University of Georgia Athletics
Burrell, Dahlgren Win SEC Titles To Lead Georgia
February 24, 2007 | Track & Field
LEXINGTON, Ky. Seniors Ian Burrell and Jennifer Dahlgren won their respective events to lead Georgia during the second day of the Southeastern Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships in Lexington, Ky., on Saturday.
While Burrell broke Arkansas’ streak of SEC championships in the men’s 3000-meter run, Dahlgren claimed her second straight weight throw title during the first event of the day at Nutter Field House.
The third-ranked Lady Bulldogs go into the final day of the SEC Championships in second place with 36 points. While Arkansas (45) leads the field, Tennessee (25), LSU (19) and Florida (18) make up the top-five teams. On the men’s side, the Bulldogs are in third place with 26 points and trail only Arkansas (46) and Florida (34). Tennessee, with 21 points, and Auburn, with 19, make up the rest of the top-five men’s teams.
“I think both teams are in good shape. The good thing about a day like this is that there were no disasters and we are really excited about getting going on Sunday,” said Georgia head coach Wayne Norton. “As far as the individual titles go, those are major accomplishments in the SEC. Jenny and Ian were in different situations and I am very satisfied with both of their efforts. Everyone was expecting Jenny to win so she knew she had to do it and she came through for us. Ian has emerged as a leader in the conference and in the country recently and was projected to finish well and he came in and took care of business.”
Burrell, who set school records in the 3000 and 5000 at the Tyson Invitational on Feb. 9-10, took the lead late in the race and clocked a 8:03.48 to win. Burrell’s win in the event was only the fifth time in 16 years that Arkansas has not brought the 3000 crown home to Fayetteville (Arkansas had won the event four years in a row before Saturday’s race).
“Going into the race, I knew I had a chance to win. If it came down to kicking at the end, I liked my chances,” said Burrell, who will also be one of the frontrunners in Sunday’s 5000. “I’m feeling really good right now because of all the struggles as well as successes I have been through during my career. Not much more could make my senior season any better other than becoming an All-American in a couple weeks,.”
Dahlgren provided the Lady Bulldogs with an early lead after winning an SEC title in the weight throw for the second season in a row and scoring 10 points. Advancing to the finals with a mark of 69 feet, 9 inches, Dahlgren unleashed a pair of throws on her fifth and sixth attempts which both traveled 72-2.25 to clinch Georgia’s first crown of the season.
“I had a couple glitches in my first couple of throws and it was funny that my best two throws were my last two since I was starting to get tired,” said Dahlgren, who also won the 2006 NCAA indoor crown in the weight with an NCAA record throw of 78-10.50. “I’m glad I could help the team out since I am supposed to be showing leadership as a senior. I had fun out there with all of the other SEC girls in the event and hopefully I can contribute more points to the team in the shot put (on Sunday).”
The finale of the evening brought the Georgia women 11 more points as three Lady Bulldogs scored in the 3000 with provisional times. Senior Jill Steffens finished at the front of the red and black pack for fourth place (9:26.79), giving her the second-fastest time in school history. One spot behind Steffens in fifth place was junior Sarah Madebach, who clocked a 9:28.47 - No. 4 mark in the Georgia record books. Scoring the final two points in the event for the Lady Bulldogs was Kristin Heffelfinger, whose 9:29.17 was also a provisional time and gave her the fifth-quickest indoor time in school history.
The Lady Bulldogs also experienced success in the first jumping event of the conference meet. While senior Patricia Sylvester, who owns the school’s indoor triple jump record and is tied for the No. 1 spot in the high jump, soared 20-4.50 to take second in the long jump, junior Shaka Dennison recorded a 19-11.50 to score another point and take eighth.
The Lady Bulldogs picked up an additional point as sophomore Julianne Toto finished eighth in the pole vault. After coming up short on her first two attempts at 12-0.50, Toto cleared the bar on her third try to score the final point in her event.
Sophomore Daniel Vanek and junior Kyle Helf provided the Bulldogs with a substantial boost in the men’s standings during the shot put. Vanek grabbed the second NCAA automatic qualifying mark of the season for Georgia and finished second in the event with a throw of 63-4.25 on his second attempt. With his mark, Vanek moved into the No. 3 spot in the Georgia record books.
Helf managed third in the shot after also exploding with a personal-best effort (62-3.25). Helf’s third throw of the meet not only improved his provisional qualifying mark, but also gave the Bulldogs six more points and gave the Alliston, Ontario, native the fourth-longest throw in school history.
“While most of the concentration was on the wins, I though both the men’s shot and the women’s 3000 also did a fantastic job,” said Norton. “The guys put up some huge marks today and we are really excited for them and what this means for the guys. And in the 3000, anytime a team can have three scorers in the top seven is really nice and I thought the girls did a great job.”
The Georgia men notched their first two points of the meet in the high jump. Senior Greg Mays tied for sixth with Alabama’s Tyler Boswell and Tennessee’s Brenard Wilson after clearing 6-8, which tied a season- and personal-best mark for Mays. Mays, a senior from Chickamauga, Ga., not only tied his 2006 SEC indoor finish on Saturday, but also concluded his career with the Bulldogs.
A pair of Georgia competitors also earned a spot into the finals of the 60 hurdles on Sunday. For the men, sophomore Justin Gaymon clocked a provisional qualifying personal-best time of 7.91, which was the fifth-quickest time of the day. Gaymon’s finish also moved him to the No. 2 spot in the school record books.
In addition, Dennison improved her provisional time in the 60 hurdles to 8.36, which was the fifth-best finish of the prelims and the third-best time in Georgia indoor history, to move to Sunday’s finals.
In the men’s 400 prelims, senior David Dickens improved his provisional qualifying time to 46.84 and advanced to Sunday’s finals. Dickens, who was the seventh finisher overall, also improved his No. 7 spot in the Georgia record books with his performance.
Dickens earned a second spot in Sunday’s finals after clocking a 21.21 in the 200. His time, which gave him sixth place in the prelims, topped his previous season-best mark by .01.
Junior Natalie Picchetti, who was the 2006 SEC indoor mile champion, won her heat in the mile prelims (4:52.93) and advanced to the finals after taking second overall behind Tennessee’s Sarah Bowman. Picchetti has already given the Lady Bulldogs the second-fastest time in school history (4:42.70) this season at the Tyson Invitational.
The Lady Bulldogs are the defending SEC indoor champions after racking up 101.50 team points in Gainesville, Fla., last year. Three of four SEC champions Picchetti, sophomore Levern Spencer (high jump) and Dahlgren - for Georgia are back in red and black this season. The Georgia men finished sixth in 2006 after notching 48.50 points.
Full results and recaps from the SEC Championships can be found at georgiadogs.com. Live stats from Saturday and Sunday’s action at the conference meet can be found at ukathletics.com/.
Georgia’s 2007 SEC Champions
WOMEN
Jennifer Dahlgren Weight (72 feet, 2 inches)
MEN
Ian Burrell 3000 (8:03.48)
Georgia’s SEC Championship Scorers Day Two
WOMEN
Dahlgren Weight 1st (10 points)
Julianne Toto Pole Vault 8th (1 point)
Patricia Sylvester Long Jump 2nd (8 points)
Shaka Dennison Long Jump 8th (1 point)
Kristin Heffelfinger 3000 (PR) 7th (2 points)
Jill Steffens -3000 (PR) 4th (5 points)
Sarah Madebach -3000 (PR) 5th (4 points)
MEN
Greg Mays High Jump T-6th (2 points)
Daniel Vanek Shot Put (PR) 2nd (8 points)
Kyle Helf Shot Put (PR) 3rd (6 points)
Ian Burrell 3000 1st (10 points)
PR = indoor personal best
Women's Standings After Day Two
1. Arkansas - 45
2. GEORGIA - 36
3. Tennessee - 25
4. LSU - 19
5. Florida - 18
6. Ole Miss - 15
7. South Carolina - 9
8. Vanderbilt - 8
9. Kentucky - 7
10. Alabama - 6
11. Mississippi State - 4
12. Auburn - 3
Men's Standings After Day Two
1. Arkansas - 26
2. Florida = 34
3. GEORGIA = 26
4. Tennessee = 21
5. Auburn = 19
T-6. Alabama = 15
T-6. LSU = 15
8. Kentucky = 8
9. Ole Miss = 7
10. South Carolina = 4
