Gamecock Track & Field Turns Sights to USATF Outdoor Championships
EUGENE, Ore. (July 5, 2023) – With the summer slate in full swing, track & field turns its attention to Eugene, Ore. for the 2023 USA Track & Field (USATF) Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field.
The Gamecocks have five representatives competing in the 2023 Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships, while two more student-athletes are taking part in the U20 Outdoor Championships. The meet will begin on Thursday, July 6 and will conclude on Sunday, July 9.
The five representatives in the Senior Outdoor Championship are: Wadeline Jonathas, Jayla Jamison, Josh Awotunde, Chris Royster and Evan Miller. Meanwhile, the pair of U20 athletes are Jackson Dawson and Ella Zeigler.
Jonathas will be competing in the 400m that will begin on Thursday at 7:56 p.m. in the first round. The semifinals of the 400m will be on Friday at 8:39 p.m. followed by the finals on Saturday at 9:19 p.m. Jonathas currently ranks 36th in the United States in the 400m with a time of 51.74.
Jamison, a current student-athlete, will take part in the 200m that will begin on Saturday at 8:09 p.m. The semifinals and the finals of the 200m will both take place on Sunday with the semfinals running at 8:45 p.m. and the finals at 10:12 p.m. The Columbia, S.C. native also ranks 36th in her respective event with a time of 22.79 (0.7).
Awotunde will look to improve on his season mark in the shot put, competing on Sunday at 9:15 p.m. The former Gamecock ranks 11th in the United States this season with a mark of 20.91 set on May 27 at Drake Stadium in California.
Chris Royster will run on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the first round of the 100m sprint. Royster jumped up to 14th in the United States in the 100m when he clocked 10.02 (1.5) on June 23 at John McDonnell Field in Arkansas. The semifinals (8:24 p.m.) and the finals (10:02 p.m.) of the 100m will both take place on Friday.
Evan Miller, South Carolina’s most recent graduate, will be competing in both the 200m and the 400m while in Oregon. Miller will open his competition on Thursday at 8:23 p.m. in the 400m with the hopes of advancing to the semifinals on Friday (8:55 p.m.) and then the finals on Saturday at 9:26 p.m. The Florida native will also run on Saturday at 7:43 p.m. in the opening round of the 200m. The semifinals (8:30 p.m.) and the finals (10:20 p.m.) of the 200m will operate on Sunday evening. Miller ranks 34th in the United States in the 200m (20.48), while standing 19th in the 400m following a time of 45.11 that he clocked at the 2023 SEC Outdoor Championships.
Dawson will kick things off for the Gamecocks in the U20 participation, running the 1500m on Friday at 6:45 p.m. with a shot at the finals on Sunday at 6:12 p.m. Dawson’s outdoor personal best came at the Tom Jones Memorial when he ran 3:53.36 to earn a spot into this week’s meet. Dawson ranks 18th in the U20 category in the United States.
Zeigler will be the final U20 competitor for the Gamecocks, running on Friday at 7:47 p.m. in the 5,000m. The Maryland native ranks 25th in the United States in the U20 grouping, having run a personal best 18:13.74 at the Florida Relays on March 31.
