As the 2021 ACC Indoor Track & Field Championships draw near, we’ll provide a preview of what to expect from each event group while also reviewing their excellent achievements during the first six meets of the season.
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Clemson’s sprinters and hurdlers have always been a source of consistency for the Tigers’ program, as top-tier talent stems from each group on an annual basis. As the Tigers’ short sprints, long sprints and hurdles groups prepare for this weekend’s ACC Championships, they enter the meet with heaps of momentum after a successful 2021 regular season campaign.
Clemson’s esteemed hurdle groups are primed for success at the ACC Indoor Championships, with Lafranz Campbell and Trishauna Hemmings leading the way in their respective 60-meter hurdle races. Campbell will be one of four Tigers on the start line of the event, as the native of St. Catherine, Jamaica, currently ranks No. 20 in the NCAA thanks to his mark of 7.85 seconds from his winning effort at the Bob Pollock Invitational.
Hemmings occupies the eighth position on this year’s NCAA performance list for the hurdles, thanks to her world-class run of 8.12 in late January. The senior hurdler will enter the meet as the ACC’s top seed and is joined by Antoinette van der Merwe and Kori Carter in the event’s qualifying heats.
In the straightaway sprints, Clemson will have a handful of entries on the women’s side which could prove to be fruitful for the Tigers. Courtney Williams will test her skill in the 60m after arriving in Clemson as a decorated high school runner, now rounding into form over the past few meets after making her debut at the South Carolina Invitational on Feb. 6.
Serena Clark, Zeniyah Lawrence and van der Merwe will return to the straightaway to complete Clemson’s representation in the event. Van der Merwe’s time of 7.60 from the Tiger Paw Invite is the fastest on the team this season.
In the men’s edition of the 60m, Giano Roberts and Fabian Hewitt will load into the blocks to contest the event’s prelims on Friday, Feb. 26. Hewitt has proven to be the quickest Tiger in the event this season, as he carries a season’s best of 6.82 into the championships.
The 200m will be another exciting event highlighted by the talented duo of Terryon Conwell and Hemmings. Conwell — slated to return to competition for the first time since the South Carolina Invitational — returns to the one-lap race with a personal best of 20.75 recorded at the Tiger Paw Invite, a mark which ranks No. 7 all-time at Clemson and No. 10 in the NCAA this season. Hewitt will join Conwell in the 200m, allowing Clemson’s top-two athletes in the event this season to put their talents on display on their home track.
Hemmings will return to the track to contest the 200m after running 23.28 in her debut at the event during the Tiger Paw Invite, making her No. 5 on Clemson’s all-time list and No. 8 in the NCAA. Aliyah Mallard, Williams, Clark, Carter and Lawrence are all slated to join Hemmings in the event, allowing Clemson to tout its deep field of short-sprints talent.
Clemson’s quarter-milers will take to the track on Friday with three entries in both the men’s and women’s 400m. Keco Morrison, Jevon Williams, Rayan Holmes and Ethan Binnix are all slated to test their prowess in the two-lap sprint this weekend, with Williams entering as the fastest Tiger this season and Binnix ready to make his 2021 debut. The trio of Kamryn McIntosh, Nicolee Foster and Ken’Naria Gadson are sure to be some of the most talented individuals in the meet’s qualifying heats, with McIntosh leading the way for Clemson’s group thanks to her time of 55.04 from her excellent effort at the South Carolina Invitational.
For all of the most up-to-date information regarding Clemson’s Track & Field programs, be sure to reference clemsontigers.com and follow @ClemsonTrackXC on Twitter!
