2018 Bulldog Indoor Track & Field
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2018 Bulldog Indoor Georgia Women Capture Program’s First Track & Field NCAA Team Title Bulldogs Combine For National Leading 93 Final Ranking: Women - ^*1st (*61 pts.), Men - *3rd (32 pts.) Points As 14 Of 15 Score At NCAAs ^first NCAA team title; *school records In 2017, the Georgia women left College Station, Texas, 2018 Schedule / Results with a runner-up finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships Date Event (Location) Results and then departed Eugene, Ore., with another second-place finish by just 1.8 points at last year’s national outdoor meet. 1/6 Orange & Purple Classic (Clemson, S.C.) NTS In 2018, the Lady Bulldogs switched from silver to gold and 1/19-20 Clemson Invitational (Clemson, S.C.) NTS brought the program’s first NCAA team title back to Athens. 1/26-27 Razorback Invitational (Fayetteville, Ark.) NTS This marked the 43rd overall team title for the UGA Athletic 2/9-10 Tiger Paw Invitational (Clemson, S.C.) NTS Association and 30th overall for the women (first since 2/9-10 ISU Classic (Ames, Iowa) NTS swimming and dive in 2016). 2/24-25 SEC Championships (College Station, Texas) W-2nd (84.5), M-5th (71) Ranked No. 1 going into the NCAA Championships, 3/9-10 NCAA Championships (College Station, Texas) W-*1st (*61), M-*3rd (32) Georgia traveled seven women and six of them scored in a *School records; NTS - No Team Score total of 10 events for a school record 61 points, including individual crowns for senior Keturah Orji (triple jump) and Bulldog Postseason Awards NCAA Champions junior Kate Hall (long jump). In addition, eight Bulldog men SEC Women’s Field Athlete of the Year - Keturah Orji *Sr. Keturah Orji - Triple Jump - 1st (@46 ft., 10 in.) traveled and all scored in a combined nine events to score SEC Women’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year - *Jr. Kate Hall - Long Jump - 1st ($22-1) 32 points and finish third, which was also the top finish in Keturah Orji *First Team All-American; @meet/facility record; school history. SEC Co-Women’s Freshman Field Athlete of the Year - $school record Together, the Georgia men and women combined for 93 Tara Davis points, which was 21 points ahead of the nearest program SEC Men’s Freshman Field Athlete of the Year - NCAA Indoor All-Americans nationwide. The Lady Bulldogs became the fourth SEC team Johannes Erm *Sr. Keturah Orji - Triple Jump - 1st (@46-10) to win an NCAA indoor team title and first from the league USTFCCCA National Women’s Field Athlete of the Year *Jr. Kate Hall - Long Jump - ^1st ($22-1) to accomplish the feat since 2015. - Keturah Orji *Jr. Denzel Comenentia - Shot Put - 2nd (66-7) The championship run gave the Lady Bulldogs’ their sixth USTFCCCA South Region Women’s Field Athlete of the *Sr. Keturah Orji - Long Jump - ^2nd (21-4.75) straight top-10 NCAA indoor finish, including five top-three Year - Keturah Orji *Fr. Tara Davis - Long Jump - ^3rd (21-4) performances in a row. The Georgia men secured their second USTFCCCA South Region Men’s Field Athlete of the *Fr. Lynna Irby - 200m - 3rd ($22.55) consecutive top-five showing and only second in history. Year - Denzel Comenentia *Fr. Lynna Irby - 400m - 3rd (50.87) Third-year head coach Petros Kyprianou garnered USTFCCCA South Region Women’s Runner of the Year *So. Jessica Drop - 5000m - 4th (15:53.16) USTFCCCA National Women’s Coach of the Year honors - Lynna Irby *Sr. Cejhae Greene - 60m - 4th (6.61) for the second time in his career while leading his squads to USTFCCCA South Region Women’s Coach of the Year - *Fr. Johannes Erm - Heptathlon - 4th (5,988 pts.) their record-breaking finishes. Also, Kyprianou add women’s Petros Kyprianou *So. Louisa Grauvogel - Pentathlon - 5th (4,318 pts.) sprints/hurdles coach Althea Thomas to the staff prior to USTFCCCA National Women’s Coach of the Year - *Jr. Keenon Laine - High Jump - 6th (7-2.50) the season and his move helped pay immediate dividends. Petros Kyprianou *Jr. Denzel Comenentia - Weight Throw - 6th (73-8) Orji was the meet’s second-leading scorer and continued *Jr. Kate Hall - 60m - 6th (7.24) to prove that she is one of the most accomplished student- pair of third-place finishes (200m, 400m) at the NCAA Indoor *Fr. Tara Davis - 60mH - 6th (+8.14) athletes in UGA history. The SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Championships. The USTFCCCA South Region Women’s *So. Darius Carbin - High Jump - 7th (7-2.50) Year became only the second competitor in history to win Track Athlete of the Year topped her own school record *Jr. Kendal Williams - 60m - 7th (6.65) three NCAA indoor triple jump crowns after soaring for a meet with a 22.55 in the NCAA 200m final and shot to No. 5 on *Jr. Michael Nicholls - 60mH - 7th (7.77) record distance of 46 feet, 10 inches. Orji was named the the collegiate all-time performer list in the 400m (50.62) *Sr. Karl Saluri - Heptathlon - 7th (5,781 pts.) USTFCCCA National Indoor Women’s Field Athlete of during her second-place finish in the event at SECs. #Sr. Mady Fagan - High Jump - 12th (5-9.25) the Year, an honor that she has won one other time indoors Another freshman standout, Tara Davis, also scored in a ^first instance of a team finishing 1-2-3 in a women’s and once outdoors. pair of events during her first collegiate season. The SEC field event indoors at NCAAs; #Second Team Orji also became the first woman to win four SEC titles in Co-Women’s Freshman Field Athlete of the Year reg- All-American; +Davis ran a World Junior/school record the same indoor field event and completes her indoor career istered a school record and World Junior record 60m hurdle of 7.98 in the 60mH prelims with the top eight triple jump marks in collegiate history. In time of 7.98 in the prelims at NCAAs before taking sixth in addition, Orji collected an American and collegiate record in the final. She complemented that finish by taking third in SEC Indoor Champions her featured event with an effort of 47-8 during her season the long jump behind Hall and Orji with another personal Sr. Keturah Orji - Triple Jump (&46-6.25) debut at the Clemson Invitational. best of 21-4. Jr. Denzel Comenentia - Weight Throw (77-9.50) The Lady Bulldogs’ second 2018 NCAA indoor champion Drop became the first Lady Dog All-American in the 5000m Jr. Kate Hall - Long Jump (21-9.50) was Hall after the Casco, Maine, native soared a school record since 1990 thanks to a fourth-place finish. Georgia’s other Fr. Lynna Irby - 200m ($22.66) distance of 22-1 to win her first indoor long jump crown (she four points came from sophomore Louisa Grauvogel, who Fr. Johannes Erm - Heptathlon (5,716 pts.) was already the 2017 NCAA outdoor champion). In fact, the tallied a career best 4,318 points to take fifth in the pentathlon. &facility record 2018 SEC champion led a historic 1-2-3 Bulldog finish in the When the final team standings had been posted, Georgia had event at Nationals, a feat that had never happened in NCAA bested Arkansas by 12 points for the first-place hardware. Freshman Field Athlete of the Year, combined over two history in a women’s field event. Hall also clocked a school Meanwhile, the Bulldog men were also packing up with days to secure the highest heptathlon score in his career record time of 7.17 in the 60-meter dash and was sixth in their best finish in school history at third place. Junior Denzel (5,988) thanks to six personal records. the final for another First Team All-America certificate. Comenentia, who was the USTFCCCA South Region Men’s While junior Kendal Williams managed to give UGA When Georgia fell 1.8 points short of claiming the 2017 Field Athlete of the Year, set the school shot put record a second scorer in the 60m with a seventh-place finish outdoor championship, the team had no competitors on of 67-0.75 at the midseason Tiger Paw Invitational and under the watchful eye of sprints coach Ken Harnden, the the track since all of their qualifiers competed in the field. completed his campaign with a runner-up finish at NCAAs. Bulldogs watched junior Keenon Laine and sophomore This year, Thomas guided freshman sprinter Lynna Irby In the weight throw, Comenentia followed throws coach Don Darius Carbin go 6-7 in the high jump. to Nationals in a pair of events, distance coach Patrick Babbitt’s direction and shattered a facility record to win Perhaps the most pivotal points of the meet came from Cunniff directed sophomore Jessica Drop to the NCAA SECs with a mark of 77-9.50 and then scored at Nationals senior Karl Saluri, who had injured himself two weeks earlier Championships in the 5000m and Kyprianou, along with as- with a sixth-place finish. at SECs, and junior Michael Nicholls, a transfer who had sistant Tatijana Jacobson, coached freshman Tara Davis Another Georgia duo picked up fourth-place finishes to not been picked to score. Saluri battled to a seventh-place to score in the 60m hurdles as well as the long jump. keep the Bulldogs on their scoring pace. Senior Cejhae finish in the seventh and final event of the heptathlon while Irby, a native of Indianapolis, Ind., had a phenomenal first Greene made his debut at the NCAA Indoor Champion- Nicholls stayed consistent with a 7.77 to take seventh in the year with performances that included the 10th-best time in ships and matched his personal best with a 6.61 in the 60m hurdles.