South Carolina Closes Indoor Regular Season with USC Indoor Open
COLUMBIA, S.C. (Feb. 15, 2024) – South Carolina Track & Field will close out the indoor regular season on Saturday by hosting the USC Indoor Open at the Carolina Indoor Track & Field Complex.
Follow the Meet
Live results for the USC Indoor Open 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 will be 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.
Parking
Parking for the 2024 South Carolina Invite will vary on a meet-by-meet basis. For Saturday’s meet, fans are encouraged to park in the Roost Parking Lot where it will be free and will be first come, first serve. Following the Roost Lot, fans may park in the metered parking surrounding the facility or can pay $10 per car to park in the Athletics Village Parking Garage. The Indoor Tennis Lot will also serve as overflow on Saturday. Note, there will NOT BE A SHUTTLE on Saturday. For Saturday’s parking map, click here.
Ticket Information
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/faculty/staff get in free with their valid Carolina Card identification.
Meet Information
The USC Indoor Open will feature 20 teams from across the region, highlighted by South Carolina and Georgia. The meet will begin at 10 a.m. with the women’s high jump. The first track event will be the men’s 5,000 meter run at 11 a.m. Doors for spectators will open at 9 a.m. The final indoor regular season meet will conclude with the men’s 4×400 meter relay at 4:55 p.m., followed by the women’s 4×400 meter relay at 5:15 p.m.
It’s an Honor
South Carolina has secured at least one SEC Runner of the Week honor in each of the last five weeks. The Gamecocks are coming off a pair of awards this past week as Anass Essayi earned Men’s Co-Runner of the Week, while JaMeesia Ford captured Women’s Freshman of the Week for the fourth time in five weeks. The other award this season for the Gamecocks belongs to Judy Kosgei who earned SEC Women’s Freshman of the Week honors on Feb. 6.
Gamecocks in the Rankings
Heading into the final week of the indoor regular season, South Carolina men and women’s track & field squads are both currently ranked inside the USTFCCCA Top 25. The women jumped two spots from last week, now sitting at No. 15 for the second time in three weeks. Meanwhile, the men are ranked 25th overall in the current standings. The women are paced by their 200m event group, currently ranked second in the country, while the 400m squad sits third in the USTFCCCA event rankings. On the men’s side, the mile squad leads the charge coming in at No. 9 overall, making a climb 77 spots into the Top-10. The 60m sprint group is the next highest ranked group at 14th, followed by the 3,000-meter group at 15th and the 200m squad at 18th.
Coming Down to the Wire
The Gamecocks currently have 10 spots qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championship with just two meets remaining: USC Indoor Open (Feb. 17) and the 2024 SEC Indoor Championship (Feb. 23-24). JaMeesia Ford and Anass Essayi are currently sitting inside the cut line in a pair of events – Ford ranking 1st in the 200m (22.36) and 3rd in the 400m (51.33), while Essayi ranks third in the mile (3:51.91) and eighth in the 3,000 meter (7:39.11). Two more Gamecocks rank eighth overall as Anthony Greenhow sits 8th in the 200m (20.60) and Dylan Targgart ranks 8th in the men’s shot put with a distance of 19.76m. A trio of Gamecocks rank just inside the cutline: Theo Mudzengerere is 10th in the triple jump (16.00m), Zaya Akins ranks 13th in the 400m (52.23) and Nyck Harbor sits 15th in the 60m (6.61). The final ranking for the Gamecocks is the women’s 4x400m relay squad that ranks second in the NCAA with a time of 3:27.09.
