Gainesville, Fla. – Makuvire and Gamecocks Wrap Up Opening Day of SEC Outdoor Championship

South Carolina Track & Field competed in just six events on the opening day of the SEC Outdoor Championship but the impact was felt. Bradley Makuvire was the lone Gamecock to score in a final event tonight, doing so in the men’s 10,000 meter after running 30:22.51 to finish sixth overall. Makuvire scored three points for Carolina and becomes just the fourth Gamecock to score in the 10K at the SEC Championship.

Makuvire’s finish also marks the second consecutive season that South Carolina has scored in this event as Rogerio Amaral finished third last season in Baton Rouge, La. The men also competed in two preliminary races, doing so in the 200m and the 800m. Anass Essayi kicked things off on the track for the Garnet & Black when he won his heat and clocked the second-fast 800m time of the day at 1:47.54 to secure his spot in Saturday’s finale. Nyck Harbor captured a spot in the 200m final on Saturday after running a new wind-legal personal best time of 20.47 (0.3) to finish ninth in the standings.

The women competed in just two events on the day, running the 200m and the 800m prelim races. Sylvia Chelangat captured the win in the second heat of the 800m, running 2:04.81 to finish second overall in the standings and secure her spot in the finale. JaMeesia Ford also earned an automatic spot in her respective event, the 200m sprint. Ford won the fourth heat when she ran a time of 22.47 (2.1). Ford recorded the program’s first-ever indoor 200m SEC crown and will look for the season sweep on Saturday night.

Carolina will return to the track tomorrow afternoon for day two of the SEC Outdoor Championship. The first event for the Gamecocks will be the men’s shot put at 4:15 p.m. with Dylan Targgart and CJ Licata. The first track event for the Garnet & Black will be at 5 p.m. as David Warmington will compete in the 110-meter hurdle prelims.