Jax State opened the outdoor portion of the 2026 track and field schedule with a solid performance at the Yellow Jacket Invitational at Georgia Tech.
 
"There were a lot of positives to take away from this weekend," said coach Jeremy Provence. "Several athletes achieved personal bests in their events, and many others are already ahead of where they were at last year's opener. There was also a lot of growth in areas that didn't necessarily show up in the results.
 
"That being said, as a whole, we need to continue showing up mentally prepared and ready to compete. The ceiling is high for many, but it's not going to get easier as we progress through the season."
 
The 1500 group posted three of the 10 fastest times in program history led by Viola Jelpleting's eighth-place finish in 4:28.43 which is second fastest all-time. Charity Mabuza clocked a 4:33.84 which is the fourth-best time in program history to place 16th, and Faith Kurgoi finished in 4:45.61 which is 10^th fastest in program history.
 
Jepleting added a sixth-place finish in the 800 Meters on Saturday in 2:11.15 and Mabuza was 10^th in 2:12.19.
 
Mercy Jebet posted a time of 17:43.77 to finish 14^th in the 5000 meters for the sixth-fastest time in program history.
 
In the long jump, Tierra Agee was the runner-up with a best mark of 5.71 meters, good for eighth-best in program history. She missed first place by just six hundredths of a meter.
 
Aliyah Gidharry had a best mark of 40.17 meters to take 11^th in the Javelin and post the 10^th best mark in program history.
 
Freshman Cheyenne Hill was eighth in the 100 Meter Hurdles with a time of 14.1.
 
During Saturday's action, Agee, Tori Mack, Sky White, and Nicola Peters were second in the 4x100 Relay in a time of 47.31.
 
"We're looking forward to spring break, where we can focus on practice and travel to UCF for another competitive meet," said Provence.
 
The Gamecocks will compete again on March 27^th at the Knights Invitational in Orlando.