Spring Break
Georgia track teams head to SECs
Issue date: 5/14/08 Section: Sports
Georgia's track and field teams travel to Auburn, Ala., Thursday to compete at the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships with the league meet finishing on Sunday night.
Going into the meet, head coach Wayne Norton is expecting a strong finish from his 23rd-ranked men's team and is optimistic about the women's team's progress.
"Both teams have made progress this season," said Norton. "The men will finish higher and look better in the results, but the women have improved more than the men. Our women's team has a few highly-ranked people who should do well and overall we have a large group of underclassmen who are still in the developing stages."
In 2007, the women finished third with 106 points and the men tallied 78 points for fourth. The Lady Bulldogs last captured an SEC outdoor title in 2006, but 1937 was the year the Bulldogs won their sole conference championship.
The Bulldog men head into conference action with 14 individuals and one relay team in scoring position, or in the top eight spots of their event. Both junior Justin Gaymon, who is also No. 3 in the SEC in the 400-meter dash, and sophomore Chris Hill are not only top-ranked competitors in the
league, but also in the nation.
Gaymon has the fastest 400 hurdles time (49.26) while Hill has the longest javelin throw (268 feet, 1 inch).
Norton is also expecting seniors Kyle Helf, Ryley Miller and Ross Ridgewell and juniors Nate Rolfe and Michael Proctor, among others, to lead the way for the Bulldogs.
"The men's team is more experienced, has more proven scorers and should do very well," Norton said. "But there are about five very good teams that will be difficult to finish ahead of in the final standings. Nothing has changed in that the SEC meet is a monster of a competition with great teams that will not make it easy on us."
The Lady Bulldogs, who have finished no worst than fourth place since 2003, have six competitors in position to score. Senior Sigrun Sveinsdottir finished second to teammate Krista Woodward last year in the javelin and is the top-ranked individual in that event this season. In addition, senior Natalie Picchetti is No. 3 on the 1500 list after clocking a 4:19.72 at the Oregon Relays.
Norton will also be looking to senior Sarah Madebach, who is the defending 3000 steeplechase champion, for additional points.
While the first four events of the heptathlon and the first five events of the decathlon are scheduled for Thursday afternoon, the majority of the events will run from Friday through Sunday. Freshman Shaquita Young is the only Lady Bulldog in the heptathlon and sophomore Tommy Barrineau, junior Cory Harris and freshman Jerrod Richardson will all be competing in the decathlon.
Following the multi-events, the women's hammer is the first individual event of the meet and it is set to start at 3 p.m. EDT on Friday. The final event of the weekend is the men's 4x400 relay at 9:35 p.m. EDT on Sunday night.
Live results and a recap from the SEC Championships will be available at georgiadogs.com.
- Georgia Sports Communications
Going into the meet, head coach Wayne Norton is expecting a strong finish from his 23rd-ranked men's team and is optimistic about the women's team's progress.
"Both teams have made progress this season," said Norton. "The men will finish higher and look better in the results, but the women have improved more than the men. Our women's team has a few highly-ranked people who should do well and overall we have a large group of underclassmen who are still in the developing stages."
In 2007, the women finished third with 106 points and the men tallied 78 points for fourth. The Lady Bulldogs last captured an SEC outdoor title in 2006, but 1937 was the year the Bulldogs won their sole conference championship.
The Bulldog men head into conference action with 14 individuals and one relay team in scoring position, or in the top eight spots of their event. Both junior Justin Gaymon, who is also No. 3 in the SEC in the 400-meter dash, and sophomore Chris Hill are not only top-ranked competitors in the
league, but also in the nation.
Gaymon has the fastest 400 hurdles time (49.26) while Hill has the longest javelin throw (268 feet, 1 inch).
Norton is also expecting seniors Kyle Helf, Ryley Miller and Ross Ridgewell and juniors Nate Rolfe and Michael Proctor, among others, to lead the way for the Bulldogs.
"The men's team is more experienced, has more proven scorers and should do very well," Norton said. "But there are about five very good teams that will be difficult to finish ahead of in the final standings. Nothing has changed in that the SEC meet is a monster of a competition with great teams that will not make it easy on us."
The Lady Bulldogs, who have finished no worst than fourth place since 2003, have six competitors in position to score. Senior Sigrun Sveinsdottir finished second to teammate Krista Woodward last year in the javelin and is the top-ranked individual in that event this season. In addition, senior Natalie Picchetti is No. 3 on the 1500 list after clocking a 4:19.72 at the Oregon Relays.
Norton will also be looking to senior Sarah Madebach, who is the defending 3000 steeplechase champion, for additional points.
While the first four events of the heptathlon and the first five events of the decathlon are scheduled for Thursday afternoon, the majority of the events will run from Friday through Sunday. Freshman Shaquita Young is the only Lady Bulldog in the heptathlon and sophomore Tommy Barrineau, junior Cory Harris and freshman Jerrod Richardson will all be competing in the decathlon.
Following the multi-events, the women's hammer is the first individual event of the meet and it is set to start at 3 p.m. EDT on Friday. The final event of the weekend is the men's 4x400 relay at 9:35 p.m. EDT on Sunday night.
Live results and a recap from the SEC Championships will be available at georgiadogs.com.
- Georgia Sports Communications
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