Gabriella Gait-Smith

position Distance
class Sophomore
Hometown Johannesburg, South Africa
High school Dainfern College

position Distance
class Sophomore
Hometown Johannesburg, South Africa
High school Dainfern College

Academic Highlights
2023 Fall SEC Academic Honor Roll
2023 First-Year SEC Academic Honor Roll

Season and Career Results
2023-24
Cross Country
Appeared in five meets during her sophomore season with Carolina Cross Country … Opened the season finishing 15^th at the Eye Opener with a time of 17:57.3 … Finished runner-up at the Gamecock Challenge on Sept. 15 after running a personal best 5K time of 16:47.2 for the second fastest 5K in program history … Set a new personal best in the 6K event in her first 6K race of the season, clocking 21:17.0 to finish 44^th at the Paul Short Run … Her time at the Paul Short Run marked the 13^th fastest 6K time in Gamecock history … Ran 22:20.9 at the SEC Championship and then closed the season running 21:39.5 at the NCAA Southeast Regional to place 96^th overall.

2022-23

Indoor

Competed in five meets during the indoor season, running both the 3,000 meter and the 5,000 meter … Made her indoor track debut at the Gamecock Opener, finishing second overall in the 3K with a PR time of 10:18.04 … Two weeks later, she set her indoor 5K personal best time of 18:36.15 at the Columbia Challenge in New York City … Best finish in the 5K during the indoor season was eighth at the South Carolina Invitational, running 18:46.49.

Outdoor

Appeared in six meets on the season, running the 1,500 meter, 3,000 meter and the 5,000 meter races … Made her outdoor debut in the Weems Baskin Relays 3K, running a personal best 10:02.23 for the runner-up finish … The following week, she ran her first outdoor 5K, finishing fifth at the Florida Relays with a time of 17:28.41 … Her best finish of the season in the 5K was second at the Tom Jones Memorial when she clocked 17:17.16 … Ran her only 1500m race at the USC Open on April 22, finishing seventh with a personal best time of 4:36.61 … Turned in a PR time in the 5K at the coveted Penn Relays, running 17:10.71 for the ninth fastest outdoor 5K in Gamecock history … Also ran the 5K at the SEC Championship.

Cross Country

Competed in six meets for the Gamecocks, winning the Winthrop Invitational in her collegiate debut on Sept. 17 with a time of 18:37.2 … Won SEC Freshman Runner of the Week after setting her 5K personal record at the Royals Challenge with a time of 18:11.5 to place 13^th, posting the 44^th-fastest 5K in school history … Set her collegiate 6K personal record at the 2022 SEC Cross Country Championship, clocking a time of 21:38.67, putting her 16^th among Top-20 individuals in program history … Her 21:38.67 mark was the 29^th fastest overall 6K in program history.

Pre-South Carolina
High School

Lettered in field hockey, indoor hockey, cross country and track & field at Dainfern College … Named Provincial Field Hockey and Provincial Indoor Hockey … South African Schools Cross Country Champion for three consecutive years (2017-19) … South African Schools Champion Girls U18 for 3000m and 1500m in 2018 … Two-time South African Club Champion for Girls U18 in the 1500m and 3000m in 2019 … Ran for the JS Athletics Club and achieved Sportswoman of the Year, Athlete of the Year, Cross Country Athlete of the Year and Track Athlete of the Year from 2017-19 … Also named Athletics Gauteng North Best Female Track Sub Youth Athlete in 2017 … Earned full academic colors and prestige for academics … Honors Blazer for Academics, Public Speaking, Cross Country and Athletics.

Personal

Born to her parents Mark Gait-Smith and Sylvia Gait-Smith on Oct. 14, 2003 … Has three brothers: Michael, Christopher and Nicholas … Grandfather, Michael Gait-Smith, was a national hockey player for Zambia … Currently majoring in Finance … Chose South Carolina because it was “the perfect balance where I can pursue both my academic and athletic goals”.

Personal Records

Indoor