Gamecocks Dominate NCAA East Regionals Opening Day

Celebratory team victory photo

Gamecocks Set Tone on Opening Day of NCAA East Regionals

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 22, 2024) – South Carolina Track & Field opened the NCAA East Regional on Wednesday afternoon with the men’s team competing, setting the tone early.

The Gamecocks sent five of the seven qualifiers through to the next round, while punching three tickets to Eugene in the opening day. The first ticket punched to Oregon for the Gamecocks came from the men’s long jump as Channing Ferguson jumped 7.59m (24-11) to finish eighth in the event and earn an automatic spot as one of the Top 12 in the region headed to Eugene.

Shortly after Ferguson secured his ticket, Dylan Targgart and CJ Licata punched theirs in the men’s shot put. Targgart threw 19.90m (65-3.5), while Licata launched 19.89m (65-3.25) to finish second and third in the region, respectively.

In addition, Targgart and Licata represent the only duo from the same school, East or West Region, headed to the men’s shot put finale in Oregon.

As for the qualifiers moving on, David “DJ” Warmington was the first to get the Gamecocks started on the day, edging out Ardonntrell Williams of Pittsburgh as the last qualifier to advance on time in the 110-meter hurdles. Warmington ran a time of 13.916 (1.2) to advance to Friday’s quarterfinals race, while Williams finished with a wind-aided time of 13.917 (2.5).

Joining Warmington as qualifiers are both Anass Essayi and Jaouad Khchina in the men’s 1500m. Essayi finished second in the third heat after running 3:43.42, earning an automatic spot into the quarterfinals on Friday. Khchina advanced on time as the second fastest non-automatic qualifier to do so, running 3:43.48 out of the opening heat.

Freshman sprinter Nyck Harbor advanced in both the 100m and the 200m sprints. The Washington, D.C. native opened his competition by running 10.33 (-0.9) in the 100m dash, placing 10th overall to earn a spot in Friday’s quarterfinal race. Later in the evening, he placed second in his heat in the 200m, running a new personal best 20.36 (-1.0) to automatically advance to the quarterfinals on Friday.

The Gamecocks will be back in action tomorrow at noon when it’s the women’s turn to shine, beginning with Hannah Togami in the pole vault. Judy Kosgei will be the first runner on the track for Carolina, competing in the first round of the 1500m at 3:30 p.m.