USC redshirt senior captures conference gold at SEC track meet

The 2017 SEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships ended with a bang for the University of South Carolina on Saturday, thanks in large part to redshirt senior Tyler Brockington. The Greensboro, N.C., native sped away from the field in the finals of the women’s 400m hurdles to win the individual SEC title at Sheila & Morris Cregger Track.

Brockington wasn’t the only Gamecock to electrify the Cregger Track crowd with a podium finish Saturday. Josh Awotunde and Ben Bonhurst grabbed top-three spots in the shot put, Isaiah Moore finished in third in the 100m hurdles and Natasha Dicks came on strong at the end of the triple jump for a third-place finish.

Overall, the Carolina men finished in eighth place, with 46 points. That’s their best result since 2010. The women placed 11th, their best finish since 2012, with 31 points.

Brockington led the 400mH from start to finish and posted a winning time of 55.97, almost a second clear of the field. Her time is a new personal best, the fourth-fastest time in Carolina history and the No. 4 time in the NCAA this season.

The senior is Carolina’s seventh SEC champion in the women’s 400mH and the first Gamecock to top the podium in the event since Tiffany Ross in 2005. Her individual SEC title is the first since 2015, when Jeannelle Scheper won the high jump crown.

“It’s great to be a Gamecock, every day,” Brockington said after her victory. “It’s a really humbling experience to come out here and compete, and for the first time in five years. I was able to pull out what I can really do. It’s amazing to race these girls that are top 10 in the nation. I’m going to take my win and enjoy it and prepare for regionals.”