On Wednesday, South Carolina's track and field program hosted the second USC Open of the year. The first USC Open was held back on Jan. 9.
With the long season that looms ahead, these early competitions serve as a litmus test for athletes competing in both winter and spring track.
Sophomore Anna McElrath starred in her return to the track. The South Carolina miler placed first in the women's mile competition with a time of 5:39.13. "This is the first event I've run this season. I was really just looking to see what my starting point was for the rest of the season," she said after the event.
McElrath will certainly try to build upon her performance, but she is already starting at a pretty high level.
Coach Curtis Frye was especially proud of the current state of the program. "We compete against kids from all parts of the world ... We get more attention from international than from the university," he said after Wednesday's meet.
"Last year we were 19th indoor on the women's side, that was our hot finish. And outdoors we were like 21st. So we want to improve on those two things." Frye, who is in his 20th season as head coach, said.
Other Gamecocks who had big days included senior Drew Galang and Chris Cochran who both finished first in their respective events. Galang led the pack in the men's 800-meter, cruising to a victory with a 2:02.27. Cochran paced those athletes competing in men's pole vault with a score of 4.20 meters.
South Carolina will have little time to catch their breath as they compete next on Friday and Saturday in Birmingham, Alabama, in the Conference Clash.