UGA Athletes Grab SEC, National Awards

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UGA Athletes Grab SEC, National Awards

Tatiana Gusin clears the high jump bar  (Photo by John Kelley)
Tatiana Gusin clears the high jump bar (Photo by John Kelley)

 
 
UGA athletes picked up conference and/or national awards for their performances in the past week.
 
Emily Cameron has been chosen as the Southeastern Conference Female Swimmer of the Week, according to an announcement Tuesday by the league office.

Cameron, a senior from Lititz, Pa., won two individual events and was on a victorious relay during the Lady Bulldogs’ meet with Arkansas on Thursday. She won the 100 breaststroke in 1:03.55 and the 200 breaststroke in 2:15.81. Cameron also swam the breaststroke leg of the 200 medley ​relay that touched first in 1:42.07. She placed third in the 100 butterfly with a time of 55.79.

Behind Cameron, Georgia improved to 5-0 overall and 3-0 in the SEC. She helped Georgia extend its home winning streak to 103 straight dating back to 1995, and she helped keep the Lady Bulldogs undefeated in their last 39 dual meets overall (38-0-1) and in their last 20 SEC meets (19-0-1) dating back to 2013.
 
 
Highlighted by senior Tatiana Gusin being named the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Women’s Athlete of the Week, the Bulldog program has combined for four national and Southeastern Conference weekly honors following the teams’ season opener.

Gusin garnered the USTFCCCA honor as well as the SEC Women’s Field Athlete of the Year for her winning performance in the high jump at the Orange & Purple Classic in Clemson, S.C., over the weekend.

True freshman Darius Carbin (high jump) and Jessica Drop (3000 meters) also swept the SEC Freshman of the Week accolades during the first collegiate track meets of their career.

Gusin, a native of Orhei, Moldova, returned in triumphant fashion after redshirting the 2016 outdoor season while recovering from an injury. On Saturday, she finished first in the high jump with a personal-best mark of 6 feet, 2 3Ž4 inches.

This moved her into a tie for second in the school record books with three-time Olympian and Rio finalist Levern Spencer. Gusin’s performance also shot her to the top of the national list by two inches and put her second on the current world list. She had three first-attempt clearances before clearing her personal record on her third try to top FIU’s Clarissa Cutliff, who sits second nationally at 6-0.75.

Carbin, a native of San Jose, Calif., left Clemson with the best mark in the high jump for the Georgia men since 1996 to finish third. Carbin had two first-attempt clearances before going over the bar at 7-2.50 on his third try to match the height reached by Bulldog teammate and sophomore transfer Keenon Laine.

These 7-2.50 marks move them into a tie for second on the national performance list, a tie for fourth in the world in 2017 and split the eighth spot in the school record books.

Drop, a native of Durham, Conn., opened her collegiate track career by winning the 3000m by 10 seconds with a 9:41.43. This time was the best for a freshman this season nationally (fifth overall), is the top time in the SEC this year and is the fastest finish in the race for UGA since 2014. Also of note, Jessica’s twin sister Sam won the 5000m during the same meet with a 17:06.68.
 
 
 
 

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Greg is closing in on 15 years writing about and photographing UGA sports. While often wrong and/or out of focus, it has been a long, strange trip full of fun and new friends.