Gamecocks Return to Philadelphia for 126th Penn Relays

COLUMBIA — Gamecock track and field heads to Philadelphia and historic Franklin Field for the Penn Relays. The past two years of the Penn Relays have been canceled because of COVID precautions. The Gamecocks are set to compete among the best in the nation in a variety of relay events and a handful of individual events as well. South Carolina has seen plenty of success at Penn Relays in the past and hope to replicate some of those performances.

Follow the Meet
Live results can be found at http://pennrelaysonline.com/Results/schedule.aspx. FloTrack will be streaming the Penn Relays live. This viewing option does require a paid subscription. Please visit FloTrack.org for more information. Fans can follow along with updates on Twitter @GamecockTrack. A full recap will be posted on Twitter, Facebook and GamecocksOnline.com.

Meet Schedule
The Gamecocks have entries on all three days of action in Philadelphia. KD Young kicks off the action from the Penn Relays at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday in the College division of the women’s hammer throw.

Friday’s action gets started with Kobe Franklin in the College division of the men’s high jump at Noon.

Saturday at Franklin Field gets started for Carolina at Noon with three different field events: Rachel Glenn (High Jump Championship), Christian Lewis (Long Jump Championship) and Carson Lenser (Pole Vault Championship).

Weather Report
THURSDAY
– Conditions: Sunny
– Temperature: High of 57°
– Chance of Precipitation: 1%

FRIDAY
– Conditions: Sunny
– Temperature: High of 61°
– Chance of Precipitation: 0%

SATURDAY
– Conditions: Sunny
– Temperature: High of 65°
– Chance of Precipitation: 0%

Coach Frye on the Meet
On what he’s looking forward to at the Penn Relays
“This is a meet where you’re trying to get some awards and recognition for yourself and your school World and nationwide. To be able to get in the Championship of America brings us some good recruiting in the Northeast part of the country and it’s getting us coverage in track media on a national scale. This weekend with Drake Relays and Penn Relays is a big weekend for track and field. Then we might get some TV time. So the non-track novice can follow it.”

On what events stand out to him
“This is a good segue for Anass to next weekend where he will try to get the World standard at Virginia. He needs to run a 3:35 in the 1,500 meters next weekend and it’s important. This meet gives him a chance to be excited as well. I’m looking forward to many things. I think our girls have a chance in the 4X400-meter relay and in the 4X200-meter relay. There will be some really good teams there. The 4X100-meter relay and 4X200-meter relay on the men’s side will be interesting with Auburn because they’re doing well in the sprints this year. There will be a lot of challenging races for our kids. Our high hurdlers need to get back on track after some tough races last week. I’d love to see Dylan Targgart get gong again in the men’s shot put. He couldn’t compete last week. There’s a lot of things we need to get accomplished heading into the championship season.”

On strategy in the 4X200-meter relay
“You want to be deep at the 200 meters. Most of the time, 200-meter runners can run 300 meters, but they don’t run the 400 meters. It’s not something you train to be. It helps develop your 200 meters. It helps with your lactic speed as you get to the end of you leg of the race. A lot happens in the final 10-20 meters of the 200 meters, but this event helps with that portion of the race.”

Penn Relays History
The Gamecocks have a long history of success at the Penn Relays.

All-in-all, South Carolina has claimed 24 championships at the Penn Relays, including three titles at the most recent Penn Relays in 2019. The Gamecock women won the 4X200-meter relay, 4X400-meter relay and the shuttle hurdles titles in 2019.

The women’s 4X400-meter relay team has taken home seven titles in the event’s history. The Gamecock women claimed the title in the Mile relay six times in an eight year span from 2000-2007.

The Gamecocks have had four athletes win the Athlete of the Meet award at the Penn Relays. Terrence Trammell (1999), Mikele Barber (2000), Tiffany Ross-Williams (2005) and Marvin Reitze (2012) all have taken home Athlete of the Meet honors for Carolina.

Dawn Ellerbe and the 2003 Men’s Shuttle Hurdle Relay team both are on the Penn Relays Wall of Fame. Ellerbe was inducted in 2012 and the 2003 Men’s Shuttle Hurdle Relay was inducted in 2013.

The Gamecocks will try to add to their championship total in the Penn Relays’ return to competition.

UofSC Open Recap
The South Carolina track and field teams wrapped up their home slate on Saturday with the UofSC Open on the Sheila and Morris Cregger Track and saw a some of the best performances in school history.

Anass Essayi took to the Cregger Track for the first time in his career. He ran the 800 meters and put his name in the Gamecocks’ record book becoming the second-fastest Gamecock ever, winning the event in 1:47.70. Essayi’s time is the 19th-best in the NCAA this season and No. 8 in the East Region.

Anthony Greenhow, Jr. ran a personal best in the 200 meters with a time of 20.57. Greenhow, Jr. slotted himself at No. 10 in school history and moved into a tie for 35th in the NCAA. Greenhow, Jr. improved his qualifying mark and is now at No. 21 in the East Region.

On the women’s side, the Gamecocks’ 4X400-meter relay team became the fifth-fastest team in the country this season with a time of 3:27.86. Makenzie Dunmore, Angel Frank, Stephanie Davis and Jahnile Registre won the event for Carolina and became the second-fastest team in the East Region. The performance also puts them at No. 6 in school history.

Jayla Jamison ran her first collegiate 100-meter race and clocked in a time of 11.26 to finish in second behind NCAA 60-meter champion Melissa Jefferson. Jamison’s time slots her at No. 7 in Gamecock history and No. 24 in the NCAA. Jamison is the fourth-fastest freshman at 100 meters this season.

The Gamecocks look for success in relays and a handful of individual event this weekend at the Penn Relays.

Qualification Situation
With two scheduled competitions on the Gamecocks’ schedule, Carolina is set up for a good showing at the NCAA East Regional in May.

The Gamecocks have 31 marks and times in qualifying position for the East Regional in Bloomington, Indiana, on the campus of the University of Indiana.

There are 14 qualifying times and marks from South Carolina men. Will Spencer Jr. leads the East Region in the 400-meter hurdles.

The Gamecock women have 17 times and marks in qualifying position. Rachel Glenn is the Gamecocks’ highest ranked woman. She is currently in second in the women’s high jump.

Carolina will get two more chances at qualifying marks.