COLUMBIA, S.C. (April 22, 2023) – South Carolina Track & Field held the 2023 USC Open on Saturday, hosting 46 teams, while also sending 21 seniors off on a strong note.
“I was happy that the seniors were able to compete one more time at our facility,” stated Head Coach Curtis Frye. “It was a long day, but the meet stayed pack and the fans helped send our seniors off the right way. Now it is time to get our mind and our bodies right for Penn Relays next weekend before we run at the SEC Championship in May.”
The Gamecock men competed in 18 total events, highlighted by a pair of wins from the Gamecock throwers. CJ Licata, the Princeton transfer, made his Gamecock debut in the shot put winning with 18.27m (59-11.25) to rank 20th in the East. Dylan Targgart earned a win in the discus throw when he launched a new personal best 54.86m (180-0), ranking 29th in the East.
Filip Demsar was the next best finisher for South Carolina, finishing runner up in the 110-meter hurdles. The Slovenia senior ran the fastest prelim time of 13.66 (0.9), setting a new wind-legal personal best. Demsar then finished second in the finals when he ran a wind-aided time of 13.59 (5.0).
Carolina men posted five more top-5 finishes, led by George Luke when he finished third in the 1500 meter following a time of 4:01.06. Aidan Hatton (800m) and the men’s 4x100m relay team of Gatlin Lawson, Prescott Jefferson, Demsar and Emory Floyd finished fourth in their respective events. Anthony Greenhow, Jr. turned in a Gamecock Top-10 mark in the 100 meter with a time of 10.25 (3.6) to finish eight and rank 24th in the East Region.
South Carolina women took part in 12 events on the day with 12 top-five overall finishes. Seniors KD Young and Emily Smith each captured wins in their respective events. Young took home gold in the hammer after throwing 58.48m (191-10), while Smith won the open 1500m with a new personal best time of 4:42.42. Young also took home second overall in the shot put with a distance of 15.84m (51-11.75), briefly claiming the advantage on her final throw before Naadiya Faison of East Carolina reclaimed the podium. Elena Kelety also posted a silver medalist result, running 58.28 in the women’s 400-meter hurdle.
In the 1500m invite, Svenja Sommer stole the show for Carolina after finishing third overall with a time of 4:29.00 for a new personal best and the sixth fastest 1500m in outdoor Gamecock history. Jahnile Registre and Aalliyah Francis improved their…