The South Carolina track and field team faced their in-state rival at the Clemson Invitational this past weekend. The second meet of the indoor season came with eight podium finishes and senior Ncincilili Titi winning the 200-meter dash.
Titi won his first 200 meter of the season in an impressive 20.45 seconds, with just one other competitor breaking 21 seconds. He also finished third in the 60-meter dash with 6.69 seconds — only two-hundredths of a second behind first place.
The impressive finishes are not unusual for the senior sprinter, as he was awarded 2017 First-Team Indoor All-American in the 200 meter last year. Head coach Curtis Frye recognized that Titi is off to another strong season.
“Titi’s run was a fantastic highlight. He just had a great run,” Frye said. “I thought he would break his PR, but I didn’t know he would be this fast ... he’s got to continue to do what he’s doing; training is very important for him.”
Otis Jones, Tye Williams and Armand Woodley contributed to the Gamecocks’ podium finishes in the 800-meter dash, high jump and pole vault, respectively. Williams jumped a height of seven feet and half an inch, just two inches off of the school record he set last week at the Navy Invitational.
After winning his event last weekend, Jones changed things up and ran the 800 meter this weekend, finishing third with one minute and 50 seconds.
Woodley vaulted his indoor track best with a height of five meters at Clemson. Frye noted how impressed he was with these athletes and their improvements.
“Otis had a good day, and so did Tye ... and each of those athletes has something to build off of. The same goes for Armand in the pole vault,” Frye said. "Everyone is getting better. The big thing for our entire team is to appreciate this meet and to continue to identify kids that will contribute for us in the postseason. All of the pieces are coming together."
South Carolina hopes to continue their improvements as they travel to New York for the Columbia Challenge this weekend.