Clemson to Play Host to Orange & Purple Track Classic

May 14, 1998

CLEMSON, S.C.– Gwen Torrence, Allen Johnson and former Clemson national champion Duane Ross are among the athletes who will compete during the Orange & Purple Track Classic this weekend at the Clemson University.

Altogether, there will be eight female athletes and six male athletes on display with Olympic experience at the Rock Norman Track on Saturday.

The action will begin with field events on Friday afternoon and conclude with a full schedule on Saturday between 11:00 AM and 5:00 PM. The Clemson men and Clemson women will compete during the meet that has attracted nearly 20 schools and many other unattached runners.

Allen Johnson heads the men’s competition. He was the 110 meter hurdles Gold Medalist at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta with a time of 12.95. He will be matched against former Clemson NCAA champion Duane Ross and Olympian Steve Brown in that event.

The men’s meet will feature a star studded shuttle hurdle relay. Clemson, ranked fifth in the latest NCAA team poll, has an outstanding shuttle hurdle relay team led by Greg Hine, Aaron Haynes, Jeremichael Williams and Sultan Tucker. But, they will be running against a team of world class sprinters in Steve Brown, Duane Ross, Tony Reese and Allen Johnson. All are former or current world record holders and Olympians.

Also in action for Clemson will be Shawn Crawford, who recently won the 200 meters at the UTEP Classic with a time of 20.12, the fastest collegiate time in the country this year.

Torrence leads the field of prominent women at the event. She was the 200 meter gold medalist at the 1992 Olympics and also won a gold on the US 4X100 meter team in the 1996 Games.