RESULTS

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Sending a slew of track and field athletes to compete on Friday, the USCB track and field teams were paced by a pair of first-place finishes by Shamar Deacon (400m) and Kadari Mitchell (200m) at the Hub-City Invitational. 

Field Highlights

As the lone Sand Shark competing in the women's discus, Jana Barden collected a top-10 mark. She made a throw of 25.33m.

Out of 13 athletes, Oriana Hernandez posted an impressive mark in the women's javelin. She made a heave of 23.78m, which slotted her in fifth place. She narrowly edged the sixth-place finisher by 0.06m.

In her second field event of the day, Hernandez finished sixth in the women's long jump. The sophomore made a leap of 4.65m, which was just 0.32m from earning a top-5 mark.

To end her track performances, Hernandez was one of five athletes to compete in the women's pole vault. She earned a silver medal finish by clearing the height of 2.28m.

In the final field event of the day for USCB, Bianca Simpson, Barden and Allayah Bryan competed in the women's shot put. The Sand Shark trio finished right in the middle of the pack at sixth, seventh and eighth - respectively. Simpson made a throw of 9.65, while Barden and Bryan followed at 9.54m and 9.49m. 

Field Highlights

Senior sprinter Kadari Mitchell impressed in the men's 100m. He collected a silver-medal finish with a stellar 11.27 time. He was just 0.19 seconds away from the first-place finisher - a DI athlete from USC Upstate. 

In the men's 110m hurdles, Augustis Frasier was the lone Sand Shark to run. He finished sixth with a time of 17.64. That time was just 0.82 seconds from moving into the top 5.

In what was USCB's strongest event of the meet, Mitchell and Shamar Deacon headlined the results in the men's 200m. Mitchell won top honors in the event with a head-turning time of 22.08. The second-place finisher - Montrell White of Allen - was nearly half-a-second behind the senior at 22.51. Slotting in third place was Deacon, as he posted a very quick time of 22.84.

Running in her second event of the meet, Madeline Matusik clocked a 1:07.41 in the women's 400m. She finished sixth out of 10 runners. 

Collecting the second victory for USCB on Friday, Deacon destroyed the field in the men's 400m. He clocked a stellar time of 48.79, which bested the 18-person field. He outran the silver medalist by 0.6 seconds. Christian Austin and Michael Johnson also ran, as they finished 13th and 16th - respectively. 

In a three-person field, Hernandez finished runner-up with a time of 1:09.88. In the tightly-contest race, Grace Wright of Columbia edged the sophomore by just 0.33 seconds. 

Frasier posted a respectable mark of 1:02.80 in the men's 400m hurdles. He was the lone Sand Shark in the event. 

In one of the largest fields of the meet - men's 800m - five Sand Sharks ran in the middle distance race. Sam Williams led the way with a seven-place time of 2:01.45. Seven spots behind his teammate was rookie distance runner Jacob Mitchell. He ran a 2:06.52. Jay King, Austin and Eli Smith finished near one another at 21st, 24th and 25th places - respectively. King led that USCB trio with a time of 2:18.67.

Mitchell just missed on a top-10 finish in the men's 1500. The freshman posted a time of 4:15.53, which placed him 11th (0.23 seconds from a top-10 finish). Six spots behind him was Williams, who clocked a 4:21.33. Smith rounded out the marks for the Sand Sharks, as he ran a 4:51.89.

King finished right in the middle of the pack in the men's steeplechase. The sophomore ran an 11:06.85 en route to placing sixth out of 11.

Tewodros Eckstein was very impressive in the men's 5k. The senior penciled a time of 16:50.98, which garnered him second-place honors. 

What's Next?

Taking just eight days of rest, USCB will compete at the Gamecock Invitational, which will be its final tuneup before the Sun Conference Championships. The meet at South Carolina will be held on Saturday, April 16 in Columbia, S.C.