University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics
A-Sun Indoor Championships
Upstate Earns Three Medals on Final Day of A-Sun Indoor Championships
3/1/2015 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Winston-Salem, N.C. – The USC Upstate track and field team won three medals and broke four school records to conclude competition at the 2015 A-Sun Indoor Track & Field Championships Sunday inside the JDL Fast Track.
For the second year in a row, the Upstate women set a new program record at the A-Sun Championships with 75.50 points to finish in 4th place. The previous record point total was set at last year's conference meet when the Spartans tallied 55. The Upstate men finished in 5th place as it compiled 17 points.
Brenicke Johnson led the Spartans on Sunday as she became the first athlete in school history to win the women's 60-meter dash race. She earned First Team All-Conference honors after breaking the school record in the event with a personal-best time of 7.50, surpassing the previous time recorded by Dominique Nock at the 2013 A-Sun Championships. Johnson fell 0.01 seconds shy of tying the conference record.
Brittany Walls collected the second All-Conference award of her career in the high jump as she tied her own school record with a leap of 1.70-meters. She was named Second Team All-Conference after matching her jump turned in during the indoor pentathlon yesterday. Walls is also the first athlete in program history to receive All-Conference accolades in the high jump.
Upstate concluded its medal count on Sunday by picking up its second straight All-Conference recognition in the women's 4x400-meter relay as the team of Sierra White, Essence Jackson, Courtney Bradley and Draneisha Griffin finished 3rd with a school record time of 3:55.88. The combination picked up Third Team All-Conference honors after breaking the previous time achieved by Nock, Jackson, Heaven Briggs and Ashley Edmond at last year's conference championship.
Jackson added to her afternoon by breaking a three-year school record in the 800-meter run en route to a 4th place finish. She ran a personal-best time of 2:11.82, besting the old record of 2:18.43 set by Joan Tangwar during the 2012 Appalachian Open.
Griffin also became a new school record holder in the triple jump after her personal-best leap of 11.71-meters led to a 6th place showing.
The Spartan women logged seven personal-best performances on Sunday. Joining Johnson, Jackson and Griffin were Bradley (400-meter dash), Adia Simpkins (400-meter dash), Destinie Sykes (triple jump) and Jasmine Polite (5000-meter run).
The 4x400-meter relay quartet of Kyle Jones, Patrick Jamison, Jake McKown and Kyle Drollette had the top finish for the Upstate men as they ran a time of 3:26.90 to produce a 4th place finish. Individually, Ronald Collins, Jr. and Blake Hayes led the Spartans with 5th place performances. Collins, Jr. turned in a personal-best time in the 60-meter hurdles of 8.69 while Hayes posted his second straight top-5 showing of the weekend after a mark of 13.71-meters in the weight throw.
Overall, the Upstate men had nine personal-best times led by Patrick Jamison with two in the 200- and 400-meter dashes. Others to tally a personal-best were Drollette (60-meter hurdles), Dan Castello (800-meter run), Mark Rennix (mile run), Griffin Eubanks (5000-meter run), Martin Morrow (5000-meter run) and Cody Ellison (5000-meter run).
The Spartans open their outdoor season Mar. 13-14 at the CCU Invitational in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Follow Upstate track and field on your mobile device, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
