CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The USC Upstate men's and women's track and field teams wrapped up their opening weekend of the 2012 outdoor season at the Charlotte 49er Classic today.

Junior Kenny Sugishita (Arroyo Grande, Calif.) set two school records today for the Spartan men. He earned fourth-place in the discus throw with a toss of 49.17 meters (161-04). The junior came in ninth in the shot put with throw of 15.08 meters (49-05.75). The previous Upstate record in the discus was 41.63 meters (136-07) set by Eric Chapman in 2011, while the previous shot put record was 13.99 meters (45-10.75) set by James Miles in 2008.

Upstate records continued to fall in the men's 800 meter run as junior Cameron Thomas (Niceville, Fla.) set a program-best time of 1:53.32, breaking the previous record of 1:53.97 set by sophomore Michael Johnson (Eglin, S.C.) last season.   

Sophomore Matt Johnson (Elgin, S.C.) competed in the men's 400-meter dash finals, after qualifying yesterday with a preliminary time of 48.07. In the finals today, he posted a fourth-place finish with a time of 48.18.

On the women's side, freshman Jasmine Polite (Goose Creek, S.C.) registered a personal-best time of 2:17.56 in the 800-meter. She was just 0.08 off of the school record.

The Spartan men came in ninth in the men's 4x100-meter relay as sophomore Joshua Powers (Spartanburg, S.C.), junior Brandon Curry (Anderson, S.C.), freshman Thomas Perkins (Lugoff, S.C.) and senior Perrish Goggins (Columbia, S.C.) recorded a time of 43.60. The Upstate women finished 13^th in the 4x100-meter relay as freshman Shawanda Stokes (Okatie, S.C.), freshman Brittany Walls, junior Velegar Mark (Spartanburg, S.C.) and sophomore Ashley Edmond (Hopkins, S.C.) posted a time of 52.02.

"This was definitely our first weekend back on the track after a month," said head coach Natalie Smith. "We had some highs and some lows, however for the most part we saw some of our athletes really compete well. As we move into the outdoor season, I am hoping that we progress as individuals and as a team each week, preparing ourselves for our outdoor championships. Our 400-meter and up crew are really getting after it and maintaining the great momentum that they had coming out of indoor season along with Kenny Sugishita. Therefore, I am looking for our jumpers and hurdlers to start making moves in the next week so that we can be more of a total package team. I do believe that they are up to the challenge. Confidence and heart go a long way in this sport."

Upstate returns to action March 24, traveling to Western Carolina. Follow the Spartans this season on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.