Gamecock Track Heads to New York for Dr. Sander Invitational

COLUMBIA– The South Carolina track and field teams trek to New York City for the Dr. Sander Invitational at The Armory on Friday and Saturday. The event will be the first scored meet of the season for the Gamecocks. BYU, UCLA and Ohio State highlight the field of collegiate teams at the meet.

The Dr. Sander Invitational will be featured on NBC’s streaming service Peacock for a brief time. Action can be streamed through Peacock from Noon until 2 p.m. on Saturday. The rest of the meet can be streamed online at USATF.TV and would require a RunnerSpace +PLUS subscription.

Live results can be found at here.

Fans can follow along with updates on Twitter @GamecockTrack. A full recap will be posted on Twitter, Facebook and GamecocksOnline.com.

Meet Schedule
Friday’s action is set to begin at 11:45 a.m. for the Gamecocks with KD Young in the women’s shot put. Friday’s track vents for Carolina begin at 1:30 p.m. with the heats of the women’s 60 meters where Tierra Frasier, Angel Frank and Jayla Jamison are slated to run.

Saturday’s Gamecock action begins at 9:30 a.m. with the women’s weight throw where KD Young and Kayla Racine will compete. Carolina hits the track at 10:02 a.m. for the men’s 3,000 meters with Rogerio Amaral.

Last Time Out
The Gamecocks hosted the South Carolina Invitational and saw some impressive times and marks.

Stephanie Davis ran a time of 52.47 in the women’s 400 meters invitational section. Her time puts her at No. 7 in the NCAA and fifth in the SEC in the event. Tierra Frasier had a breakout 200-meeter race, running a time of 23.46. She moves into a tie for 17th in the country with teammate Jayla Jamison.

Carson Lenser had a breakthrough in the men’s pole vault. Lenser finished as the top collegian and cleared 5.26m/17-3 to earn a new personal best. He moves into a tie for 20th in the country and No. 7 all-time on the South Carolina indoor performance list. Evan Miller ran his first sub-21 second 200-meter race of the season. He ran a time of 20.95 to win the men’s 200 meters’ invitational section.

Coach Frye on the Meet
On his thoughts heading into this weekend’s Dr. Sander Invitational at The Armory
“It’s the first time we’re doing something where everyone’s involvement affects other people. Lots of time, people run harder for their teammates than they do themselves. We’ll see how our kids respond to the situation. There’s friend consequences. There’s Gamecock consequences. It is no longer about yourself. That’s what this comes down to. People think track is an individual sport, but when it gets to championship meets, it becomes a team sport. This is a good time to have that kind of pressure. Responding to that helps people grow.”

On how The Armory track compares to their home track
“There’s been great times run in New York. When you put athletes on concrete, they respond to the contest. You can put lesser than great athletes on a really great track and they can respond. The really good athletes we’ve got are going to run really good times. The ones who are still developing are going to compete well and score team points. This week, we won’t spend a lot of time thinking about the times. This track meets is about scoring points and beating people.”

On how this trip is impactful on his athletes
“We always want to give our athletes great opportunities to see and do and grow. New York is the greatest city in the World. (This trip) gives them something that many have not seen. A lot of people don’t get a chance to visit New York in a lifetime. When we go to New Mexico, we go to the mountains. When we go to Texas, we take them to the George Bush museum. They are student-athletes and we want them to get the student-athlete experience. Running is one thing, but we want to give them the student experience with this type of trip. This is a bucket list trip, and it’s what life is about. We want to give our kids these bucket list experiences.”

Freshmen Breaking Through
Two freshmen broke through for the Gamecocks at the South Carolina Invitational in big ways.

Carson Lenser and Tierra Frasier both put up top-20 NCAA performances this past weekend. Lenser cleared 5.26m/17-3 in the men’s pole vault invitational section to finish as the top collegian. He ranks 20th in the NCAA in the pole vault. Tierra Frasier ran a time of 23.46 in the 200 meters invitational section where she also finished as the top collegian.

Both freshman broke through last weekend and have positioned themselves to contend for spots at the NCAA Indoor Championships in March.

Finding Their Stride
The Gamecocks have 11 top-20 NCAA times and marks at the conclusion of January and we head toward championship season.

On the men’s side, the Gamecocks have four top-25 NCAA times and marks. The Gamecock men have two athletes in the top 25 of the NCAA in the 200 meters in Anthony Greenhow, Jr. and Evan Miller. Greenhow, Jr. is No. 13 in the NCAA in the 200 meters with a time of 20.89 and Miller is at No. 19 with a time of 20.95. Filip Demsar is 13th in the NCAA in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 7.79. Carson Lenser is the lone field athlete in the top 25 among men’s athletes. He cleared 5.26m/17-3 in the pole vault to move into a tie for No. 20 in the country in the event.

On the women’s side, Carolina athletes have seven top-25 times and marks. Jayla Jamison owns top-20 times in the 60 meters and 200 meters. Jamison is No. 18 in the 60 meters (7.30) and No. 17 in the 200 meters (23.46). Tierra Frasier is tied with Jamison at No. 17 n the 200 meters with a time of 23.46, which she ran at the South Carolina Invitational. Stephanie Davis is at No. 7 in the NCAA in the 400 meters. She ran a time of 52.47  at the South Carolina Invitational to put herself in the top 10. Destinee Rocker is at No. 17 in the country in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.18. The Gamecocks’ women’s 4X400-meter relay team is at No. 16 in the country with a time of 3:36.04. Rachel Glenn is in the top 10 in the women’s high jump. She is at No. 6 with a height of 1.84m/6-0.50.

The Gamecocks currently have four athletes that would qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships if the season ended.

Bright Lights, Big City
The Gamecocks head to New York City for the Dr. Sander Invitational at The Armory in Washington Heights.

South Carolina has perennially made the trip to the Big Apple with the exception of 2021when The Armory shut down and didn’t hold indoor meets after January 12 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The women’s team most recently won the team race in 2017. Natasha Dicks won the triple jump, Taranisha Taylor won th 60-meter hurdles and the Gamecocks women’s 4X400-meter relay took home individual titles to help the Gamecock women win the team race.

The Armory hosts the meet annually and also hosts the Millrose Games, which is one of the most prestigious indoor track meets in the World.

The Gamecocks will again take on the Big Apple and look for championship-level competition this weekend.