USC track team finishes meet with 4 individual wins
Breanna Radford has a knack for being a consistent, record-breaking athlete.
At the 2013 Armory Collegiate Invitational in New York City, Radford completed the shot put competition with a throw of 52 feet, 6.5 inches, setting a personal best for the third time this season to finish 19th in the event.
Prior to the competition, Radford tied for fifth place in the South Carolina record book with her throw of 52 feet, 3.75 inches in the Hokie Invitational in Blacksburg, Va. Her performance in New York has given her sole possession of the fifth spot as well as 25th in collegiate ranks.
Radford said the Armory Invitational was very competitive, with her event including 70 women, many of whom were ranked in the top 50 nationally.
Mike Sergent, coach of the throws section, has played a huge role in Radford’s development as an athlete and sees Radford as a “wonderful ambassador for the University of South Carolina.”
“As a competitor, she’s tough,” Sergent wrote in an email response. “I have seen her rise to the occasion under pressure ... She is what we encourage all student-athletes to strive for.”
Radford credits Sergent for helping her get to where she is today and acknowledges the time he takes to help her analyze whatever went wrong in an event to help her get better. In turn, Sergent acknowledges her role as a leader both on and off the field as he shared that she “volunteers her time and genuinely enjoys her experiences in the community.”
“I think ‘believing’ is the single most important attribute anyone can have in whatever they pursue,” Sergent said. “I was once a student-athlete myself, and I recall having coaches with different styles.”
Though this is Radford’s final year on the track team, she regards her teammates as “friends that you can rely on for almost anything.” She hopes her teammates will push to succeed more as athletes.
“If you work hard and make sacrifices, it will be less stressful on you to achieve your goals,” Radford said. “Also, being grateful for the opportunity is something that can be easily overlooked. Being grateful will make it more fun when practicing and traveling.”
Overall, the Gamecocks finished the final day of competition with four wins, qualifying for finals in sections of the men’s and women’s 60-meter hurdles and the women’s 400. The No. 21 South Carolina women would finish fourth overall behind LSU, Clemson and Kansas, which Sergent regarded as the most significant of all the positive performances that took place.
Some top performers included Dorian Johnson and Erika Rucker. Johnson secured the first win of the weekend in the men’s triple jump college section with a leap of 49 feet, 4.25 inches. Rucker won the 400 championship race with a time of 52.93, placing her third in the collegiate ranks for the season.
The men and women’s times in the 4X200 relay ranked third fastest in the NCAA this season with times of 1:25.81 and 1:38.07, respectively.
“Track is very different than other sports as it is individual and every mark you hit can determine how far you make it in the season,” Radford said. “To maintain a good record, you have to trust your training and stay positive.”