ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia’s track and field teams will make their second appearance in the last three weeks in Clemson, S.C., as they compete in this weekend’s Bob Pollock Invitational.
The teams’ second indoor meet of the year is slated to begin at 12 p.m. on Friday and finish following the 4×400-meter relays during the afternoon on Saturday. This will mark the Bulldogs’ second competition at the Clemson Indoor Complex in 2020.
Georgia and Clemson will join Florida State, Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, South Alabama and Youngstown State at the meet.
Where Are The Dogs Ranked: The Lady Bulldogs are ranked No. 3 in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) preseason poll while the Georgia men are No. 24. The first regular-season poll is expected on Monday.
Live Results: For live results to Saturday’s meet, please visit: http://gado.gs/45k
Kyprianou’s Comments: “We are excited to return to a Clemson facility where we have already had success this year,” said head coach Petros Kyprianou. “This is the second regular-season weekend of competition out of four indoors this year so we have to make the best out of each opportunity. Our goal is for our leaders to lead by example and for our many newcomers to continue to adjust to collegiate competition and rise up to the levels that we know they can. I am very optimistic about both of these teams going forward. Go Dawgs!”
Who’s Competing & When: Thirty-one Georgia women and 22 Bulldog men are scheduled to compete for UGA. Junior Johannes Erm and freshmen Matthew Boling, Kyle Garland, and Karel Tilga are scheduled to begin the meet for the Bulldogs in the men’s long jump at 12 p.m. on Friday.
Others competing for the Georgia women are: graduate Victoria Powell, seniors Kayla Smith, Ansley Heavern, Katie Jackson, Makenzi Kopp, Micaiah Ransby, Amber Tanner, juniors Jessica Drop, Samantha Drop, Destiny Jackson, Hallie McClintock, Tiffany Yue, Chelsea Zoller, sophomores Anna Marian Block, Courtney Long, Titiana Marsh, Imani Carothers, Emily Doherty, Sterling Lester and freshmen Jasmine Moore, Julia Fixsen, Anna Hall, Gracie Jauch, Sara Bailey, Grace Clements, Ellie Hall, Ani Henderson, Arria Minor, Marisa Petit, Nicole Pachuta and Shelby Tyler.
In addition to the four men listed above, senior Darius Carbin, juniors Jack Bradley, Nate Reichard, Taylor Scarbrough, Davis Stockwell, Delano Dunkley, Michael Hans, Justes Nance, sophomores Elija Godwin, Labo Oke and freshmen Sam Bowers, Caleb Cavanaugh, Chase Condra, Haze Farmer, Tyler Fox, Wesley John, Curtis Borden, and Collin Lark are scheduled to line up for Georgia.
What To Watch For In Clemson: A variety of Bulldogs will be competing in their featured events or debuting in an event that are of note. Here are a number of items to watch:
FRIDAY
- Men’s long jump at 12 p.m.: Boling will be jumping for the second time in his UGA career after securing the No. 10 spot in the school record books with a mark of 24 feet, 7 ¼ inches in the opener; Erm, the two-time defending SEC heptathlon champion and 2019 NCAA decathlon winner, will be opening in the long jump and currently sits seventh on the UGA all-time list after traveling 25-0.75 at the 2018 NCAA meet.
- Women’s 60mH prelims at 1 p.m.: Carothers shot out of the blocks in 2020 by tying her career best with an 8.25 (No. 5 in UGA record books) in the opener; Lester will return to action in the event after moving to eighth on the all-time list in 2019 with an 8.33; Anna Hall is expanding her competition events as she prepares for her first pentathlon as well.
- Men’s 60mH prelims at 1:15 p.m.: Garland and Erm, who are training for the combined events, both clocked sub-8.10 times in the opener as Erm set a new personal record at 8.08.
- Women’s Mile at 1:30 p.m.: The Drop twins make their season debuts after both advancing to the 2019 NCAA Cross Country Championships and having success in a variety of track events over the past three years.
- Men’s 60m prelims at 2:30 p.m.: Boling also gets back to work in the 60m after opening his career two weeks ago with UGA’s third-fastest time in history/the NCAA’s 16th-best finish this year at 6.68; Godwin, the 2019 SEC Co-Freshman Runner of the Year, will run the distance for the first time in his Bulldog career.
- Women’s pole vault at 3 p.m.: Fixsen will be in search of her first mark of the year while Smith is returning from an injury after taking fourth at both SEC meets last year and advancing to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
SATURDAY
- Women’s high jump at 11:30 a.m.: Tyler started her time as a Lady Bulldog at the opener and is quickly positioned third on the national list with a clearance of 5-11.50; this will be another ‘first’ for Anna Hall as her Georgia career begins.
- Women’s 200m at 12:45 p.m.: Finishing her prep career as one of the top high school sprinters, Minor competes in her first individual events this weekend after being part of the school’s ninth-fastest 4x400m relay in the opener.
- Men’s pole vault at 1 p.m.: Farmer inched close to getting into the Georgia record books by winning his opener with a clearance of 16-6.75.
- Women’s triple jump at 1:30 p.m.: Marsh rocketed to fourth in the school record books with her effort of 44-3.25 at the SEC Championships and will have her season debut in the event on Saturday; Moore already sits fourth on this year’s national list in the long jump and now it is time to tackle the triple.
- Men’s high jump at 1:30 p.m.: Carbin started his indoor career by winning the 2016 SEC indoor title and he currently stands third on the NCAA list after clearing 7-4.50 during the last trip to Clemson.
- Women’s 4x400m relay at 2:40 p.m./men’s 4x400m relay at 3 p.m.: The relays swept the Orange & Purple meet with times that rank in the country’s top 20.
What Happened Last Time Out: The teams posted nine top collegiate finishes and a series of top-five national finishes at the indoor season-opening Orange & Purple Elite meet in Clemson on Jan. 11. Below are a number of the Bulldog highlights:
Carbin had four first attempt clearances in the high jump, including his victorious mark of 7-4.25, to take over the early national lead in the event. This came within an inch of his personal best of 7-5 set at last year’s Tyson Invitational.
On the women’s side, Tyler answered a third attempt in the high jump with a clearance at 5-11.50 to win in her collegiate debut. Her mark was tied for No. 2 on the NCAA list.
Boling had a busy start to his collegiate career. He made his debut on the track and left with the third-fastest 60m time in school history. Boling sped to a 6.68 to finish .01 behind Florida State freshman Taylor Banks for second and shot to No. 10 on this year’s NCAA list.
In the long jump, Boling took off for an opening mark of 24-7.25 to earn runner-up honors and move to ninth in the school record books. This effort tied the No. 10 entry in the Bulldog record books. He then anchored the 4x400m relay team to a 3:11.42 victory with Elija Godwin, Johannes Erm, and Caleb Cavanaugh also taking a turn with the baton.
The women’s 4x400m relay squad helped complete the sweep for Georgia with the nation’s fifth-best time in 2020. Minor, Powell, Lester and Tanner moved into the No. 9 spot on the school’s all-time top-10 list after clocking a 3:41.26. Minor and Powell were competing in the red and black for the first time.
Moore soared 20-11.75 on her first career attempt in the long jump to win and rocket to second on this year’s NCAA performance list. This gave her possession of the No. 9 spot in the school record books. Marsh approached her personal record with a fifth attempt of 20-3, which gave her second in the competition and No. 7 on the national list.
Carothers recorded the top collegiate finish and was third overall in the 60m hurdle final with an 8.25. This ties Carothers’ No. 5 entry from last year in the school record books and situates her eighth on this year’s national performance list
Garland and Erm began their in-season training for the heptathlon in the 60m hurdle prelims. Garland was 10th with an 8.07 while Erm, who is the two-time defending SEC heptathlon champion, improved his personal record to 8.08, which betters his No. 10 spot in the school record books.
Where Does The Indoor Season Take The Dogs: This weekend’s meet marks the second of the year as well as the second in Clemson. Georgia will return to action at the Razorback Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark., on Jan. 31-Feb. 1 and then again on Arkansas’ campus with the Tyson Invitational on Feb. 14-15. Another contingent of Bulldogs will travel to Seattle for the Husky Invitational on Feb. 14-15.
The postseason begins with the SEC Indoor Championships in College Station, Texas, on Feb. 28-29. Georgia will return to Albuquerque, N.M., for the first time since 2014 for the NCAA Indoor Championships on March 13-14. One week later, the outdoor season cranks up in Atlanta at the Yellow Jacket Invitational.
How To Keep Up With The Dogs: Updates from Georgia’s track and field and cross country teams can always be found on Twitter (@UGATrack), Instagram (@UGATrack), and Snapchat (ugatrack).