South Carolina's track and field teams have come out of the starting blocks strong this season, with each meet bringing them closer and closer to their conference meets. The Gamecocks boast a particularly diverse set of individuals, with athletes ranging from walk-on freshmen to redshirt seniors.
Gamecock track and field athletes hail not only from the United States but also all over the world. The women’s team alone represents France, Jamaica, Seychelles, Canada and Haiti. Who are some of the athletes that make up South Carolina's track and field teams?
Women’s Track and Field
Hanifah Abdulqadir: This senior from Kingston, Jamaica, specializes in the long jump, high jump and triple jump. During her freshman and sophomore year, Abdulqadir attended and competed for New Mexico Junior College. Her first track season as a Gamecock was in 2018, when she set a personal record for the indoor high jump and triple jump and personal records for the outdoor long jump, high jump and triple jump. She was named to the Indoor All-American Second Team in 2018 for the triple jump.
Allie Mueller: One of South Carolina's key middle distance runners, Mueller competes in distances from the 800 meter to the 5000-meter. She hails from Beaverton, Oregon, where she finished second in her graduating high school class. Being a key runner for the Gamecocks does not interfere with Mueller's academics, considering that she was named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll in both 2017 and 2018. She also earned a 4.0 GPA as a pharmacy major in the 2017-2018 academic year, earning her a spot on the Google Cloud Academic All-America Honors team.
Wadeline Jonathas: Despite this being Jonathas' first season at South Carolina, she will be a very key addition to the women's roster. Originally from Gonaives, Haiti, Jonathas spent her freshman and sophomore year at University of Massachusetts Boston, compiling two of the most impressive seasons ever seen in NCAA Division lll history. The sprinter competed primarily in the 60-meter, 200-meter and 400-meter races and is a 13-time All-American. Jonathas holds the NCAA Division lll records in the indoor 60-meter, 200-meter and 400-meter as well as the outdoor 100-meter, 200-meter and 400-meter.
Mathilde Coquillaud-Salomon: Originally from Nantes, France, this freshman is one of the international athletes who "chose the Gamecocks because of the level of competition of the track & field team," according to her bio on Gamecocks Online. In high school, she competed in various events ranging from the 100 meter to the heptathlon. She has multiple national championships under her belt, having finished second in the 100 meter and the long jump at the French U20 Championship in 2018.
Men's Track and Field
Eric Favors: This redshirt junior from Pomona, New York, specializes in the shot put and weight throw in indoor track and the discus in outdoor track. Favors made the 2017 Indoor SEC All-Freshman team for the shot put and the SEC Academic Honor Roll in 2017 and 2018. He took part in the Irish National Championships in July 2018 as the first step towards his quest to represent Ireland in the 2020 Olympics where he finished third in the discus and second in the shot put.
Otis Jones: Coming off of his 2018 season, where he was South Carolina's top middle distance runner, Jones has already started his 2019 season with wins in the 800-meter, which is his primary event. Hailing from Sumter, South Carolina, Jones was the first athlete in state history to win back-to-back titles in the 800-meter in high school. The redshirt senior has seen continued success in the 800-meter, particularly through his 2018 season, when he was named to the Second-Team All-SEC for the event.
Yann Randrianasolo: Like Coquillaud-Salomon, this senior also hails from France. Randrianasolo has competed in the French National Championship as well as the European Championships, posting solid results in his event, the long jump, in both competitions. He was named to both the SEC Second-Team All-American for the indoor and outdoor long jump in the 2018 season. In addition, he posted wins in five of the eight regular-season outdoor track meets he competed in.
Quincy Hall: This track season is Hall's first at South Carolina, but he has already seen positive results with a win in his event, the 400-meter, in the Carolina Challenge on Feb. 2, 2019. Hall is a junior from Kansas City, Missouri, and he spent the first two years of his college career competing for College of the Sequoias in California. Despite offers from several other schools, including UCLA, University of Southern California, Florida and Alabama, Hall chose to come to South Carolina to "train under the legendary Coach Frye," according to his Gamecocks Online bio.