Leemet, Titi Lead Gamecocks at Tiger Paw Invitational

Feb. 11, 2017

CLEMSON, S.C. — A blazing 200m effort by Ncincilili Titi and a heptathlon victory from Markus Leemet highlighted a big day for the University of South Carolina track & field team as they completed the Tiger Paw Invitational on Saturday. Titi and Leemet posted two of the six podium finishes achieved by Gamecocks Saturday at the Clemson Indoor Track Facility.

Leemet dominated the field in the heptathlon. He won five of the seven events over the two-day competition to finish with 5,341 points. Titi finished second in the 200m and set a new PR with a run of 20.67 that shoots the junior sky-high on both the Carolina record books and the national leaderboard.

Overall, for the weekend, Carolina tallied 10 podium results and 25 finishes inside of the top eight.

Leemet opened the day by collecting Carolina’s lone event victory of the week. He was the top finisher in the heptathlon’s 60mH and pole vault competitions and won the event with 5,341 points, 1,144 points clear of the field.

Freshman Alycia Springs set another PR in the shot put. Her throw of 49-3 was good for fifth place at Clemson and is the 10th-best effort in Gamecock history.

Three Gamecocks finished in the top-six of the women’s 600m. Maddie Beaubien led the Gamecock contingent, placing third in 1:33.01. Maya Evans was fifth in 1:35.69 and Kelsey Larkin finished one spot behind her in 1:41.30.

After setting a PR in the 800m last week at The Armory, Otis Jones went even lower on Saturday. His time of 1:49.67 is a new collegiate personal best and the fourth-best mark in Carolina history. He finished eighth on Saturday.

Freshman Hailey Sweatman, who won the Clemson Invitational pole vault competition in January in her debut event, returned to the Upstate on Saturday and placed eighth. Her mark of 12-5 ½ was just a half-inch off of a PR.

Titi finished second in the 200m, trailing only defending NCAA champion and 2016 Olympian Christian Coleman from Tennessee. The Carolina junior raised his game to a new level on Saturday; his time of 20.67 is a new PR, the third-best time in Gamecock history and the fourth-best mark in the nation this season.

Mary Reiser competed in the 3000m on Saturday and came in fourth place. Her time of 10:06.36 was less than a second shy of her personal best in the event.

Throughout the indoor campaign, Tye Williams has been one of Carolina’s most consistent performers. That continued on Saturday, as the junior finished fourth in the high jump. His best attempt was 6-10 ¾.

Natasha Dicks also continued her strong 2017 season and finished second in the triple jump. She notched a mark of 42-4 ¼.

Three Gamecocks finished in the top-five of the men’s shot put. Josh Awotunde came in second with a throw of 60-3, and just one spot back of him was Ben Bonhurst, at a season-best 60-2. Eric Favors placed fifth, with an effort of 58-1 ¼.

NOTABLE

Both Awotunde and Dicks have finished inside of the top three every time they have competed this season.

QUOTING HEAD COACH Curtis Frye

UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS

Clemson finishes the indoor regular season at the Tiger Tuneup, set for Friday, Feb. 17 in Clemson. After that, it’s on to the SEC Indoor Championship, scheduled for Feb. 24-25 in Nashville, Tenn.