For the track and field program at South Carolina, one group of athletes continue to outperform each year for the Gamecocks, and those are the student-athletes who make up the women’s team. Two of the most successful are graduate student sprinter Stephanie Davis and sophomore jumper Rachel Glenn.
“Coming in as a freshman, I was the underclassman. I had to look up to the upperclassmen,” Davis said. “Now I feel like the parent … if they need any advice, they come to me.”
Curtis Frye, the head coach of South Carolina's track and field team, said he appreciated Davis' leadership as a program veteran.
"Stephanie has grown a great deal in lots of different areas,” Frye said. “We’ve seen her this year grow to where she feels like, 'Hey, I belong. I'm that good.'”
Davis is a member of the 4x400 meter women’s relay. She received seven All-American selections for her runs in the 4x400 meter relay and the 400-meter sprint. She is also a 2019 NCAA indoor champion for the relay as well.
“I’m in awe,” Davis said. “When I came here as a freshman, at the University of South Carolina, I didn’t think I was gonna break any records, become All-American. It’s a crazy feeling, it's really hard to describe.”
Similar to Davis, Glenn, who is in her second year with the program, has also experienced success early in her career.
As a true freshman in 2021, Glenn went to Eugene, Oregon to compete in the NCAA Track and Field National Championship.
“Of course, it felt amazing,” said Glenn. “I’m excited about going again this year and hopefully winning again.”
As a freshman, Frye said Glenn's high school coach called him to praise Glenn.
“Glenn is just gifted talent,” Frye said.
Ultimately, Glenn ended up coming home with some hardware from her performance in the high jump. She cleared 1.93 meters to become the first true freshman to win an NCAA Outdoor Championship for women's high jump since 2006.
Glenn said the hurdles are one of the things she wanted to improve on during the upcoming outdoor season. She ran a 59.10 in the 400-meter hurdles race and ended up getting seventh at the North Florida Invite in April 2021.
“Last year in hurdles, I didn’t do what I wanted to, so I’m excited to see what I can do this year,” Glenn said.
Both performed to the standards they have set for themselves throughout the season during their time at the SEC Indoor Championships in Texas in February.
Davis ran a personal best of 51.29 in the 400-meter final which earned her a fifth-place finish, while Glenn came home with a silver medal after she cleared 1.88 meters in the high-jump competition.
At the NCAA Indoor Championships on March 11 and 12, Glenn finished her indoor season with a third-place 1.86 meter high jump. Davis was unable to compete due to injury.
The outdoor season officially began on March 18 for South Carolina. Since then, the South Carolina women’s track and field team finished tied for No. 18 in the final U.S. Track and Field and Cross-Country Coaches Association poll of the indoor season.