CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The USC Upstate men's and women's track and field teams competed in the Kent Taylor Invitational hosted by North Carolina today.

Junior Davey Dennison (Carlisle, Pa.) led the Spartan men with a first-place finish in the one mile run, setting a school record time of 4:15.77. His time beat the previous school-best of 4:20.30 set by junior Gilbert Kemboi (Eldoret, Kenya) at North Carolina's Gene Anderson Invite in 2010.

"Our distance and mid-distance athletes continue to put up great marks each week in the season," said head coach Natalie Smith. "Jemeli Sang, Davey Dennison and Cameron Thomas looked great today."

Upstate junior Cameron Thomas (Niceville, Fla.) recorded strong performances in the men's 4x400 relay and the men's 800-meter. He helped the Spartans to a fifth-place finish in the team relay with a time of 3:25.69 with freshman Evan Woodruff (Sebastian, Fla.), sophomore Michael Johnson (Elgin, S.C.) and sophomore Matt Johnson (Elgin, S.C.). Thomas earned a second-place finish in the 800-meter with a time of 1:55.85, while junior Brandon Curry (Anderson, S.C.) came in fifth in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.43.

Perrish Goggins (Columbia, S.C.) posted strong marks for the Spartan men in three events. He came in second in the high jump with a mark of 2.01m (6-07.00). In the long jump, Goggins claimed fourth with a mark of 6.76m (22-02.25). He also qualified for the finals in the 60-meter dash, finishing eighth with a time of 7.19.

On the women's side, senior Jemeli Sang (Eldoret, Kenya) continued to turn in strong performances. She earned a fourth-place finish in the one mile run, crossing the line in 5:06.81. Her classmate Carolyne Chelulei (Eldoret, Kenya) came in seventh in that same event with a time of 5:14.71.

"Our athletes seem to be coming along and progressing well as each week someone different is putting up better marks," Smith said. "We hope that all of our athletes will put it together at the same time, when we compete at the conference championships in two weeks."

Upstate junior Velegar Mark (Spartanburg, S.C.) posted a school record in the women's high jump with a score of 1.55m (5-01.00). She passed her previous school-best mark of 1.51m (4-11.50) set at the Appalachian Open Jan. 19. Freshman Breana Kwasnik (Greenville, S.C.) recorded a second-place performance in the women's pole vault with a mark of 3.25m, (10-08.00).

Upstate returns to action, traveling to Clemson's Tiger Paw Invitational Feb. 10-11. Follow the Spartans this season on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.