USC Beaufort women 4th as track teams open season

The USC Beaufort track and field team endured freezing weather to open the 2016 season Saturday at the Embry-Riddle Indoor/Outdoor Challenge in Daytona Beach, Fla.

The Sand Sharks finished fourth in the women's standings with 32 points and earned 12 points to finish ninth in the men's standings.

Sophomore Betsy Douglas was the top scorer for the USCB women, placing second in the mile with a time of 5:36.67 and fifth in the 800 meters in 2:34.91.

Junior Taylor Superior posted a third-place finish in the high jump (1.50m), while freshman Alexandria Rivers was fifth in the weight throw (10.15m). Sophomore Emily Pauley scored in three events, placing seventh in the discus (26.30m), eighth in the shot put (9.46m) and eighth in the weight throw (8.69m).

Senior Rachelle Toth broke her own school record in the 60-meter hurdles, finishing seventh with a time of 10.84 seconds. Also scoring for USCB's women, Jaime Thomas was seventh in the 600 meters (1:54.35), Becky Hayden was seventh in the high jump (1.40m), and Maiya Cooper was eighth in the 200 meters (27.60).

The Sand Shark men had two scorers, as senior Brandon Gourdine edged his own school record to finish third in the 60-meter hurdles in 8.49 seconds and senior Anthony Vecchio was third in the 3,000 meters (9:14.68).

USCB's distant runners will compete in the Hilton Head Half Marathon on Feb. 13, while the next full-squad meet will be the Savannah State Eye Opener on Feb. 20.

This story was originally published January 25, 2016 at 9:16 AM with the headline "USC Beaufort women 4th as track teams open season."