Strong Indoor Season Ends Men’s Track and Field’s Year Prematurely
5/13/2020 11:48:00 AM | Men's Track and Field
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Though the 2020 track and field season ended abruptly at the conclusion of indoor season with no outdoor competition, the men's team was led by junior sprinter Jared Henderson and freshman hurdler ZoRyan Hendricks along with junior thrower Tony Auguste.
"This indoor season for the men, we had 14 school records broken and a total of 60 personal records. Jared Henderson led the way taking home an individual conference championship in the 200m. Overall we had a great indoor season, and it was good to see our athletes rise to the level of competition at the Big South Championships," said head coach Carson Blackwelder.
Henderson's season was capped off by a gold medal in the 200m at the Big South Indoor Championships. His time of 21.23 broke a school record and is the fourth-best mark in Big South history. He also medaled in the 60m with a runner-up finish of 6.79 after setting a school record in the prelims with a time of 6.67. He was the Big South Indoor Track Athlete of the Week three times this season and was named Most Outstanding Male Track Athlete at the Buccaneer Invitational after winning the 200m and 60m. His 6.82 mark in the 60m semis was just .02s shy of making the top 10 on the event record list, while his 200m time of 21.37 proved good for third in meet history. He finished the indoor season with seven top-5 finishes and four wins.
Hendricks closed out a successful freshman campaign with a school record in the 60m hurdles at the Big South Indoor Championships, taking home silver with a time of 7.93. He won that event at the Buccaneer Invitational at 8.01. Hendricks also competed in the triple jump this season with three top-5 finishes in the event and a personal best of 14.22m in his collegiate track and field debut.
Auguste took home bronze in weight throw with a toss of 18.03m at the Big South Indoor Championships. He also placed fifth in shot put with a 15.45m mark at the championships. Auguste set a school record in weight throw at the Virginia Tech Challenge with a mark of 18.86m. He had eight top-5 finishes this indoor season with three wins and was twice named Big South Indoor Field Athlete of the Week.
Other school records set this season include Antoine Nance with a 35.00 time in the 300m at the Clemson Opener and Lucas Campbell in the 600m with a time of 1:28.15 at the Virginia Tech Challenge.
Junior Tashaun Wallace picked up three top-5 finishes in weight throw, capped off by a personal best mark of 16.63m at the Big South Indoor Championships.
"We had a lot of potential this outdoor season and were looking to put good athletes in positions to do great things. We feel all of our athletes would have seen personal records along with school records broken. There was opportunity for our athletes to repeat as conference champions and qualify for the first round of nationals. We look forward to next year to claim those titles," said Blackwelder.
Players Mentioned
