NCAA TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS: 21 Bulldogs Travel to Oregon

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NCAA TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS: 21 Bulldogs Travel to Oregon

Jenna Wargo throws the javelin during the Spec Towns Invitational Track and Field Meet on Saturday, April 11, 2015 in Athens, Ga. (Photo by Sean Taylor)
[su_spacer size=”20″] The last two teams competing during the 2014-15 school year for the University of Georgia start their final meet with the NCAA Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Ore., on Wednesday.
[su_spacer size=”40″] The Georgia men and Lady Bulldogs, who are both ranked seventh in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) poll, traveled a combined 21 team members across the country to compete at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field.  Thirteen Bulldogs and eight Georgia women will work to repeat or improve on their top-six national outdoor team finishes in 2014.
[su_spacer size=”40″] “Going into the Championship meet, the only thing that counts is the final results,” said Georgia head coach Wayne Norton.  “So we have to go in and compete hard.  If we do the same things we have been doing most of the year, we should be all right.  Ultimately, we expect to be high up in the rankings when it’s all said and done.”
[su_spacer size=”40″] “If you look at our team, we have a lot of people who are ranked high nationally and some of those were ranked high all last year as well.  When you have done it already and you are ranked high, that means you have a chance and that’s all you can ask for confidence wise.  We feel really good about who we have qualified and where we are going in.”
[su_spacer size=”40″] Seniors Drew Branch (400-meter hurdles), Charles Grethen (800), Garrett Scantling (decathlon), Nick Vena (shot put) and Brandon Lord (10,000), juniors Jamario Calhoun (4×400 relay) and Maicel Uibo (decathlon), sophomores Alex Poursanidis (hammer), Alex Larsson (hammer), Reggie Glover (4×400 relay alternate), Devon Williams (decathlon) and Ayrian Evans (4×400 relay) and freshman Raytez Jenkins (4×400 relay) will represent the Georgia men.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Graduate student Jenna Wargo (javelin), senior Quintunya Chapman (heptathlon), juniors Freya Jones (javelin), Chanice Porter (long jump, high jump) and Leontia Kallenou (high jump), sophomores Kendell Williams (heptathlon) and Tatiana Gusin (high jump) and freshman Keturah Orji (triple jump, long jump) will be lining up for the Lady Bulldogs.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Live telecasts of the Championships will be shown at 7-10:30 p.m. ET (ESPNU) on Wednesday, at 7-8:30 p.m. (ESPNU) and 8:30-10:30 p.m. (ESPN) on Thursday, at 7:30-10 p.m. (ESPN) on Friday and 5-7:30 p.m. (ESPN2) on Saturday.
[su_spacer size=”40″] In addition, live field and decathlon/heptathlon coverage will be featured on ESPN3 on Wednesday at 2 p.m., Thursday at 1 p.m., Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
[su_spacer size=”40″] The four-day meet begins with the first event of the heptathlon (100 hurdles) at 2 p.m. on Wednesday.  Chapman and Williams are part of the 24-woman field in the heptathlon.  The decathlon’s first event (100) is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. later that afternoon and Scantling, Uibo and Williams will start their first of 10 events.
[su_spacer size=”40″] The first individual event of the Championships is the men’s hammer throw at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday.  Poursanidis and Larsson will represent the Bulldogs in this event.  The first open event on the track is the men’s 4×100 relay.  Georgia opens its action on the track with Grethen in the 800 semifinal at 8:54 p.m. on Wednesday evening.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Other than the heptathlon for the women and decathlon for the men running Wednesday and Thursday, all events on Wednesday and Friday will be men’s individual events.  All of the women’s individual events will be competed on Thursday and Saturday, marking the first time the NCAA has carried out this plan.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Last year, Kallenou and Williams won national championships in their respective events while Porter (long jump), Jones, Chapman and graduated senior Megan Malasarte (800) were also First Team All-Americans for the Georgia women who finished fifth with 35 points.  This marked their best finish since taking fourth in 1999 and their eighth top-10 outdoor finish since 1995.
[su_spacer size=”40″] On the men’s side in 2014, Uibo captured his first NCAA title and Vena, Poursanidis and Scantling also scored for the Bulldogs.  Georgia was sixth with 24 points, which was the team’s best outdoor finish in history and its sixth top-10 outdoor finish in history (first since 1995).
[su_spacer size=”20″] [su_spacer size=”40″] NCAA Outdoor Championships Qualifiers
WOMEN
Name                            Event                           NCAA Performance List
Keturah Orji                    Triple jump                     2nd (43 feet, 10 ¾ inches)
Quintunya Chapman               Heptathlon                      2nd (6,146)
Freya Jones                     Javelin                         4th (177-0)
Chanice Porter          Long jump                       5th (21-1.25)
Kendell Williams                Heptathlon                      7th (6,003)
Leontia Kallenou                High jump                       10th (5-11.50)
Jenna Wargo                     Javelin                         10th (165-4)
Porter                          High jump                       11th (5-11.50)
Tatiana Gusin                   High jump                       13th (5-11.50)
Orji                            Long jump                       21st (20-0.25)

MEN
Name                            Event                           NCAA Performance List
Maicel Uibo                     Decathlon                       1st (8,326)
Garrett Scantling               Decathlon                       2nd (8,232)
Alex Poursanidis                Hammer throw            7th (219 feet, 2 inches)
Charles Grethen         800m                            9th (1:47.30)
Alex Larsson                    Hammer throw            11th (216-0)
Brandon Lord                    10,000m                 12th (29:52.97)
Ayrian Evans, Branch    4x400m relay                    13th (3:05.12)
Jamario Calhoun, Raytez Jenkins
Nick Vena                       Shot put                        16th (62-1)
Drew Branch                     400mH                   20th (50.85)
Devon Williams          Decathlon                       22nd (7,341)
*Reggie Glover is the alternate for the men’s 4x400m relay team

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