Track and Field History

The Beginnings of Georgia Track and Field
Second only to baseball, track and field is one of the oldest sports at the University of Georgia, first competing intercollegiately in 1897 (baseball began in 1896).

Interest in track and field initially began at UGA in the late 1800s, with the annual intramural field days. At the request of Nash Broyles and Thomas Reed, the Athletic Association set up the first track contest in school history on May 27, 1887. A subsequent field day was added on May 28th. Many of the events of that weekend would be foreign to a Southeastern Conference or NCAA meet of today. Wrestling matches, baseball throws, tug of wars and the greased pig chase are just a sample of some of the unique track and field events of the past century.

After 10 years of field days, Georgia participated in its first intercollegiate track contest at the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association meet in Nashville. In the Music City, the Bulldogs accumulated 13 points to secure a fourth-place finish out of 14 teams. The first dual meet came a year later against in-state rival Georgia Tech with the Bulldogs taking a 75-30 victory.

Perceived to be the pioneer in track in the state of Georgia, the Bulldogs were noted in the Atlanta Journal of 1894 as being "much further along with their track program than any other state school."

The Coaches
During its storied history, the UGA track team has had a total of 10 head coaches. The first coach was John Mahan, a native of New York, who coached during the 1897 and 1898 season and ended his brief career with a perfect 1-0 dual-meet record. Following Mahan were Billy Reynolds, a Princeton graduate who also coached baseball; C.O. Heidler, an assistant basketball coach; and W.A. Cunningham, one of Georgia's football coaches.

With track interest waning, the famous Herman James Stegeman revived the sport. Stegeman was a star track athlete at the University of Chicago who developed track into a popular sport at Georgia. Stegeman led the Dogs for 17 years and during his tenure built one of the strongest teams in the South, showing a glimpse of the accomplishments to come from Georgia's track and field program. Along with assistant Weems Baskin, Stegeman guided the Bulldogs to the 1937 SEC title, Georgia's only men's conference championship in its history. The star of the '37 team was a youngster from Fitzgerald, Ga., named Forrest "Spec" Towns, who captured the national championship in the 110-meter hurdles.

Baskin coached one more season after Stegeman ascended to the Athletic Director's position. Baskin then turned the reigns over to his star pupil, Towns, who would enjoy the longest tenure of any coach for the Bulldogs from 1939 to 1974.

Towns, a 1936 Olympic Gold Medalist, coached for 34 seasons before retiring in the fall of 1975. Taking over for Towns was his long-time assistant Lewis Gainey, who directed the Bulldogs to one of their most successful periods during the early 1980s. All-Americans, Olympic medalists and NFL stars such as Gwen Torrence, Mel Lattany, Stanley Blalock, Dothel Edwards, Lester Benjamin and Herschel Walker were just a few of Gainey's prized pupils.

The torch was once again passed in 1989 to coach John Mitchell, an esteemed member of the track and field fraternity who built his reputation at the University of Alabama, where he won three SEC Coach of the Year awards. During his tenure, Mitchell led the Bulldogs to five consecutive top-10 finishes in the NCAA Outdoor Championships from 1991-95 and s combined six top-10 finishes at the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships between 1995-99. Mitchell also helped raise the Lady Bulldogs track team, winning their first ever SEC crown during the outdoor season in 1995 after finishing second indoors. For his teams' excellence Mitchell was named Indoor and Outdoor Women's SEC Coach of the Year.

Mitchell retired following the 1999 campaign, passing a well-lit torch to his long-time assistant coach, Wayne Norton, who was charged with leading the program into the next millennium. Not only has Norton sustained the elite tradition of Georgia track and field, but he has also lifted the program to unimaginable heights during his time as head coach. In 2006, the Lady Bulldogs claimed the school's first SEC indoor team championship as well as winning the program's first SEC outdoor team title since 1995. To add to the above list of accolades, Jenny Dahlgren won NCAA individual titles in the weight and hammer throws and Patricia Sylvester earned Georgia's ninth SEC Commissioner's Trophy after winning both the triple jump and long jump and placing second in the high jump at the SEC Outdoor Championships. As a result of Norton's efforts, he was named the SEC Women's Coach of the Year for both the indoor and outdoor seasons and was selected as the USTFCCCA Women's Coach of the Year (South District).

Norton's teams have had 12 top-15 finishes at NCAA meets and racked up 12 NCAA individual championships during his time as head coach.

Facilities
Five different facilities have housed Georgia's track and field teams. Herty Field, named for Dr. Charles Herty, was the first and was also shared by the football and baseball squads. With the construction of Sanford Field, the track team was able to relocate for another 17 years. Sanford Field laid approximately 200 yards from the future stadium site.

A new field was later constructed in nearly the same spot and was still called Sanford Field. The last Sanford Field was used until World War II when the U.S. Navy came to Athens. The Navy completed a new track, described as a "million-dollar" facility, and gave it to the University.

Finally, the track still in use today was originally built from Athletic Department funds in 1965. First made out of synthetic material called Grasstex, the track was resurfaced in 1987 with Rektoran and with the same makeup again in 1999 prior to Georgia's hosting of the SEC Outdoor Championships.

SEC Commissioner's Trophy
The SEC Commissioner's Trophy is given annually to the SEC track performer who tallies the most points at the conference meet.

Since 1933, Georgia has had six high-point performers win a total of eight times in the SEC men's meet: Graham Batchelor, 17 points in 1933 and 10 in 1934; Spec Towns, 16.5 in 1937; Vassa Cate, 12 in 1939; and Lewis Gainey, who tied for the honor with 11 in 1965. Mel Lattany, however, posted the most points ever by a Bulldog with 108.5 in four years, including 22.5 in 1981, winning both the indoor and outdoor Commissioners' Trophies. Lester Benjamin won the long jump and triple jump to take high point honors at the '84 meet with 27.5.

That same Commissioner's Trophy found its way into the Lady Bulldog history books in 1995 thanks to the diverse talents of junior Icolyn Kelly. The Jamaica native won the Lady Bulldogs' first ever women's high scorer honor with a total of 23 points during the indoor SEC meet. However,\ Kelly elevated her performance even higher outdoors leading Georgia to its first ever women's team crown. Kelly ran amuck to score 32.5 points, a total that would have beaten five of the other 11 teams competing.

Sprinter Debbie Ferguson became the Lady Dogs' second high-point winner at the 1999 Outdoors in impressive fashion. Competing on her home track for the final time and in front of her mother for the first time as a collegian, Ferguson not only swept the 100- and 200-meter dash titles but also did so with SEC-record times of 11.05 and 22.35.

Georgia's latest winner of the Commissioner's Trophy was Patricia Sylvester, who brought the third women's honor back to Athens during the 2006 outdoor season. Sylvester tallied 28 points after winning SEC championships in both the triple jump and long jump and finishing behind teammate Levern Spencer in the high jump for second place.

Women's History
The Georgia women's track program has also grown quickly into one of the most respected in the nation. Since its beginning in 1980, the Lady Bulldog program has been among the best in the Southeastern Conference and is proving itself as one of the nation's premier teams. Since 1982, Georgia women have garnered 116 All-America certificates, won 88 conference individual championships and 19 NCAA individual titles.

The Lady Bulldogs' finishes during 2006 indoor and outdoor seasons were some of the best proof for the program's progress. Highlighted by Jenny Dahlgren winning NCAA individual championships in the weight throw (indoors) as well as the hammer throw (outdoors), the Georgia women also claimed UGA's first SEC indoor team title and the school's first outdoor team championships since 1995. The Lady Bulldogs also piled up nine All-American certificates and walked away from their conference meets with 10 SEC championships. While Dahlgren garnered the USTFCCCA's Women's Field Athlete of the Year (co-winner), Sylvester won the coveted SEC Commissioner's Trophy at the outdoor meet in Fayetteville, Ark. The finale of this pair of legendary seasons came at the NCAA meets, where the Lady Bulldogs tied for fifth indoors and chalked up another top-10 finish by taking ninth outdoors.

The four individual national championships won by both Torrence and Ferguson represent the most ever by a Georgia student-athlete in any sport. In addition to the NCAA championships of those Lady Bulldog sprinters, middle distance runner Linda Detlefsen also won an NCAA indoor 1,500-meter title; Kim Engel won the 1989 NCAA javelin crown; Vigdis Gudjonsdottir claimed the 1999 NCAA javelin title; Thorey Elisdottir soared 14-9.50 to win the pole vault crown in 2001;
Hyleas Fountain battled for an incredible three NCAA titles (long jump indoors and outdoors, pentathlon) in 2004 and also won the heptathlon crown in 2003; Fanni Juhasz won the pole vault competition in 2004; and Dahlgren captured national championships in both the weight and hammer throws in 2006.

Signs of success for the women's team have been building up since the mid-1990s. After winning team indoor runner-up honors in 1995 at the SEC Championships, Georgia returned to win outdoor SECs - both performances validated by two of Georgia's best NCAA finishes (seventh indoors and third outdoors). The Lady Bulldogs have also come away with stellar finishes at the 1996 indoor meet (second), '04 indoor meet (sixth), '98 and '05 outdoor meets (sixth) and the '99 outdoor meet (fourth).

Georgia Track & Field Timeline
1887 -- The University of Georgia sets up the first track contest in school history, with a field day on May 28.

1897 -- After 10 years of field days, Georgia participates in its first intercollegiate track contest at the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association meet in Nashville Tenn.

1898 -- Georgia completes its first undefeated season, beating Georgia Tech and winning the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association meet over Vanderbilt and Tech.

1904 -- Georgia wins the first state meet, topping Emory and Georgia Tech.

1907 -- The scheduled battle of the two Southern track powers, Georgia and Vanderbilt, is canceled because a bridge at the foot of Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga is accidentally dynamited, delaying train passage. The meet is never rescheduled.

1913 -- Captain Dave Paddock convinces referees at a meet to not announce the height of the high jump bar because he believes freshman Pope Hill will place if he does not know the exact height of the bar. Paddock is right; Hill, a superstitious star, soars above the bar and scores Georgia's only point of the meet.

1933 -- Bill David (high jump) and Graham Batchelor (broad jump, javelin throw) capture Georgia's first SEC titles.

1936 -- Forrest "Spec" Towns wins the Gold Medal in the 120-yard hurdles at the Berlin Olympic Games. Later in the summer, Towns establishes a world record, which will stand for more than a decade (13.7 seconds).

1937 -- Behind the hurdling of Towns, who never ran track until he arrived at UGA, Georgia wins its only men's SEC title.

1949 -- A nine--year drought without an SEC champion is broken by J.B. Farr in the high jump. Georgia never approaches such a span again.

1960 -- Mark Carr outleaps the competition in the broad jump to win the Bulldogs' first SEC indoor title.

1976 -- James Barrineau wins the first of two SEC outdoor high jump honors and then places 11th at the Montreal Olympics.

1981 -- Mel Lattany wins both the indoor and outdoor SEC Commissioner's Trophies and ends his career with an astonishing 108.5 points in conference competition.

1982 -- Kathy Rankins earns the first All-America honor (indoor long jump) in the short history of the women's program.

1983 -- The Bulldogs receive their first women's individual SEC title, thanks to heptathlete Debbie DaCosta.

1984 -- Lester Benjamin, Stanley Blalock, Neal Jessie and Sam Palmer win the 400-meter relay at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. It is Georgia's first men's title since Spec Towns. Linda Detlefsen captures Georgia's first women's individual NCAA championship in the indoor 1,500-meter run.

1986-87 -- Gwen Torrence sprints to an unprecedented four NCAA championships: the indoor 55-meter dash (twice) and outdoor 100-meter and 200-meter dashes.

1989 -- Kim Engel hurls the javelin a school-record 196-8 to win the NCAA outdoor championship.

1992-94 -- Brent Noon wins three straight NCAA titles in the outdoor shot put.

1995 -- Hrvoje Verzi earns the NCAA indoor triple jump crown with a leap of 54-5.5. Georgia's women, led by All-Americans Gudrun Arnardottir, Debbie Ferguson, Icolyn Kelly, Reeta Laaksonen and Monika Ronnholm, win their first SEC title during the outdoor season and then record a school-best third-place showing at the
NCAA Outdoor Championships.

1996 -- Debbie Ferguson wins the 200-meter dash at the NCAA Indoor Championships in leading the Bulldogs to second place overall, the top finish in school history.

1997 -- Georgia celebrates its centennial year of competition in track and field.

1998-99 -- Ferguson completes her stellar career with four individual NCAA titles, winning the 60-meters during the indoor season, and then breaks the SEC records for both the 100- and 200-meters during the outdoor campaign. After a pair on second-place efforts in both sprints at the NCAA Outdoors, Ferguson raises her tally of All-America certificates to 19, equaling the most ever by an Georgia student-athlete in any sport.

2000 -- Long-time assistant coach Wayne Norton assumes the helm as Georgia's 11th head coach in track and field charged with leading both programs into
the next millennium.

2001 -- Andras Haklits wins NCAA titles in the weight throw indoors and hammer throw outdoors while Thorey Elisdottir wins the NCAA indoor pole vault with the best-ever mark in the event in collegiate women's history (14 feet, 9 1Z2 inches). Georgia athletes garner eight additional All-American honors.

2002 -- Legendary Lady Bulldog Gwen Torrence is elected to the National Track and Field Hall of Fame. Andras Haklits wins his fourth NCAA title, winning the hammer throw for the second straight year. UGA earns a total of nine All-America certificates on the year.

2003 -- Georgia earns 14 All-American honors, including Lucais MacKay's NCAA title in the hammer throw and Hyleas Fountain's NCAA championship in the heptathlon.

2004 -- Georgia's 13 All-America awards include Hyleas Fountain's three national titles, as well as the American collegiate record in the pentathlon. Freshman sensation Jenny Dahlgren is a double All-American honoree.

2005 -- The Bulldogs throwers earn seven All-American awards, including a runner-up finish by Trevor Snyder in the men's javelin at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

2006 -- The Lady Bulldogs sweep the SEC indoor and outdoor team titles, marking the first time Georgia has ever claimed an indoor league championship. In addition to setting an NCAA record in the hammer throw (236 feet, 3 inches), Jenny Dahlgren wins a pair of NCAA titles. Patricia Sylvester earns the SEC's Commissioner's Trophy at the outdoor meet.

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