Gamecocks Play Host to South Carolina Invitational
COLUMBIA, S.C. (Feb. 2, 2023) – South Carolina Track & Field will host its final two-day indoor meet of the season this weekend, playing host to the South Carolina Invitational. The Gamecocks will begin the meet on Friday, capping the event off with the 4×400 meter relay on Saturday afternoon.
Follow the Meet
Live results for the Columbia Challenge can be found by clicking here. Fans can also follow along with updates on Twitter by following @GamecockTrack.
Know Before You Go
Carolina Indoor Track & Field Complex does have a CLEAR BAG POLICY that is in effect. Learn everything you need to know about the Clear Bag Policy by clicking here. There is also a WATER BOTTLE POLICY for all patrons and that is: one clear, plastic disposable water bottle is permitted. No hard, non-clear refillable bottles are allowed inside the facility. Also, for fans in attendance, there is a STRICT no outside food or beverage policy for any and all patrons.
Ticket Information
Ticket transactions are CASH ONLY. There is a $10 fee for any adults wishing to attend the meet. Children that are 17 and under gain entry for $5, while kids 2 and under are free. Students get in free with their Carolina Card and faculty/staff also receive free entry with the addition of three free tickets.
Meet Information
The South Carolina Invitational will begin on Friday at 10 a.m. with the women’s open weight throw, men’s open shot put, men’s open long jump and women’s open pole vault. The first track event on Friday will start at 11 a.m. with the women’s 60-meter trials, followed by the men’s 60m trials at 11:30 a.m. The majority of the invite finals will take place on Saturday, with the exception of the 60m, 60mH, 300m and the 400m which will take place on Friday. The doors to the Carolina Indoor Track & Field Complex will open at 8 a.m. on both days. There will be a total of 33 teams competing this weekend, including but not limited to: Campbell, Charlotte, East Tennessee State, Georgia Tech, Jacksonville, Mercer, North Carolina A&T, South Carolina State, USC Upstate and Western Carolina.
Coaches Corner
What to expect this weekend at the South Carolina Invitational:
“This is another strong home meet for us with good teams to compete against. I thought we performed well in New York; we had some injuries but competed the entire time. This weekend will be another good test for us before we head to Clemson next week for what we expect to be a very intense meet with solid teams. We have added the 300-meter race this weekend to give runners another chance to showcase how fast our track is and we expect to see some records challenged this weekend. We are looking forward to being at home again and competing in a comfortable environment.”
Gamecocks in the Rankings
The Gamecocks are well represented inside the TFRRS Top 50 rankings, including a pair of athletes ranked second in their respective events. Evan Miller opened the 2023 calendar year with a 45.91 time in the men’s 400m, currently ranking second overall in the NCAA. Last week in New York, Anass Essayi made his season debut in the 3,000-meter race where he clocked a program-record time of 7:41.93 which also ranks second in the NCAA and sixth all-time in the USTFCCCA rankings. There are three more Gamecocks that currently sit inside the Top 16 which would qualify for the NCAA Championship at this moment: Jayla Jamison (11th in the 60m – 7.25), Evan Miller (15th in the 200m – 20.76) and the women’s 4x400m relay team (12th – 3:32.40). Jamison sits 17th in the women’s 200m (23.39), while Kobe Franklin is just outside looking in at 18th in the men’s high jump with a height of 2.15m. Both Dylan Targgart (19.25m – SP) and Filip Demsar (7.76 – 60mH) look to improve on their season marks this weekend as both rank 20th in the respective events.
