COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Anderson University men's and women's track and field teams resumed their indoor slates by setting four personal-best efforts in the midst of other stellar outings, Friday at South Carolina's Gamecock Opener.
The two-day event is being hosted by USC at its Carolina indoor facility.
"Day one of the weekend went really well," said Anderson head coach Kevin Eagle. "This was the first meet of the semester, so it was nice to knock off some of the winter break rust. We had several athletes debuting today and really showed what type of work they put in over the break."
Sophomore Regan Appleby finished 20th in the women's shot put with a career-best distance of 11.51 meters, while freshman Lauren Pernell finished 22nd in the 300 meter dash after crossing the finish line in a time of 45.16. She also claimed 39th place in the women's 60 meter hurdles in a time of 9.83.
Freshman Rebecca Ward paced four Trojans in the mile run by finishing 17th in a time of 5:28.13, while sophomore Melea Sangl claimed 23rd place in a time of 5:41.43. The freshman duo of Aubrey Stoddard (5:43.52) and Autumn Bladen (5:49.44) finished 26th and 33rd, respectively.
Freshman Brianna Quartararo finished 54th in the women's 400 meter dash in a time of 1:01.20, with freshman Lydia Johnson grabbing 88th place in a personal-best time of 1:09.09. Fellow freshman Olivia Growe finished 92nd in a time of 1:11.72. Junior Hannah Beach finished 18th in the women's 3,000 meter run in a time of 10:59.33, while senior Kelsey Horner was 20th in an indoor season-best time of 11:01.98. Senior Emily Olson (12:37.84) finished in 43rd place.
On the men's side, junior Connor Wheatly claimed 18th place in the men's weight throw with a toss of 13.30 meters, with sophomore Damion Williams claiming 100th place in the men's 60 meter dash in a time of 7.59. Junior Robert Jones crossed the finish line in 90th place in the men's 400 meter dash in a time of 55.24.
In the men's mile run, sophomore Philip Quillen crossed the finish line in 18th place in a time of 4:33.89, while junior Matthew Burgess (4:33.92) was just behind in 19th place. Sophomore Thomas Sutcliffe finished 20th in the men's 3,000 meter run on the strength of a career-best time of 9:01.03, while fellow sophomore Brandon Wilson notched a personal-best time of 9:19.55 en route to finishing in 32nd place.
"[Thomas] Sutcliffe and [Brandon] Wilson were our two athletes who attained personal bests in the 3,000 meter race," added Eagle. "To be able to PR in your first race of the season shows great signs of what is to come. We hope to continue this momentum into day two of competition."
The second day of the Gamecock Opener is scheduled to get underway, Saturday morning at 10 a.m., with the men's pole vault and the women's 5,000 meters.
Admission for adults is $10 and $5 for children between ages 2 and 17. Children under the age of 2 are free. Spectator admission will be charged. Spectators are required to adhere to USC's Athletics Clear Bag Policy. Doors will open at 8 a.m. and parking will be available on a first-come first-served basis.
