Sand Sharks take home 8 titles from Sun Conference track championships

Taylor Superior captured two Sun Conference titles and helped USC-Beaufort’s 4x400 women’s relay set a school record, helping the Sand Sharks to an eight-victory haul at the conference championships last weekend in Miramar, Fla.

Superior began her weekend by winning the high jump with a leap of 1.58 meters (5 feet, 2 1/4 inches) on Saturday, adding a victory in the 400 hurdles (1:03.34) before taking the third leg of the relay that covered four laps of the track in 4:00.70.

Betsy Douglas anchored the relay and added her own victory in the 1,500 meters (4:47.41) as the Sand Sharks finished second to Webber International in the team standings. Freshman Lexis Saunders had a trio of third-place finishes in the throwing events — shot put, discus and hammer.

On the men’s side, Brandon Gourdine swept both hurdles titles and Anthony Vecchio — named the league’s Men’s Track Athlete of the Year — won the 1,500 as USCB placed third behind Warner and Webber International.

Gourdine won the 110-meter hurdles in 14.73 seconds, then doubled up by winning the 400 hurdles with a time of 55.89.

Vecchio’s captured the 1,500 with a time of 4:08.02, adding runner-up finishes in both the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters. The Sand Sharks also piled up points in the 3,000 steeplechase, where Nic O’Neill finished second and Chase Rhodus third.

Pole vaulter Quinton Ferguson scored the final individual title for USCB, winning with a height of 3.56 meters (11 feet, 8 inches).

Superior, Douglas, Gourdine, Vecchio and O’Neill all are qualified for next month’s NAIA Outdoor Championships in Gulf Shores, Ala.

This story was originally published April 25, 2016 at 6:52 PM with the headline "Sand Sharks take home 8 titles from Sun Conference track championships."