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An All-Star cast of High School Athletes are Scheduled to Compete at the Clemson High School Invitational
By Cory Mull
Over 600 high school athletes and 100 teams from across the Southeastern and Southern United States are scheduled to compete at the Clemson High School Invitational on January 12 at Clemson University’s Indoor Track & Field Complex.
Notable athletes will include emerging stars such as Sarah Marshall, a high school freshman at Hebron Christian Academy; Cole Strother, a high school senior at Covington Newton High School; and Somto Igwilo, a high school sophomore at Walton High School. All three hail from Georgia.
Athletes from Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas and South Carolina are also expected to compete.
Marshall will arrive on the Clemson University track with aplomb, having netted two U.S. No. 1 all-time marks in eighth-grade history in 2024. The All-American sprinter clocked indoor times of 7.52 seconds for 60 meters and 24 seconds for 200 meters and followed with personal best outdoor times of 11.63 and 23.79 seconds for the 100 meter and 200 meter events.
“I’m looking forward to making a name for myself and letting everyone know I’m here,” Marshall said of the Clemson meet. “I want to let everybody know that I may be a freshman, but I’m up there. I’m with the big dogs and I want everybody to know that.”
With her freshman season only in its infancy, Marshall says she has high hopes for the next four years of her track career.
“I’ve just grown to fall in love with the sport and it’s grown on me,” she added. “It’s amazing I’ve been gifted with this talent to be so good at my sport, and I want to continue to see where this takes me.”
For Strother, meanwhile, the beginning of his 2025 season will mark an important time for his future. While the Georgia native owns personal best times of 21.73 seconds in the 200 meters and 47.79 seconds in the 400 meters – efforts that deem him collegiate-ready – he remains unsigned.
However, multiple NCAA Division I programs, including Pittsburgh, Georgia Tech and Houston, have expressed interest.
“I want to show everyone I’m one of the best in the nation,” said Strother, who currently owns a U.S. No. 2 time of 47.79 from Dec. 8. “That’s the goal. Make a statement and get my name out there and show coaches I’m one of the best.”
A few factors working in Strother’s favor are his youthful legs – the 2024 season represented the first healthy year of his track career – and his familial history. His father, Steven, ran for Auburn University in the 80s.
With that being said, Strother is eyeing some big performances in 2025.
“The goal is to run 45 and 20 this year,” he said of the 400 meter and 200 meter events. “I want to run top 10 and top five marks in the nation, get All-American status indoors and outdoors and come in first place at state.”
The Clemson High School Invitational will feature 11 individual events and the 4x200 and 4x400 relays across a full day’s worth of action.
For full performance lists and participating teams, visit CoachO.
Meet Information
Meet Details
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