Bears Register Five Top-10 Finishes At USC Invite

Saturday, February 21

Columbia, S.C.

All Day

Mercer University

(1) USC Invite

Bears Register Five Top-10 Finishes At USC Invite

2/21/2026 6:44:00 PM | Track & Field

Results

By: Todd Anderson, anderson_t02@mercer.edu

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Sophomore Akira Brown recorded a mark of 7.80 seconds on the way to a fifth-place finish in the 60m Dash and led a parade of five Bears with top-10 finishes on Saturday at the USC Invite inside the Carolina Indoor Track & Field Complex.

Freshman Shanise Newton finished sixth in the 400m Dash for the Bears as well, while sophomores Jayla Simmons and Naomi Pierce logged a seventh- and ninth-place finish, respectively, in the Long Jump. It was business as usual for redshirt senior Charity Obazughanmwen who logged a ninth-place showing in the 200m Dash.

Brown finished eighth in the preliminary round of the 60m Dash with a time of 7.82, and then posted a personal-best time of 7.77 seconds in the semifinal round of the discipline before showing out in the finals.

The Bears will open the outside portion of its their 2026 outdoor track & field schedule, March 19-21, when the distance runners head north for the Charlotte-hosted 49er Invitational, while the sprinters, jumpers and hurdlers compete at the UCF Black & Gold Invitational.

USC INVITE (FEBRUARY 21)
60m Dash (Prelims)
8	Akira Brown	7.82
13	TaLaya Broaders	7.93
18	Melissa Ubani	! 8.02

60m Dash (Semifinals)
6	Akira Brown	! 7.77
11	TaLaya Broaders	7.89

60m Dash (Finals)
5	Akira Brown	7.80

60m Hurdles (Prelims)
13	Arielle Livingston	8.87

200m Dash
9	Charity Obazughanmwen	24.85
18	TaLaya Broaders	! 25.82
21	Laila Stowe	26.13
23	Akira Brown	! 26.48

400m Dash
6	Shanise Newton	59.80
11	Carmen Pollard	1:01.71

Long Jump
7	Chiara Belfico	5.41m
9	Naomi Pierce	5.19m
18	Lauryn McDougald	4.68m
19	Jayla Battle	4.47m

! - Personal Best Time/Mark