Smith, Livingston Shine on Friday at ACC Championships
Notre Dame, Ind. – The Clemson Track & Field team saw nine individuals combine to qualify for the finals of six different events on Friday during the second day of competition at the 2020 ACC Indoor Track & Field Championships. Five athletes set personal bests and eight athletes earned season bests throughout Friday’s action.
“I’m pretty happy with the day overall,” said Mark Elliott, the Director of Track & Field for Clemson. “The athletes in our sprint group did their best. We have athletes in the events we were hoping they would be in, so we’re still hoping for a gold rush tomorrow. Our women in the 800 are going into the final as the second and third seed, and our hope is to be higher at the end of tomorrow. Tomorrow they need to give their best effort and we hope to get 18 points from the event.”
Kenya Livingston was the lone Tiger to capture All-ACC honors on Friday, as the sophomore finished fourth in the women’s high jump competition with her leap of 1.73 meters (5-8). Livingston’s performance follows up her fourth place finish at the 2019 ACC Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the same event.
“Kenya had a really good day,” said Elliott. “We know what she was ranked coming in and scored some big points for the team.”
On the track, Rebekah Smith was the star for Clemson. The senior sprinter was the lone individual to qualify for the finals of multiple events, as Smith finished second overall in the women’s 60 meter dash and third overall in the 200 meter dash.
“It was an awesome day for her (Smith),” said Elliott. “It still keeps us on our sight of a championship tomorrow.”
The final of the men’s 200 meters will be the event on Saturday where the Tigers have the most entries, as Marcus Parker, Alex Sands and Fabian Hewitt all advanced to the final. Clemson is the only school with three entries for the event.
Friday Highlights
· Clemson will have three finalists amongst the men’s and women’s 60 meter hurdles, as LaFranz Campbell, Devon Brooks and Sidney Marshall advanced to their respective finals. Campbell and Brooks finished second and third, respectively, in the preliminary round of the men's event.
· In the men’s 400 meters, Rayan Holmes, Keco Morrison and Deonte Tolbert all ran season-best marks in the preliminary rounds, with Holmes and Morrison running personal bests of 47.49 and 48.66, respectively.
· Rebekah Smith was the star of the women’s 60 meter dash, tying her personal best by running 7.23 in her preliminary round. Smith’s time at the Loftus Sports Center is now tied for the facility's record. Smith followed up her impressive performance in the 60 meter dash by finishing third overall in qualifying for the women’s 200 meters after running 23.71.
· Laurie Barton and Andrea Foster won their respective heats of the women’s 800 meters, running 2:07.57 and 2:07.65, respectively, to advance to tomorrow’s final for the event.
· Marcus Parker, Alex Sands and Fabian Hewitt all advanced out of the preliminary round of competition, with the three finishing first, sixth and eighth, respectively.
The team will return to action for the final day of competition at 11 a.m., as the men’s shot put and men’s triple jump will start the day.
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