ORANGEBURG, SC – South Carolina State will be among 35 teams participating in the three-day (Mar. 18-20) CSU Shamrock Invitational beginning Thursday and hosted by Coastal Carolina at Myrtle Beach's Doug Shaw Stadium. The competition, which will feature a men's and women's division, gets underway daily at 9 a.m.

Thursday's competition will primarily include events in the women's heptathlon and men's decathlon. Preliminary field and running events begin Friday, with finals set for Saturday.

The meet is the second outdoor competition of the season for the SC State men and women, who opened their outdoor schedule with strong showings at the Savannah State Eye-opener Mar. 6. At that meet, the SC State women captured eight firsts and six runner-ups finishes, while the men won four events and were second in six. Several performers on both the men's and women's squads set personal best records as well.

At Myrtle Beach, SC State's best hope in the women' s division is in the sprints, the middle distance and distance races, the throws, the jumps and the relays. The men's strength is in the jumps, the relays and the throws.

Following this week's competition, SC State will travel to Columbia for the Mar. 27 Weems Baskin Invitational at the University of South Carolina.

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