University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics
Clemson Games
Spartans Complete Day One of Clemson Games
1/29/2010 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Jan. 29, 2010
Clemson Games Results (Day One)
CLEMSON, S.C. - The USC Upstate track and field team had another successful day as three different Spartans set school records. Leading the way at the Clemson Games was junior Justin Crawford.
Crawford (Elgin, S.C./Lugoff-Elgin) set a school-record in the pole vault. Crawford cleared 4.48 meters en route to a third-place finish. The previous school record of 4.45 meters was set by Crawford three times, most recently at last weekend's Niswonger Invitational.
"We had several good performances today and I was proud of our kids," said head coach Jimmy Stephens. "We are still a rather young program, but we continue to improve at every meet. We are competing against some of the best teams in the country and it will benefit our team when we get to the conference championships in a few weeks."
Camille Masanotti (Ladsen, S.C./Stratford) set a school-record in the 60-meter hurdles for the second consecutive week. Masanotti finished with a time of 9.55 breaking her school-mark of 9.70 that she set last weekend. She also became the first Spartan in school history to compete in the Pole Vault. The freshman finished eighth after clearing a height of 3.06 meters.
The final Spartan to break a school record was Brandon Curry. The freshman from Anderson, S.C., broke his own record in the 60-meter hurdles. Curry posted a time of 8.63 as he finished tied for 10th. Curry's previous school mark of 8.68 at last weekend's at Niswonger Invitational. Also competing in the 60-meter hurdles was Danny Moore (Spartanburg, S.C./Dorman) finished 13th with a time of 8.96.
"Camille and Brandon had another quality day on the track," said Stephens. "Being freshman it usually takes some growing pains to adjust to the level of collegiate competition. However, these two individuals practice hard every day and have done outstanding in their first two collegiate meets."
In the men's 60-meter dash three Spartans posted top-20 finishes. Brandon Curry (7.44) finished 16th, Dominic Simon (Sumter, S.C./Sumter) finished 17th with a time of 7.51 and Reggie Garnett posted a 19th place finish after a time of 7.59.
Eric Chapman (Cowpens, S.C./Broome) set a personal-best in the weight throw. Chapman finished 10th on Friday after a throw of 13.08 meters. His previous best was 12.62 meters at the Appalachian Limited (1/17/09).
"Eric may not agree, but he had a strong performance today," said Stephens. "He was disappointed because he felt he was throwing really well, but wasn't achieving the distance he was hoping.
In the 400-meter dash, Michael Meissner (Cottage Grove, Minn./Wisconsin-River Falls) finished in 51.89 en route to a 13th-place finish. In the long jump, Graham Long (Easley, S.C./Riverside) posted a 15th-place finish after a jump of 5.44 meters.
"Running in his 400-meter race of the season, Michael did a great job and I look forward to him doing even better next time around," added Stephens.
Gabrielle Walker (Chattanooga, Tenn./Mars Hill) finished 10th overall in the weight throw with a toss of 10.15 meters. Meanwhile, Christian Gamble (Columbia, S.C./Lower Richland) posted a time of 8.58 in the 60-meter dash, earning her a 21st place finish.
The Spartans will wrap up day two of competition tomorrow beginning at Noon.
