The South Carolina track and field team kicked off its 2015 campaign in dominating fashion, taking 11 events at the Orange and Purple Classic, which was held at Clemson University.
For the Gamecocks, the day was highlighted by the return of three-time All-American senior Clayton Gravesande.
Gravesande won the 400-meter dash (48.22) and ran second for the men’s 4x400 meter relay team, also composed of junior Jermaine Collier, sophomore Jussi Kanervo, and sophomore Ryan Bermudez. This win managed to beat out Clemson by just a tenth of a second with a time of (3:15.04).
Perhaps the most impressive victory for the Gamecocks on Saturday was that of distance runner junior Anna Todd who took home the gold in the women’s 3K race with a time of 9:58.91, lapping the second-place finisher in the process.
When asked about the importance of this meet, head coach Curtis Frye said it would serve as a good barometer to see where the team was at physically after a long break.
“This meet is really a great meet for us as a staff to find out what we have and then what we gotta do to compensate for what people can’t bring to the table,” Frye said. “And I’m excited.”
He also stressed that, unlike the shade of orange worn by the Tennessee Volunteers who were also competing this weekend, that when facing off against the shade of orange worn by the Clemson Tigers, it’s time to turn it up a notch.
“There is no comparison to seeing that Clemson orange line up beside you. It means a lot to this school and they have to understand that,” Frye said.
Other female winners on the weekend were junior Stephanie Berger in the 5K race (18:02.15), junior Tyler Brockington in the 200m race (24.42) and senior Erika Rucker in the 800m (2:18.28).
Rucker and Brockington were also part of the winning 4x400 relay team, also composed of sophomore Precious Holmes and sophomore Briana Haith (3:41.27). Senior Megan Wall took first place in the pole vault, clearing a height of 3.68m and junior Alexis Murphy won the triple jump, launching herself out to a distance of 6.11m.
The men’s side, which Frye said he believes to have more quality depth than the women’s, picked up one more win on the day from senior Kevin Keating in the 800m dash (1:57.01).
Also for the men’s, four second-place finishes from the likes of freshman Tyjon Williams, sophomore Richard Fish, freshman Isiah Moore, and freshman Gregory Chiles.
The Gamecocks' next meet is the Virginia Tech Invitational in Blacksburg, Virginia, a two-day event beginning on January 16.