South Carolina's great
2001 recruiting class

Press Releases from USC

Men 

DECEMBER 5, 2000 
CONTACT: MICHELLE SCHMITT (803) 777-7872

CAROLINA TRACK AND FIELD WOMEN�S SIGNING CLASS ALREADY HAILED AS THE BEST IN THE COUNTRY BY MANY 

Columbia, SC - With four of the six ranked in the top five nationally by Track and Field News, the South Carolina women�s track and field team has signed six outstanding females to national letter of intents for 2001. The class is already being hailed around the country by many as one of the best ever. 

The Carolina women�s team begins competition in New York City on January 12 and has already been deemed the pre-season No. 1 nationally. The 2001 class includes: Khalilah Carpenter (Columbus, OH), Lashinda Demus (Palmdale, CA), Alexis Joyce (Denver, CO), Tiffany Ross (Miami, FL), Shevon Stoddart (Uniondale, NY) and Erica Whipple (West Palm Beach, FL). 

�This is the best signing class I have ever been associated with. That includes classes at North Carolina that had Marion Jones and then another class that included Monique Hennagan and LaTosha Collander. This class is equal or better,� said Carolina Head Coach Curtis Frye, the women�s outdoor national coach of the year in 1999. 

�I can�t imagine anyone in the country having a better women�s class than this one of US athletes. They are calling this class the Fab Five on the internet. We call them the Sensational Six. They are just a fabulous group of young ladies. We are excited more than ever about our possibilities for a national championship. They will make their mark on the NCAA and hopefully in 2004 will make an impact on the world level.� 

Khalilah Carpenter was the national high school champion in the 100 and 200m. A six-time Ohio state champion, she has competed all over the US and in Chile and Poland. She won the National Outdoor title in the 200m and was the runner-up in the 100m. She is ranked No. 1 in the 100m and No. 2 in the 200m by Track and Field News. Her personal bests are 11.37 in the 100m and 23.13 in the 200m. �Khaliah is outstanding. She has represented the US all over the world. She has the experience to be a phenomenal athlete,� said Frye. �She has not run indoor track.� 

Lashinda Demus, the 1999 Track and Field News Female Athlete of the Year, is the national champion in the 400m hurdles and the indoor 400m. She is on the record-holding 4x400m relay. She has won five national age group titles in the 800m. Her best times include 400m hurdles: 57.10, 100m hurdles: 13.60, 200m: 24.10 and 400m: 52.97. She is ranked No. 2 in the 300/400m hurdles by Track and Field News. �She represented the US at the Pan American games and won two titles. She is one of the top 400m runners in the country right now. Her goal this year is to break the national record in the 300m hurdles,� said Frye. 

Alexis Joyce is the individual national champion in the 60m and was second at Junior Nationals in the 100m. She ran the lead-off leg on the Pan American Junior champion 4x100m that set the world junior record in 1999. Her personal bests include 11.41 in the 100m and 23.54 in the 200m. �She is the leader of the fastest 4x100m relay run at the junior level in the world. She is one of the best young sprinters at her age ever. We are looking for some big things out of her,� said Frye. �She is a dynamo at 5� 1 and very powerful.� 

Frye calls Tiffany Ross the most unsung athlete of the class. She is ranked No. 3 in the 300/400m hurdles by Track and Field News. Ross has the third fastest time in the country in the 300m hurdles at 41.41, ran a 13.85 in the 100m hurdles and a 58.85 in the 400m hurdles. She was the Golden South champion in the 100m hurdles. �She has the third fastest time ever in the 400m hurdles, having run the race just once. She is versatile as a triple jumper and will make an immediate impact,� said Frye. 

Shevon Stoddart is the junior national champion in the 400m hurdles and was fourth at the US Championships. She has a personal best of 58.10 in the 400m hurdles, 24.20 in the 200m and 54.40 in the 400m. �One of the best athletes in the state of New York last year and was one of the top athletes nationally. She has the speed to be an NCAA top-level intermediate hurdler immediately and should be competing for the SEC title her freshman year,� said Frye. 

Erica Whipple was the first Flo Jo Award winner for the nation�s top youth track and field athlete. She is ranked No. 3 in the 100m, No. 5 in the 200m and No. 5 with the 4x100m relay by Track and Field News. She is a Junior Olympic national record holder. She has already won seven Florida state titles and is a five-time high school All-American. Her bests include a 11.30 in the 100m and 23.30 in the 200m. She set state records at 13 and 14 and national records at 15 and 16 in the 100m and 200m. �She won the Flo Jo award and everybody in America realizes she has the potential to be one of our top sprinters in the future. We are hoping we can monitor her and keep her on the path. She is already establishing herself as one of the best high school sprinters in the country,� said Frye.

MEN

DECEMBER 5, 2000 
CONTACT: MICHELLE SCHMITT (803) 777-7872

SOUTH CAROLINA TRACK AND FIELD MEN�S SIGNING CLASS ANNOUNCED TOP JUCO HURDLER, SPRINTER; TOP HIGH SCHOOL SPRINTER HEADED TO COLUMBIA IN 2001 

Columbia, SC - Signing the top junior college hurdler and sprinter and the top high school sprinter, the University of South Carolina men�s track and field program has signed three student-athletes to national letters of intent as announced today by head coach Curtis Frye. The class includes Jamel Ashley (Dublin, GA) Thomas Lewis (Fayetteville, NC) and Ricardo Moody (Colorado Springs, CO).

�This isn�t the top one or two classes in the country, but we feel it is top 10 in the country. We feel this class will help keep us one of the top programs in the country,� said head coach Curtis Frye, the national coach of the year for the men indoors in 1999. 

�We still have a couple out there. These three athletes are the best people in their areas in the country. An outstanding class, it�s not as deep as the women�s but we need to add a couple more. We are excited about the possibilities of these young men in 2001� 

Jamel Ashley is the No. 1 JUCO sprinter in the country. Ashley has run a 10.33 100m and a 20.8 200m. He was the runner-up in the 100m at the JUCO National Championship and was a multi-state champion in Georgia. �Jamel was the runner-up in the 200m at the JUCO nationals. He is a tall, strong sprinter. We think he adds a great deal of depth. He is an elite class athlete,� said Frye. 

Thomas Lewis is a multi-state champion from North Carolina. He was second in the Golden South meet in 1998 in the 400m. He has personal bests of 10.45 in the 100m, 20.80 in the 200m and 47.25 in the 400m. He is considered the No. 1 high school sprinter in the country. �He was injured his junior year. He was a national finalist in the 400m. Thomas is a sleeper. He is the No. 1 high school sprinter,� said Frye. 

Ricardo Moody is the JUCO national champion in the 110m hurdles and indoor 55m hurdles. He broke Terrence Trammell�s high school record in the hurdles his senior year. He was the National Scholastic champion in the 110m hurdles. He is fourth all-time on the 110m hurdles with a 13.32 FAT. He has a personal best of 13.80 in the 110m hurdles and he runs at Wallace State Community College in Alabama. �He is an outstanding prospect, having broken Terrence�s high school record. We look for him to this year be in the 13.5 and hopefully next year help us defend our hurdles titles,� said Frye.

Return to College Choices 2001 page