Essayi Advances to NCAA Championship Finals

AUSTIN, Texas (June 7, 2023) – The opening day of the 2023 NCAA Championship concluded at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas. Anass Essayi and Filip Demsar competed for the Gamecock men on day one, with Essayi advancing to the finals.

“I told everyone last night that I just wanted them to be the best version of themselves,” stated Head Coach Curtis Frye. “That is what got them all here, just being themselves. I was happy with Anass starting things off for us. He only needed to place in the top five in his heat, but he went out and won his heat to show everyone he is here, and he means business. Filip ran hard for us today and came away with an Honorable Mention All-American honor. Ultimately, not the result he personally wanted, but that does not define his season or his career. He is a Gamecock through and through and has done a great job representing our university.”

Essayi did what he does best, taking the second heat of the 1500-meter semifinal race. The Morocco native ran just over one minute in each of his first full 400-meter laps before turning on the jets to clock 54.25 in his final 400-meter stretch. With the last-lap kick, Essayi capped off a 3:39.52 semifinal race, captured the win in heat number two and more importantly advancing to the 1500m finals on Friday. Essayi’s time was good enough for second overall in the semifinal race, finishing only behind Joe Waskom of Washington who ran 3:39.50.

Demsar ran in the third and final heat of the men’s 110-meter hurdles. The Slovenia native ran 13.81 (1.1), finishing seventh in his heat and 18th overall. With the finish, Demsar narrowly missed All-American status, earning Honorable Mention All-American honors instead.

The Gamecock women will be in action tomorrow, represented by two individual student-athletes in day two of the NCAA Championship. Silan Ayyildiz will run the 1500m semifinals at 8:46 p.m. (ET), while Jayla Jamison will run in the women’s 200m semifinals at 10:44 p.m. (ET).

Men’s Team Standings
1. Arkansas – 21
2. Stanford – 18
3. Arizona – 16
—
— South Carolina – 0

Men’s Individual Results
1,500 Meters (Semifinals)
2. Anass Essayi – 3:39.52Q

110-Meter Hurdles (Semfinals)
18. Filip Demsar – 13.81 (1.1)