COLUMBIA, S.C. – Freshman
Savien Hayes and sophomore
Kai Cole both notched a pair of top-10 finishes in the sprints to pace the NSU men's track and field team over the weekend at the Gamecock Opener hosted by the University of South Carolina.
Hayes and Coles both placed in the top 10 in the 200 and 300-meter events. Cole ran an indoor PR while placing seventh in the 200 meters. His time of 21.39 is third-fastest in the MEAC so far this indoor season. Hayes wasn't far behind, finishing ninth in 21.43 (fifth-best in MEAC).
In the 300, Hayes was runner-up in 33.87 seconds. Cole was 10
th in the 300 in 35.94.
In all, the Spartans notched 12 top-10 finishes at the meet.
Trequan Barnes placed ninth in the 400 meters in 48.02 seconds.
Kamil Jihad came in seventh in the 800 (1:56.44).
Two Spartan teams finished in the top 10 in the 4x400 relay. The quartet of Barnes, Hayes,
Keith Brown and Rawle Brebnor came in fourth in 3:17.15, the top time for NSU this season. Cole, Jihad, Joseph Kemp and
Je'Shawn Walker placed ninth in 3:24.47.
The Spartans' top finish in the field events came via senior
Garth Warner, who high-jumped a season-best 6 feet, 9.75 inches in a third-place finish. Teammate
Jacob Milton was fourth with a height of 6-8.
Two freshmen also placed in the top 10 in their respective field events.
Azad Williams recorded a season-best throw of 48-0.5 in the shot put, good for fourth place.
Azziah Russell also cleared a season-best 12-7.5 in the pole vault, finishing eighth.
The Spartans are back closer to home next weekend, as they participate in the VMI Team Challenge in Lexington on Saturday.
