CLEMSON, S.C. – The Clemson track and field program is set to compete at the South Carolina Invitational on Saturday, Feb. 6. Saturday’s meet will be held at the Carolina Indoor Track and Field Complex and is just the second time this season the Tigers travel away from their home track. Action at the South Carolina Invitational will begin with the men’s weight throw at 11 a.m.
“This is a very important meet for us,” said Director of Track & Field Mark Elliott. “We have to keep our consistency going. We have people making their debuts, and we have many of our consistent athletes returning to their primary events or trying to get better marks in other events.”
Earlier in the week, Clemson’s women’s team was ranked No. 15 in the nation by USTFCCCA in the second poll of the season. Four women currently rank within the top 30 nationally across three individual events, while the women’s 4×400-meter relay enters the weekend ranked No. 18 thanks to their season’s best of 3 minutes and 40.76 seconds.
“When you have people competing at that level, it’s pervasive throughout the team. The talent and ability is there, and once you see your teammates doing well, it [positively] affects the team,” said Elliott.
The Tigers’ hurdling trio of Trishauna Hemmings, Kori Carter and Antoinette van der Merwe will come together for the first time this season to contest the preliminary heats of the women’s 60-meter hurdles.
Many of Clemson’s athletes will be competing in “complementary events” this weekend, with Elliott adding that, “We’re working on a few things to make sure we’re ready for our Tiger Paw Invitational and the conference championship.”
Laurie Barton and Andrea Foster will drop down in distance to race the women’s 400, while Lauren Hayes will step up to the women’s 3k after running both the mile and 800 during last weekend’s Bob Pollock Invitational.
On the men’s side, Terryon Conwell will test his endurance by racing the 400. Conwell opened his 2021 campaign by running 32.97 in the 300 to set the school record, and last week ran 20.75 in the 200 to become the No. 7 performer on Clemson’s all-time list. The senior enters the weekend with his sights set on cracking into the all-time list for the quarter-mile, with the No. 10 mark presently set at 47.52.
John Ward will represent Clemson in both the men’s 800 and as the anchor leg on the team’s distance medley relay. Jack McManus will return to the 3k after setting a dazzling personal best of 8:39.77 in the event last weekend as he finished second overall.
After earning his first individual event victory while representing Clemson, Lafranz Campbell will once again return to race the 60 hurdles on Saturday. Campbell will be joined by Giano Roberts and Jevon Williams in the event’s preliminary heats.
Courtashia Felton (800m), Cal Finley (3k), and Conor McCabe (3k) are all slated to make their respective season debuts on Saturday. The men’s 3k will be the first time that either Finley or McCabe represents Clemson on the track during their collegiate careers.
A flurry of relay action will conclude Saturday’s events, with Clemson entered in both the men’s and women’s distance medley relays for the first time this season. The Tigers have three squads entered for the men’s and women’s 4×400 relays.
Regarding the relays, Elliott stated, “We’re trying to put our best relays on the track this weekend with the athletes we have available.”
Clemson will go against athletes representing Alabama, Auburn, Cincinnati, Florida, Furman, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, North Carolina A&T, Ole Miss, and South Carolina. Saturday’s action will be broadcast on SECN+ starting at 11 a.m.
For all of the most up-to-date information regarding Clemson’s track and field program, be sure to reference clemsontigers.com and follow @ClemsonTrackXC on Twitter.
