University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics
Big South Outdoor Championships
5/13/2023 8:27:00 PM | Track and Field
ROCK HILL, S.C. -- Between a conference title, the broken school records and the overall team performances, the USC Upstate track and field teams return to Spartanburg with a lot to be proud of following their performances during the Big South Outdoor Championships. Â
Channing Ferguson leapt for gold during the long jump, taking first place with a distance of 7.45M, .07M further than second place. Ferguson swept the long jump for the 2022-2023 track and field seasons as he took the top spot in the Big South during the indoor and outdoor seasons. In addition, the youngest Ferguson took silver in the high jump with a clear of 2.09M. Â
Outside of Ferguson's gold and silver medals, the Spartans took another four medals during the conference meet. Rachel Davis took silver in the women's hammer throw on day one of the meet with a throw of 49.93M. The next medal was earned by Isabella Geraci who showed she can jump on any surface she competes on. Geraci took a silver medal in the women's high jump, tying her personal record height of 1.65M. The women's 4x100M team consisting of Myra Smith, Sharetha Odom, Kyonna Nixon and Brianna Clayton earned a bronze finish in the event with a time of 45.82S, their fastest of the season. That wasn't the only medal Clayton would earn as she took silver in the 200M with a blisteringly fast time of 23.58S, which set a new school record. Â
Speaking of school records, two other Spartans set school records during the championships. The first was Hayden Cobbs, who broke his own record in the 100M after posting a blazing fast 10.41S time during the prelims Thursday. Cobbs took a fourth-place finish in the event during the last day of competition. When it comes to breaking school records, Rachel Davis is one of the best as she did it again during the championships in the women's discus. Davis's throw of 44.21M broke her own record which she set at the same facility earlier this year. Â
In addition, Jared Keklak and Heaven Allen earned two more medals for the Spartans as they were named to their respective Big South All-Academic teams for their achievements in the classroom this year. Â
As a team both the men's and women's teams finished fifth in the Big South Standings. The men's team finished with 54 points while the women's team finished with 57 points and stood just a point taller than the sixth-place team. The 57 points gathered by the women's team is their second most since joining the Big South, behind only the 76 they earned in 2021. Â
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