For Georgia’s Track and Field Teams, 13 Is Not Unlucky

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For Georgia’s Track and Field Teams, 13 Is Not Unlucky

Georgia's Ashinia Miller in the discus event during the Georgia Relays at the Spec Towns Track on Saturday, March 19, 2016 in Athens, Ga. (Photo by John Kelley/UGA)
Georgia’s Ashinia Miller in the discus event during the Georgia Relays at the Spec Towns Track on Saturday, March 19, 2016 in Athens, Ga.
(Photo by John Kelley/UGA)

 
 
Georgia’s track and field teams captured 13 more victories on the second day of the Georgia Relays in Athens on Saturday.
 
 
On the weekend, the Bulldogs finished with 18 wins in their outdoor season opener at the Spec Towns Track.
 
 
Building on the momentum of two second-place finishes in the hammer and shot on Friday, junior Asianna Covington won the discus on Saturday after her fifth of six throws traveled 151 feet, 3 inches.
 
 
Freshman Hayden Merrick, competing for the first time this weekend as a Bulldog, was the runner-up in the discus after her sixth and final toss traveled 148-7. This puts her at No. 10 on the all-time top-10 UGA list.
 
 
True freshman Denzel Comenentia hit a mark of 174-9 on his second try to win the discus after also finishing first in the hammer throw on Friday. His senior teammate Ashinia Miller finished second in the discus at 167-8.
 
 
Junior Georgia Stefanidi opened her outdoor season by winning the pole vault. The Pallini, Greece, native cleared 12-5.50 on her first attempt. Georgia’s older sister, Ekaterini Stefanidi, was third in the pole vault (15-9) at this week’s World Indoor Championships in Portland, Ore.
 
 
Starting his final season in the red and black, senior Zack Sims outlasted former Bulldog Matt Cleaver in the men’s 1500-meter run. Sims passed Cleaver, a two-time SEC steeplechase champion, near the final turn to clock a 3:47.77. Cleaver was second at 3:48.49 while sophomore Bryan Kamau registered a time of 3:52.36 for third.
 
 
During the 3000m, senior Brooke Koblitz (9:58.56) earned top honors while Kate Northrop (10:11.87) and Kingsley Green (10:17.01) got the Lady Bulldogs a 1-2-3 finish in the event.
 
 
The Bulldog men finished with the top two spots and third through sixth in the 3000m. Senior Sid Vaughn won the race after completing his laps in 8:29.45 as freshman Daniel Navarro (8:43.65) came away with a second-place finish.
 
 
Senior Ashley Henry, who is also rounding out her career this season, won the women’s 400m thanks to a 55.03. Sophomore Devon Artis also ran a 55.75 for second-place honors.
 
 
Sophomore Derrick White completed the Georgia sweep in the 400m after finishing the men’s race in 48.03.
 
 
Georgia also swept the 100m races with personal-best times. Sophomore Katie Stone shot across the line in 11.82 and senior Jon Okoye ran a 10.45 to win by .02 in the men’s race.
 
 
To conclude action at the Georgia Relays, the UGA 4x400m relay teams tallied victories on both the men’s and women’s sides. Ashley Henry, Devon Artis, Natalie Bordes and Catelyn Schmiedebusch combined to clock a 3:50.25 to finish first for the women. Derrick White, Jeramey Hampton, Maurice Freeman and Kisean Smith finished .01 seconds behind the winning squad to take second with a 3:12.08.
 
 
In addition, senior Leontia Kallenou won the high jump (5-8.75) on a first attempt clearance.
 
 
Junior Ayrian Evans, sophomore Raytez Jenkins, junior Reggie Glover and junior Maurice Freeman started their campaign by grabbing the top collegiate finish (second overall) in the 4x100m with a time of 40.09.
 
 
Georgia gets back to work next weekend at the Yellow Jacket Invitational in Atlanta on March 25-26.
 
 
Live results and a recap from each day of the Georgia Relays can be found at georgiadogs.com.
 
 
Updates from Georgia’s track and field and cross country program can always be found on Twitter/Instagram (@UGATrack).
 
 

 
 


 
 
 
 

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