CLEMSON, SC – The Clemson athletics program is set to compete at the South Carolina Invitational on Saturday, February 6. Saturday’s meeting will be held at the Carolina Indoor Track and Field Complex and it is only the second time this season that Tigers have traveled away from their home track. The action at the South Carolina Invitational will begin with the launch of the men’s weight at 11am.
“This is a very important meeting for us,” said Athletics Director Mark Elliott. “We have to maintain our consistency. We have people making their debut, and many of our consistent athletes returning to their primary events or trying to get better grades at other events. ”
Earlier this week, Clemson’s women’s team was ranked 15th in the country by the USTFCCCA in the second survey of the season. Four women are currently in the top 30 nationally in three individual events, while the women’s 4 × 400 meter relay enters the weekend ranked 18, thanks to the best of the 3-minute and 40.76-second season.
“When you have people competing at that level, it’s widespread across the team. The talent and the skill are there, and when you see your teammates doing well, [positively] affects the team, ”said Elliott.
The Tigers hurdle trio of Trishauna Hemmings, Kori Carter and Antoinette van der Merwe will meet for the first time this season to compete in the 60-meter hurdles women’s heats.
Many of Clemson’s athletes will be competing in “complementary events” this weekend, with Elliott adding that, “We are working on some things to ensure that we are ready for our Tiger Paw Invitational and the conference championship.”
Laurie Barton and Andrea Foster will step down to race in the women’s 400, while Lauren Hayes will climb to the women’s 3k after running both the mile and 800 during the Bob Pollock Invitational last weekend.
On the male side, Terryon Conwell will test his stamina by competing with the 400. Conwell opened his 2021 campaign running 32.97 on the 300 to set the school record, and last week he ran 20.75 on the 200 to become number 7 on the Clemson’s all-time list. The veteran enters the weekend with his eyes set on entering the all-time list for 400 meters, with the mark # 10 currently set at 47.52.
John Ward will represent Clemson in the men’s 800 and as an anchor in the team’s medley distance relay. Jack McManus will return to 3k after setting an impressive personal record of 8: 39.77 at the event last week, when he finished in second place overall.
After taking his first victory in an individual event while representing Clemson, Lafranz Campbell will return again to run through the 60 obstacles on Saturday. Campbell will be joined by Giano Roberts and Jevon Williams in the event qualifiers.
Courtashia Felton (800m), Cal Finley (3k) and Conor McCabe (3k) are all scheduled to make their respective season debuts on Saturday. The men’s 3k will be the first time that Finley or McCabe has represented Clemson on the track during their college careers.
A relay wave will conclude Saturday’s events, with Clemson participating in men’s and women’s distance medley relays for the first time this season. Tigers have three teams registered for the men’s and women’s 4 × 400 relays.
Regarding the relays, Elliott said: “We are trying to put our best relays on the track this weekend with the athletes we have available”.
Clemson will face athletes representing Alabama, Auburn, Cincinnati, Florida, Furman, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, North Carolina A&T, Ole Miss and South Carolina. Saturday’s action will be broadcast on SECN + starting at 11am
For all the most up-to-date information about the Clemson athletics program, be sure to consult clemsontigers.com and follow @ClemsonTrackXC on Twitter.