Clemson, Brooks Produce Strong Showing Friday
Columbia, S.C. - The Clemson Track & Field teams concluded the first day of competition at the South Carolina Invitational with five top-five finishes, eight personal bests and 13 season bests. Devon Brooks was the star of the day, as Brooks ran 7.71 in the final of the men’s 60 meter hurdles to win the event and become the fourth-best performer in program history.
Entering the day, Brooks’ time would have put him in a tie for the sixth-best result in the nation.
“I think day one went really well for our first away meet,” said Director of Track and Field Mark Elliott. “While most of our athletes are seasoned veterans, they started today off really well. With Laurie (Barton) running a personal best in the 400, it’s a good showing that she’s getting there. We then continued with the sprinters and Marcus (Parker) and Rebekah (Smith) ran really well... Devon (Brooks) had a huge PR in the hurdles and that just shows how excited we are for his future and his time here at Clemson.”
Elliott spoke about the team’s mentality heading into the second day of competition by saying, “Tomorrow’s a continuation off of today. We are looking for more marks to qualify for ACC’s and Nationals. If we have a day tomorrow like we did today, we will have a pretty good bus ride home!”
Friday Highlights·
Morgan Wittrock led a contingent of three Tigers to personal bests this morning in the women’s mile, as the senior logged a time of 5:05.32.
Josie Wirtz and Kate Miekley joined Wittrock in earning personal bests in the event. · Danny Shaughnessy was the top finisher in the men’s mile for Clemson, crossing the line in seventh place with a time of 4:14.67.
Andrea Foster ran a new indoor personal best for the women’s 400 meters, crossing the line in 55.35.
Barton joined Foster by also earning a personal best in the event today.·Rebekah Smith finished second overall in the women’s 60 meterdash, crossing the line in 7.39.· Marcus Parker finished second overall in the men’s 60 meter dash, logging a time of 6.67, a result which tied his lifetime best in the event.
· Sidney Marshall made her return to the track by running in the women’s 60 meter hurdles this afternoon. Marshall ran 8.47 and 8.39 in the prelims and finals, respectively.
The Clemson Track & Field program will return to action tomorrow morning at the South Carolina Invitational with the women's weight throw starting off the Tigers’ day of competition at 10 a.m. For complete coverage throughout the weekend of the Tiger Track & Field teams, follow @ClemsonTrackXC on Twitter and Instagram, and ‘Clemson University Track & Field’ on Facebook.
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