March 12, 2004

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – A trio of South Carolina athletes earned All-American honors at day one of the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships on the campus of the University of Arkansas. Highlighting the day was Tony Allmond’s school-record setting performance that earned him a runner-up finish in the long jump.

Allmond soared to a distance of 26’6.25″, besting his own school indoor mark by over two inches, to earn second-place in the event. Allmond, who placed fourth in the event last season during the NCAA Indoor Championships and was runner-up outdoors, earned All-American honors while finishing 3.5 inches behind LSU’s John Moffitt.

“I knew that it was going to take more to win the final, but I was hoping to have the number I needed to do it,” said Allmond. “Finishing second is disappointing, but I moved up from last year and I am looking forward to the beginning of the outdoor season. I have a lot left in the tank.”

Lashinda Demus and Erica Whipple each earned All-American honors during evening competition. Demus finished sixth in the 60m hurdles with a finals time of 8.22. Earlier in the day, she posted a season and personal best time of 8.11 for the fifth-best preliminary time. Whipple finished seventh in the 200m with a finals time of 23.19. During preliminaries, she won her heat with a time of 23.15, the fourth-fastest to advance.

Demus recorded a 400m preliminary time of 51.76 and will take the fastest qualifying time into Saturday’s final where she will be attempting to defend her 2003 event title.

Fred Townsend, awarded the U.S. Track Coaches Association Southeast Region Athlete of the Year on Thursday night, holds down the 11th position after the first day of heptathlon competition. Through four events, Townsend has 2,958 points, just 433 points out of first place. He recorded his highest event placing in the high jump, the day’s final event, where he finished in a tie for third at a height of 2.02m/6’7.5″. The final three events are slated for Saturday.

Chelsea Hammond (pentathlon) and Chris Steddum (pole vault) will also compete in event finals on Saturday.

Complete day one results and schedules for day two are available at www.ncaasports.com and the Arkansas women’s website, www.ladybacks.com. The information is also linked to USCsports.com.

Other USC Friday Results

Freshman Ronnetta Alexander ran a personal best time of 8.34 in the preliminaries of the 60m hurdles … Alexis Joyce recorded a personal best time of 7.38 in the 60m preliminaries … Khalilah Carpenter ran a preliminary time of 7.40 in the 60m and 23.72 in the 200m … Freshman Stephanie Smith posted a time of 23.70 in the 200m preliminaries … Adrian Durant recorded a time of 6.77 in the 60m preliminaries … Rodney Martin, Jr., ran a time of 21.30 in the 200m preliminaries.