Spring Break
Georgia track and field team set for NCAAs
Issue date: 5/29/09 Section: Sports
With the NCAA Championships just around the corner, Georgia's track and field teams will have 27 individuals compete at the NCAA East Regional in Greensboro, N.C., on Friday and Saturday.
Teams from Florida all the way to Maine will be making the trip. In addition to the 21st-ranked Georgia men, competitors from top-ranked Florida, No. 4 Florida State and No. 5 South Carolina on the men's side as well as No. 4 Florida State and No. 11 Penn State for the women will be battling the Lady Bulldogs and others on North Carolina A&T's Irwin Belk Track.
Georgia head coach Wayne Norton was encouraged by what he saw at the Southeastern Conference Championships on May 14-17 and is hoping that success will carry over through this weekend.
"We are coming off an SEC meet where we did fairly well, but the significant thing from that meet was the number of new, developing scorers who emerged," Norton said, adding that Branislav Danis' longest hammer throw in three years at his first SEC meet is going to give him a chance to advance to the NCAA meet. "At our banquet on (Tuesday) night, all of the team members who scored for the first time in their careers were asked to stand up and the number of people who stood up showed that we are growing.
"If our crew happens to get even better at the regionals, then they will have a chance to parlay that into an invitation to the NCAA Championships. The important thing now is how that improvement continues next year."
Norton also mentioned the contributions that Geno Atkins, one of the Bulldogs' starting defensive tackles in football, has made to this year's team in the shot put. Atkins was seventh at the SEC meet and has the second-longest throw for Georgia this season (56 feet, 11 1Z2 inches).
"The significance of Geno scoring at the SEC meet and advancing to the NCAA East Regionals is that he is the first football player to contribute like that for us since Demiko Goodman finished third at the 2005 SEC indoor meet," said Norton. "Getting what we call 'football help' is always a boost
to our team and I think it gave him a little publicity off the field in another sport, which he deserved. We are expecting good things from Geno in Greensboro."
Since the inception of the regional format in 2003, the NCAA has used these meets to determine who advances to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
After having to record NCAA regional qualifying marks during the season to qualify for this weekend's meet, individuals must place in the top five in their respective events and relay teams must take third place or better to advance to the NCAA Championships. There will also be a number of at-large bids announced according to the NCAA¹s performance list.
In addition to Danis and Atkins, Michael Proctor (100-meter dash, 200, 4x100 relay, 4x400 relay), Justin Gaymon (200, 400, 110 hurdles, 400 hurdles, 4x400 relay), Torrin Lawrence (200, 400, 4x100 relay), Ross Ridgewell (800, 1500), Ryley Miller (1500), Omari Barrow (4x100 relay), Phillip Adams 4x100, 4x400), Baron Brown (4x400 relay), Kevin Dickson (high jump, long jump), Israel Machovec (discus, shot put), Nate Rolfe (hammer, discus), Chris Hill (javelin), John Freeman (hammer), Adam Sarafian (pole vault) and David Schiedt (hammer) are all qualified on the men¹s side.
For the women, Georgina Nembhard (100, 200), Kristie Krueger (1500), McKayla Plank (1500), Shaquita Young (high jump), Julianne Toto (pole vault), Tiffany Trotman (triple jump), Rachel Travis (shot put, discus), Josipa Jelicic (discus), Michelle Thompson (javelin) and Emily Sanders (javelin) will all be traveling for the Lady Bulldogs.
Georgia has a host of individuals poised to score at the meet. Leading the charge is Hill, the defending NCAA javelin champion who captured his first SEC crown this season. Hill, who won a 2008 regional title in the event, tops the performance list by 26 feet with a top effort of 265-10 over Virginia Tech freshman Matthias Treff, who is No. 2 on the list.
In addition, Gaymon is the two-time defending champion in his event (400-meter hurdles) at the regionals, but is No. 2 on the performance list. Gaymon (48.86) trails South Carolina¹s Johnny Dutch (48.58), who edged Gaymon for the 2009 SEC crown.
For the women, both Thompson and Toto are in position to make a push at victories. Thompson has six wins in the javelin this season and was the runner-up at SECs. Her top mark of 177-10 is only five inches shorter than Penn State's Kim Hanslovan, who is No. 1 on the list.
Toto, who graduated from UGA on May 9, exploded for a career-best mark of 13-5.25 in the pole vault to win the Georgia Invitational on her graduation day. This gives her and Florida¹s Natalie Moser, who cleared the same eight in early April, the region¹s top performances in the event.
The Bulldogs finished third at last year's NCAA East Regional after tallying 49 points. The Georgia women scored eight points and finished 24th at the 2008 meet.
- Georgia Sports Communications
Teams from Florida all the way to Maine will be making the trip. In addition to the 21st-ranked Georgia men, competitors from top-ranked Florida, No. 4 Florida State and No. 5 South Carolina on the men's side as well as No. 4 Florida State and No. 11 Penn State for the women will be battling the Lady Bulldogs and others on North Carolina A&T's Irwin Belk Track.
Georgia head coach Wayne Norton was encouraged by what he saw at the Southeastern Conference Championships on May 14-17 and is hoping that success will carry over through this weekend.
"We are coming off an SEC meet where we did fairly well, but the significant thing from that meet was the number of new, developing scorers who emerged," Norton said, adding that Branislav Danis' longest hammer throw in three years at his first SEC meet is going to give him a chance to advance to the NCAA meet. "At our banquet on (Tuesday) night, all of the team members who scored for the first time in their careers were asked to stand up and the number of people who stood up showed that we are growing.
"If our crew happens to get even better at the regionals, then they will have a chance to parlay that into an invitation to the NCAA Championships. The important thing now is how that improvement continues next year."
Norton also mentioned the contributions that Geno Atkins, one of the Bulldogs' starting defensive tackles in football, has made to this year's team in the shot put. Atkins was seventh at the SEC meet and has the second-longest throw for Georgia this season (56 feet, 11 1Z2 inches).
"The significance of Geno scoring at the SEC meet and advancing to the NCAA East Regionals is that he is the first football player to contribute like that for us since Demiko Goodman finished third at the 2005 SEC indoor meet," said Norton. "Getting what we call 'football help' is always a boost
to our team and I think it gave him a little publicity off the field in another sport, which he deserved. We are expecting good things from Geno in Greensboro."
Since the inception of the regional format in 2003, the NCAA has used these meets to determine who advances to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
After having to record NCAA regional qualifying marks during the season to qualify for this weekend's meet, individuals must place in the top five in their respective events and relay teams must take third place or better to advance to the NCAA Championships. There will also be a number of at-large bids announced according to the NCAA¹s performance list.
In addition to Danis and Atkins, Michael Proctor (100-meter dash, 200, 4x100 relay, 4x400 relay), Justin Gaymon (200, 400, 110 hurdles, 400 hurdles, 4x400 relay), Torrin Lawrence (200, 400, 4x100 relay), Ross Ridgewell (800, 1500), Ryley Miller (1500), Omari Barrow (4x100 relay), Phillip Adams 4x100, 4x400), Baron Brown (4x400 relay), Kevin Dickson (high jump, long jump), Israel Machovec (discus, shot put), Nate Rolfe (hammer, discus), Chris Hill (javelin), John Freeman (hammer), Adam Sarafian (pole vault) and David Schiedt (hammer) are all qualified on the men¹s side.
For the women, Georgina Nembhard (100, 200), Kristie Krueger (1500), McKayla Plank (1500), Shaquita Young (high jump), Julianne Toto (pole vault), Tiffany Trotman (triple jump), Rachel Travis (shot put, discus), Josipa Jelicic (discus), Michelle Thompson (javelin) and Emily Sanders (javelin) will all be traveling for the Lady Bulldogs.
Georgia has a host of individuals poised to score at the meet. Leading the charge is Hill, the defending NCAA javelin champion who captured his first SEC crown this season. Hill, who won a 2008 regional title in the event, tops the performance list by 26 feet with a top effort of 265-10 over Virginia Tech freshman Matthias Treff, who is No. 2 on the list.
In addition, Gaymon is the two-time defending champion in his event (400-meter hurdles) at the regionals, but is No. 2 on the performance list. Gaymon (48.86) trails South Carolina¹s Johnny Dutch (48.58), who edged Gaymon for the 2009 SEC crown.
For the women, both Thompson and Toto are in position to make a push at victories. Thompson has six wins in the javelin this season and was the runner-up at SECs. Her top mark of 177-10 is only five inches shorter than Penn State's Kim Hanslovan, who is No. 1 on the list.
Toto, who graduated from UGA on May 9, exploded for a career-best mark of 13-5.25 in the pole vault to win the Georgia Invitational on her graduation day. This gives her and Florida¹s Natalie Moser, who cleared the same eight in early April, the region¹s top performances in the event.
The Bulldogs finished third at last year's NCAA East Regional after tallying 49 points. The Georgia women scored eight points and finished 24th at the 2008 meet.
- Georgia Sports Communications
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