FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (Feb. 24, 2024) – Saturday proved to be a strong closing day for Gamecock Track & Field in the 2024 SEC Indoor Championship, combining for six medal finishes and scoring a combined 60.5 points. Overall, the Gamecock men finished fourth with 42.5 points, the first Top-10 since 2019 and the best overall team finish since 2010. The women finished 11th overall and captured 30 points, the most points for the Gamecocks at the Indoor SEC Championship since 2013.
The women scored in all four events on Saturday, including a pair of gold medal performances. Freshman phenom JaMeesia Ford displayed the dominance of a veteran runner, winning the 200m gold with a time of 22.36 to tie the Randal Tyson Track Center facility record. Ford’s gold-medal performance in the 200m resulted in 10 points for Carolina and was the first ever 200m Indoor SEC title for the Gamecock women.
Ford was then the anchor leg for the fastest Gamecock indoor 4x400m relay team in program history to close out the event. Zaya Akins opened the relay with a 52.93 400m leg, followed by a 51.89 split from veteran runner Jahnile Registre. The third leg was Columbia product Jayla Jamison who clocked 51.44 for the fastest third leg among the four teams in the final heat. Jamison handed the baton off to Ford who brought home the gold medal for Carolina after running the fastest split in the entire event with a time of 49.80. The relay squad put together a time of 3:26.05 for the new program record and the first SEC Indoor gold medal for the Gamecocks since 2009.
Judy Kosgei was responsible for the remaining points for the women, finishing third in the 800m and then fifth in the 3,000 meter. The Kenya product secured six points in the 800m after running a program time of 2:02.87, securing bronze and becoming the Gamecocks first indoor 800m scorer since 2006. Later in the meet, Kosgei then stepped on the track and nearly broke the program record in the 3K, clocking a personal best 9:10.76 to snatch four more points for the Garnet & Black.
Ford doubled down with First Team All-SEC honors for her pair of gold medals. Meanwhile, Akins, Registre and Jamison secured First Team All-SEC honors with their finish in the 4x400m relay. Kosgei secured Second Team All-SEC honors for finishing third in the 800m race.
On the men’s side, the Gamecocks came away with a pair of silver medals, while also taking home one bronze medal. Channing Ferguson was the first to medal on the day for South…