Gamecocks Conclude Regular Season with Dual Meets
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (April 30, 2026) – As the calendar rolls over to the month of May, South Carolina Track & Field sets its eyes on the final weekend of the regular season with a pair of meets. The Gamecocks will be competing at the East Coast Relays in Jacksonville, Fla. as well as the Duke Twilight in Durham, N.C.
Follow the Meet
Live results for the East Coast Relays can be found here, while those interested in the Duke Twilight can access live results here. Fans can also follow along with updates on X by following @GamecockTrack.
Meet Information
The East Coast Relays will begin on Friday afternoon at Hodges Stadium on the campus of the University of North Florida. Competition will begin for the Gamecocks at 2 p.m. with the women’s pole vault and the women’s long jump, before the first track event at 5:45 p.m. in the women’s 400-meter hurdles. The two-day meet will run into Saturday with the start time of 11:30 a.m. for the Garnet & Black, while closing the meet at 4:05 p.m. with the men’s 4×400 meter relay.
The Duke Twilight will be a one-day meet on Sunday, beginning at 6 p.m. with the women’s 800m. South Carolina’s distance group will compete in seven total events at the Duke Twilight, closing the night with the women’s 5K at 9:40 p.m.
It’s Gonna be May
The month of May will prove to be a critical time for track & field across the board with postseason competition lurking. In addition to the final regular season weekend, the Gamecocks will lace up the spikes for the SEC Outdoor Championship (May 14-16) and the NCAA East Regional (May 27-30) with the hopes of qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Championship in June.
Moving Up
The women’s squad tied the highest ranking in program history during the USTFCCCA era, jumping three spots into second overall. Meanwhile, the men’s team made its first appearance of the season in the Top 25 rankings, sliding in at No. 24. In addition to the overall team rankings, South Carolina boasts more event squad rankings ahead of the final week of regular season competition.
On the women’s side, the Gamecocks lead the USTFCCCA in the 200m, while ranking second overall in the 100m and ninth in the 400m. The Garnet & Black women’s team also holds the 12th spot in both the 800m and the long jump. As for the men’s squad, the 400m group leads the way with third overall, while the 800m sits 12th and the 1500m ranks 15th.
Eyes on Regionals
This year’s NCAA East Regional will be held in Lexington, Ky. on Wednesday, May 27 – Saturday, May 30. To qualify for the regional meet, individuals must be ranked inside the Top 48, while relays need to be positioned within the Top 24.
As it stands prior to this weekend, South Carolina would have 42 entries into the regional competition between both the men’s and the women’s teams. The women’s team makes up 29 of those 42 entries, led individually by Salma Elbadra (1500m), JaMeesia Ford (200m) and Akala Garrett (400mH) who rank first in the region in their respective events. Both the women’s 4x100m and 4x400m relays also sit comfortably atop the East Region leaderboard. In all, there are 13 Gamecock standards ranked inside the Top 10 on the regional leaderboard.
As for the men, there are a total of 13 qualifying marks as of now, including a trio ranked inside the Top 10. Josiah Wrice currently leads the Gamecocks with the top ranking in the region in the 400m sprint with a time of 44.72. Wrice is followed by Devan Crumpton who sits third overall in the 400m with a mark of 44.93. Jaouad Khchina also ranks third in his respective event of the 1500m, running 3:35.07.
