The Georgia Bulldogs’ track and field teams will be competing in the Virginia Challenge in Charlottesville, VA this weekend in their last regular season away meet.
While a dozen sprinters and middle distance runners competed at the Gamecock Invitational last weekend, this will be the first action for many of the Bulldogs since the Spec Towns Invitational and Bulldog Decathlon/Heptathlon in Athens on April 7-9.
Who Traveled For The Dogs?:
The fifth-ranked Georgia men and seventh-ranked Lady Bulldogs are traveling to 35 to the University of Virginia’s campus. For the Bulldog men, seniors Devon Williams, Alex Poursanidis, Sid Vaughn, juniors Karl Saluri, Jon Moses, Alex Larsson, Bryan Kamau, sophomores Keenon Laine, Denzel Comenentia, Daniel Navarro, Jeramey Hampton, Eric Westog and freshmen Darius Carbin, Stephen Martinez, Tyler Jones and Jonathan Pelham are slated to compete.
Seniors Kendell Williams, Georgia Stefanidi, Asianna Covington, juniors Keturah Orji, Hailey Branch, Morgan Ainslie, Mady Fagan, Addy Lippitt, Tatiana Gusin, Anna Machovec, sophomores Kate Hall, Aliyah Johnson, Hayden Merrick and freshmen Louisa Grauvogel, Jessica Drop, Sam Drop, Yanely Gomez, Tairyn Montgomery and Kayla Smith will be suiting up for the Red and Black.
When Does The Virginia Challenge Start For The Dogs?:
Merrick will start the competition for Georgia in the women’s hammer at 10 a.m. on Friday. An All-American long jumper indoors this year, Hall will run her first 100-meter dash as a Bulldog to jumpstart the track events for UGA at 1:30 p.m.
Navarro cranks up the action on Saturday in the 5000m at 9:35 a.m. Kendell Williams and Grauvogel, who are training for the heptathlon, are scheduled to start the javelin at 10 a.m. to begin the field events on day two.
Live Results:
To check on Georgia’s progress at the Virginia Challenge, please visit the live results link at: http://gado.gs/7d5.
CLICK HERE for the Virginia Challenge Start Lists.
CLICK HERE for the Virginia Challenge Schedule.
Kyprianou’s Comments:
“We are excited to return to Charlottesville for the Virginia Challenge,” said Petros Kyprianou, who is wrapping up his second year as the Bulldogs’ head coach. “It is a great opportunity for our teams to compete in an environment similar to Eugene (Ore.) with the weather being unpredictable and a little colder than we are used to. It sounds crazy but we have to expose our student-athletes to any and all conditions so they are prepared for anything.
“We had a very good showing at this meet last year and I am expecting the same this weekend. It is a great opportunity for all of our groups to prepare for competition on a surface and in weather that is very similar to Oregon’s. I am eager to watch our distance runners run as it is traditionally a very well organized meet for runners with quality competition and cooler temperatures to achieve better times in the longer distances. The goal as always remains to keep our team healthy and happy while we provide them with the best experience we can on and off the track. We want to make sure we capitalize at the end of the season when the NCAA meet arrives.
“Our student-athletes are well trained and the coaches have done a good job in preparing and working towards maximizing each and every team member’s potential. We do have a lot of quality competitors who are trying to get healthy and it has been a struggle, but like I said earlier, the coaching staff has done a good job of making the necessary adjustments to get the best out of every situation. Virginia is the first meet of our second and most important part of the outdoor season, which means it is time to turn the heat on.”
What’s Up Next For The Dogs After Virginia?:
The Bulldogs return home for the inaugural Torrin Lawrence Memorial on May 6 and then will return to Columbia, S.C., for the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships on May 11-13. The remainder of the postseason includes the NCAA East Prelims in Lexington, Ky., (May 25-27) and the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore. (June 7-10).