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TRACK AND FIELD W' i I r i Women's L track finished fourth in theSECs g this past | weekend, 1 PHOTO BY ■ ROBERT GRUEN C . The USC men's track team wound up in fifth place in this weekend's tournament. PHOTO BY ROBERTGRUEN Teams roll through indoor season Track and Field Schedule DATEMEETLOCATION March 8 NCAA Indoor Fayetteville, Ark. Championships March 16 University Miami, Fla. of Miami Invitational March 22 Weems Baskin Columbia, S.C. Sprint Relays _ March 29Florida Relays Gainesville, Fla. April 5 5-Way Knoxville, Tenn. SEC Meet April 10 South Carolina Columbia, S.C. State Championships April 12Sea Ray Relays Knoxville,Tenn. April 20Georgia _Athens, Ga. April 23Penn Relays Philadelphia, Pa. May 9 SEC Starkville, Miss. Championships May 18 Georgia Tech Atlanta, Ga. _ _Invitational May 29 NCAA Outdoor Baton Rouge, La. Championships “We can’t ask for more than the effort that our men and women put forth.” CURTIS FRYE use TRACK AND FIELD HEAD COACH Gamecocks have sights set on NCAA title BY TRAVIS BOLAND THE GAMECOCK The USC men’s and women’s track and field teams have been red-hot since their first meet of the season. The Gamecocks opened the year Jan. 13 at the UNC Early Invitational in Chapel Hill. The men’s team won three events, and the women won five. Standouts among the women included senior Lisa Barber, who won the 60-meter dash; senior Demetria Washington, who won the 400 meters and anchored the win ning 4x400 relay with Tacita Bass, Lashinda Demus and Shevon Stoddart; Tiffany Ross, who won her first collegiate race in the 60-meter hurdles; and Chelsea Hammond, who won the high jump. Winners on the men’s side were Otukile Lekote, who won the 800 me ters, and Otis Harris, who won the 400 and anchored the win ning 4x400 relay team that in cluded James Law, Shamus Singletary and Jon Fortenberry. USC next competed Jan. 19 at the Virginia Tech Invitational in Blacksburg. USC had six wins on the day, including both the men’s and women’s 4x400 re lays. Running for the men’s re lay were Law, Singletary, Lekote and Harris. Lekote also won the 800. For the women’s relay, the runners were Bass, Stoddart, Demus and Washington. Washington won the 400 and Aleen Baily won the 60. The Gamecocks also took part in the Feb. 9 Meet of Champions in New York City. They won four events, including the women’s 400 (Washington), and the women’s 4x400 relay (Bass, Stoddart, Demus and Washington). Chris Steddum broke the meet record by win ning the men’s pole vault, and Antoinette Wilks won the women’s long jump. USC played host to the Gamecock Indoor Invitational on Feb. 16 and dominated the field by winning 12 events. For the women’s team, Baily won the 55-meter dash, Mikisha Lewis won the 800, Demus won the 55-meter high hurdles, Hammond won the high jump, Kinsey Eschenburg won the mile run and Lori Tvarkunus won the pole vault. For the men, Andre Totton won the 55, Jarred Johnson won the 600 meters, Fred Townsend won the high jump, Jared Farabee won the pole vault and Chris Vanderbrink won the shot put. The Gamecocks participat ed next in the SEC Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. Washington won the 400 and set a school record when she collected her seventh SEC title. “I’m happy to have won, but I am so proud we had five in the finals,” Washington said. The women’s 4x400 team won its sixth straight race, and Lekote won his third straight 800. The Gamecocks are poised to make a run at the championship. “I am satisfied with the win,” Lekote said. “My goal in the next two weeks, before NCAAs, is to work on my speed. I am happy” USC head coach Curtis Frye said: “We had a good finish. We can’t ask for more than the ef fort that our men and women put forth. This is the nation’s No. 1 conference, and there were so many fine performances,” USC will have 11 more meets this season before the Junior Nationals in June. Two of those meets will be in Columbia: the Weems Baskin Sprint Relays on March 22 and the South Carolina State Championships on April 10. With the men’s team ranked 11th in the country and the women’s team ranked second, the Gamecocks are once again poised to make a run at the na tional championship. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@hotmail. com