COLUMBIA, S.C. – Behind Melissa Jefferson's school-record time of 7.29 and first-place finish in the 60-meters, the Coastal Carolina women's indoor track & field team posted 15 top-five and 27 top-10 finishes overall at the Gamecock Opener on Saturday in Columbia, S.C.
 
Jefferson, who first set the school record with a time of 7.35 in the 60-meter prelims, went on to smash the previous record of 7.39 held by Erica Peake (2013) with her first-place time of 7.29 in the finals.
 
Also etching her name in the CCU indoor track & field record book on Saturday was freshman Alexis Glasco with her third-place time of 7.45 in the 60-meter finals, which is tied for third all-time with Chasity Johnson (2007), and her fourth-place mark of 8.48 in the 60-meter hurdles, which is the third-best time in Coastal history.
 
Finishing right behind Glasco in the 60-meter hurdles in fifth-place was sophomore Sydney Clemens with her personal best time of 8.58, which ranks fifth all-time on the CCU all-time performance list.
 
In the 200-meter dash, the duo of Jermaisha Arnold (24.44) and Mekenze Kelley (24.54) placed fifth and sixth, respectively, with the two Chants writing their names in the CCU annals with the fifth and eighth-best times all-time in CCU history.
 
Not to be outdone, freshman Molly Jones recorded the 10th-best time in CCU history in the 3000 meters, as she crossed the finish line in second-place overall with her personal-best time of 9:55.45, while fellow first-year Chant Kynnedy Dennis finished third in the pole vault event with a mark of 3.35 meters, which ranks seventh all-time at Coastal.
 
In the women's weight throw event, another true freshman stamped her name into the school's all-time performance record book, as Zayna Fray-Samuel recorded a distance of 16.39 meters to finish fourth overall on the day and register the ninth-best mark in CCU history.

To cap off the season-opening meet, the Chanticleer team of Amelia Canetto, Arnold, Nya McGowan, and Glasco crossed the finish line in third with a time of 3:47.65 in the 4x400-meter relay, the eighth-best mark in school history for the relay event.
 
The Chanticleers will be back in action in one week, as CCU will return to South Carolina and Columbia for the Carolina Challenge on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 21-22.
 
Coastal's Top-10 Performances at the Gamecock Opener
 
60-meter dash
1. Melissa Jefferson – 7.29
3. Alexis Glasco – 7.45
6. Zahria Jones – 7.75
7. Kayla Sweeney – 7.83
 
60-meter hurdles
4. Alexis Glasco – 8.48
5. Sydney Clemens – 8.58
 
200-meter dash
5. Jermaisha Arnold – 24.44
6. Mekenze Kelley – 24.54
8. Kayla Sweeney – 24.95
9. Shani'a Bellamy – 25.33
 
400-meter dash
8. Lauren Gordon – 58.96
9. Amelia Canetto – 59.01
10. Nya McGowan – 59.62
 
1-mile run
9. Amilia Wise-Sweat – 5:16.01
10. Ashley Rulison – 5:16.26
 
3000-meters
2. Molly Jones – 9:55.45
5. Meagan Moreno – 10:31.10
 
High Jump
4. Kadasia Evans – 1.60 meters
4. Camryn Lorick – 1.60 meters
 
Long Jump
5. Keiran Martin – 5.45 meters
8. Kelsia Moore – 5.03 meters
 
Pole Vault
3. Kynnedy Dennis – 3.35 meters
5. Alyssa Gregory – 3.20 meters
6. Annika Hummel – 3.20 meters
 
Shot Put
4. Alexis Estep – 12.66 meters
 
Triple Jump
6. Kelsia Moore – 10.99 meters
 
Weight Throw
4. Zayna Fray-Samuel – 16.39 meters
9. Alexis Estep – 13.99 meters
 
4x400-meter relay
3. Amelia Canetto, Jermaisha Arnold, Nya McGowan, Alexis Glasco – 3:47.65
8. Zahria Jones, Camryn Lorick, Shani'a Bellamy, Kayla Sweeney – 4:06.74
 
Men's High Jump
3. Jens Rueckert Jr. – 1.98 meters
 
For complete coverage of CCU Cross Country and Track & Field, follow the Chanticleers on social media at @CoastalTFXC (Twitter), @GoCCUsports (Instagram), and facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook), or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at www.GoCCUsports.com.