South Carolina’s track and field team held the last Gamecock Indoor Open on Wednesday in preparation for the Cherry and Silver Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M. The Gamecocks will send one squad to New Mexico, and another to the Hokie Invitational in Blacksburg, Va.
The Gamecock Indoor Open featured teams from Savannah State, Bethune-Cookman, Mars Hill, Claflin, Benedict, North Greenville, Belmont Abbey and USC Beaufort. The Gamecocks landed six top-five finishes in 10 events, including five by underclassmen.
Freshman Jussi Kanervo finished fourth in the men’s 55-meter hurdles with a time of 7.56 seconds. Freshman David Yang won the 800-meter run in his first race as a Gamecock, finishing in 2 minutes, 7.97 seconds. Freshman Guy McCarter placed second in the 3,000-meter run.
Freshman Jesse Wideman also picked up his first collegiate top-five finish in the high jump. Sophomore Jamekia Wilson took home a fourth-place finish in the women’s shot put, recording a 10.5-meter mark. Junior James Adams finished in the top five in the long jump for the first time this season, with a mark of 6.52 meters.
At the Cherry and Silver Invitational, the Gamecocks — whose women’s team is ranked No. 11 — will go up against 10 other teams who are ranked in the top 25 by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
Although the South Carolina women’s track and field team has received recognition from the USTFCCCA, senior Jeannelle Scheper does not see it as added pressure for the team.
“I don’t think there’s pressure; I think it’s what we expected,” Scheper said. “We’ve been training hard, and we know where we want to be. We have the capability to be there and to be better. So I don’t think it’s so much pressure, but a reminder of how good we can be. We have an expectation to be there.”
The Gamecocks faced stiff competition earlier this season at the Virginia Tech Invitational and will go up against top competition from across the country this weekend in New Mexico.
The women’s competition features Texas, the nation’s top-ranked team; the highest-ranked competition the men will see is No. 7 Florida State.
Though South Carolina took home four wins from the Virginia Tech Invitational, Scheper said she realizes that the season is still young and that the team will continue to get better.
“At Virginia Tech, everyone had a good performance, but the atmosphere was that this is just the beginning,” Scheper said. “No one is near their peak right now. Everyone can go faster, jump further, jump higher. It’s just the beginning. We’re just looking forward to the next meet to show what we can do.”
Among those who performed well in the Blacksburg competition was six-time All-American Erika Rucker, who took home a victory in the 300-meter dash. Rucker was also the top Gamecock in the 200-meter event but finished second overall, coming 0.06 seconds within first place.
The junior from Flowery Branch, Ga., was named a 2014 team captain at the beginning of the season and has been embracing that role this year.
“I just try to encourage my teammates,” Rucker said. “Sometimes they can be a little down, so I try to be positive and try to help them with any questions they have. So I just try to give them the best from my perspective and my experience.”