Columbia, S.C. – The Clemson Track & Field teams concluded competition at the South Carolina Invitational by logging 11 top-5 finishes, 16 indoor personal bests and 18 season bests on Saturday. Marcus Parker and Anthony Hamilton were the lone individual event winners on the day, while the women’s Distance Medley Relay, comprised of Laurie Barton, Kamryn McIntosh, Andrea Foster and Mikie Harris, won the women’s section of the event.

Grant Voeks and Veronica Fraley established their names in school history by registering the second-best men’s shot put mark, and third-best women’s shot put mark in program history, respectively. Voeks, who already occupied the second position on the men’s list entering today, threw a mark of 18.93m (62-1.25) to finish second overall. Fraley broke the 16-meter barrier for the first time in her career, throwing 16.10m (52-10).

Saturday Highlights

Marcus Parker was one of three Tigers to earn a personal best during the men’s 200 meters, running 20.81 earlier today. Ryan McCloskey and Richie Luzzi-Liggins were the other two Clemson athletes to join Parker.
A total of nine women took to the start line for the women’s 800 meters today, and while eight women walked away with personal bests, all nine would earn season bests. Leah Disher was the top Tiger in the event.
Aliyah Mallard was the top Tiger in the women’s 200m, finished fifth overall with a new indoor personal best of 23.56.
Jackson Leech and Claire Strickler were the top Clemson finishers in the men’s and women’s 5km, respectively. Leech and Strickler each earned personal bests as a result of their performances.
Caroline Johnston finished fourth in the women’s long jump with her mark of 5.78m (18-11.75). The mark of 5.78m is just one centimeter off of her personal best.
D.J. Ledell finished third overall in the men’s triple jump with a mark of 15.08m (49-5.75).
Anthony Hamilton only needed to take five jumps to win the men’s high jump today, clearing 2.08m (6-9.75). Hamilton was the only athlete to clear the bar at 2.08m.

Group of the Meet: Throws

The throws group showed up today in a historic way, with two athletes earning all-time best marks. The throws group, headed by Assistant Coach Shawn Cobey, has been consistently excellent throughout the indoor season. With Fraley’s result today, Cobey has now coached two of the top three women’s indoor shot put athletes in Clemson history. Fraley produced another exquisite series of throws during Saturday’s competition, with five of her six attempts going beyond the 15-meter mark. Voeks continued to show his power and strength in the ring, unleashing a monster throw on his fifth attempt of the competition.

Assistant Coach Shawn Cobey

Reflecting on Saturday’s success…

“I think right now we’re really close to hitting some big numbers that are their goals. We’re still in a transition before we start to peak. The technique is still there, but the power and explosiveness will be coming around as we get ready for the championship part of the season.”

On what he’s seen in training leading up to the meet…

“I think our athletes are starting to freshen up a little bit. Early in the season, we were really heavy in the strength cycle and right now we’re starting to move to power and speed work, so things are starting to click more.”

Up Next

Clemson will return to action at home next weekend to host the Tiger Paw Invitational, one of the nation’s top meets. The Tiger Paw Invitational will see some of the nation’s finest teams convene at the Clemson Indoor Track & Field Complex on Feb. 14-15. The competition will start at noon on Friday, Feb. 14.

For complete coverage throughout the weekend of the Tiger Track & Field teams, follow @ClemsonTrackXC on Twitter and Instagram, and ‘Clemson University Track & Field’ on Facebook.

Friday Recap

Columbia, S.C. – The Clemson Track & Field teams concluded the first day of competition at the South Carolina Invitational with five top-five finishes, eight personal bests and 13 season bests. Devon Brooks was the star of the day, as Brooks ran 7.71 in the final of the men’s 60 meter hurdles to win the event and become the fourth-best performer in program history. Entering the day, Brooks’ time would have put him in a tie for the sixth-best result in the nation.

“I think day one went really well for our first away meet,” said Director of Track and Field Mark Elliott. “While most of our athletes are seasoned veterans, they started today off really well. With Laurie (Barton) running a personal best in the 400, it’s a good showing that she’s getting there. We then continued with the sprinters and Marcus (Parker) and Rebekah (Smith) ran really well… Devon (Brooks) had a huge PR in the hurdles and that just shows how excited we are for his future and his time here at Clemson.”

Elliott spoke about the team’s mentality heading into the second day of competition by saying, “Tomorrow’s a continuation off of today. We are looking for more marks to qualify for ACC’s and Nationals. If we have a day tomorrow like we did today, we will have a pretty good bus ride home!”

Friday Highlights

Morgan Wittrock led a contingent of three Tigers to personal bests this morning in the women’s mile, as the senior logged a time of 5:05.32. Josie Wirtz and Kate Miekley joined Wittrock in earning personal bests in the event.
Danny Shaughnessy was the top finisher in the men’s mile for Clemson, crossing the line in seventh place with a time of 4:14.67.
Andrea Foster ran a new indoor personal best for the women’s 400 meters, crossing the line in 55.35. Barton joined Foster by also earning a personal best in the event today.
Rebekah Smith finished second overall in the women’s 60 meter dash, crossing the line in 7.39.
Marcus Parker finished second overall in the men’s 60 meter dash, logging a time of 6.67, a result which tied his lifetime best in the event.
Sidney Marshall made her return to the track by running in the women’s 60 meter hurdles this afternoon. Marshall ran 8.47 and 8.39 in the prelims and finals, respectively.

The Clemson Track & Field program will return to action tomorrow morning at the South Carolina Invitational with the women’s weight throw starting off the Tigers’ day of competition at 10 a.m.

For complete coverage throughout the weekend of the Tiger Track & Field teams, follow @ClemsonTrackXC on Twitter and Instagram, and ‘Clemson University Track & Field’ on Facebook.