DES MOINES – On the final day of competition at the NCAA Outdoor Championships held at Drake Stadium, South Carolina junior Kierre Beckles earned the top 100-metre hurdle finish in Gamecock history with her time of 13.05 on Saturday.
A transferee from Central Arizona College, Beckles, from Pinelands, St Michael, placed sixth overall in the event, surpassing the seventh-place finish by Ellakisha Williamson in 1999 and the eighth-place finishes by Williamson (2000) and Beijing Olympian Tiffany Ross-Williams (2002).
Beckles is now one of four Gamecocks to earn All-America honours in the 100-metre hurdles, joining Williamson, Ross-Williams and Ronnetta Alexander (2006).
“Coming out of Barbados, I could have gone Division I, but I didn’t have a required science class,” Beckles said.
“Coming to South Carolina as a transfer from junior college and doing all of this in one year – PR’ing indoors every weekend and coming outdoors and breaking my national record – it’s been a great season. I accomplished a lot in a couple of months being on the team. I’m looking forward to next year and having a fall season for the Gamecocks.”
Beckles, the SEC silver medallist in the event, admittedly didn’t get the best jump on the gun, but she used a push over the final three hurdles to edge Clemson’s Michaylin Golladay and Miami’s Ti’erra Brown.
The season is not over for Beckles, who two weeks ago set the Barbados national record with a time of 13.01. She will compete at the Barbados National Championships at the National Stadium from June 24-26. She will then compete at the CAC Senior Championships in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico from July 15-17 before competing at the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea from August 27 to September 4.
“I don’t know what to expect next year, but my season isn’t really done yet,” Beckles said of prospects for a senior year encore. (SAT/PR)
