outdoors). Marseille completes his true freshman season as a two-time SEC All-Freshman team member in the high jump. 

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ALL ESTIMATED START TIMES ARE IN EASTERN TIME: