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Gray, Olds Named to SEC Community Service Team
Track and Field  . 

Gray, Olds Named to SEC Community Service Team

COLUMBIA, S.C. – University of South Carolina Track and Field student-athletes Kensi Gray and David Olds were named to the 2021 Southeastern Conference Track and Field Community Service Team, the conference announced on Friday. It is the first such honor for both athletes.

Olds served as a volunteer during the 2020 Census, assisting in creating and running four separate community/neighborhood events to advertise the census to reach and have conversations with thousands of residents about the census importance in underserved communities. He worked with the Columbia Urban League Young Professionals (CULYP), managing student-athlete volunteers to polling places to pass out water/food. He served with the Out of the Garden Project in Greensboro, North Carolina, volunteering multiple times to pack and distribute food to families, assisting with ‘mobile fresh food markets’ to reach and distribute to families in food deserts with fresh produce and food items.

On the track Olds was one of Carolina’s top distance runners. He competed at six outdoor track and field meets, including the SEC Outdoor Championships, and posted outdoor personal records in the 1500m, 800m and the indoor Mile Run. 

Gray served in three main capacities this year. She volunteered as a medical assistant at the Free Medical Clinic, an organization that provides care for the uninsured. As a member of AED (Alpha Epsilon Delta), a pre-professional health society, she had the opportunity serve food to the homeless, volunteer in the Salvation Army store/warehouse, and help set up for a charity event for Palmetto Place, a shelter for abused/ neglected children and homeless teens. Lastly, she volunteered with FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) helping collect blankets for the local homeless and put together shoe boxes of school supplies for two area schools.

Gray competed in five track meets for the Gamecocks during the 2020-21 season. The Knoxville, Tenn., native primarily ran in the 800m during the season and posted a new indoor personal record of 2:14.77 at the USC Indoor Open. 
 
Carolina’s outdoor season will continue for those who qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships from June 9-12. The meet will take place at the newly reimagined historic Hayward Field at the University of Oregon.
 
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