University of Georgia Athletics
Madebach Breaks Steeplechase Record At Spec Towns
April 14, 2007 | Track & Field
ATHENS, Ga. --- Junior Sarah Madebach topped her own school record in the 3000-meter steeplechase during the final day of the Spec Towns National Team Invitational and Bulldog Heptathlon on Saturday.
Including Madebach's NCAA regional time, Georgia finished with 19 regional qualifiers and 15 winners during the teams' second and final home meet of the year.
“I'm really satisfied with what I saw today. This was a typical home meet where we were threatened by the weather and still were able to have some great performances,” said head coach Wayne Norton. “Natalie (Picchetti) in the 800 and (Julianne) Toto in the pole vault also broke into (Southeastern Conference) scoring range today so I think we are definitely moving toward the form we need to be in during the month of May."
Madebach, who previously broke her own school record in the event at this season’s Alabama Relays, went head-to-head with Minnesota’s Jamie Cheever and finished in 10:21.04 to win, which was only .53 seconds ahead of Cheever. This was Madebach’s second regional time of the season in as many races.
Sam Gillespie, one of the 14 seniors honored during the meet, completed the sweep in the steeplechase for Georgia after crossing the finish line in 9:09.37, which was only 2 seconds shy of a regional time.
Another of the seniors who were honored on Saturday was senior David Dickens. Dickens, who has qualified for the regional meet in five events, crossed the finish line in the 400 with a personal-best time of 46.00 to take first. The Marietta, Ga., native’s time improved his No. 4 spot in the school record books.
Also in the 400, sophomore Justin Gaymon clocked a career-best and regional qualifying time of 47.07 to finish second. Gaymon also took first in the 110 hurdles with a time of 14.31, which was just .11 seconds ahead of unattached Javonie Small.
Junior Natalie Picchetti ran in her second 800 of the season and finished with the top time of her career. Clocking her first regional qualifying time (2:07.42) in the event this season, Picchetti jumped from the No. 10 spot to No. 5 in the Georgia record books and finished third.
In the field, sophomore Julianne Toto recorded a breakout performance in the pole vault. Toto, who owned the No. 7 spot in the school record books,
cleared a regional qualifying height of 12-9.50 to win her event and move to fifth on the all-time list.
Junior Kyle Helf also picked up a win and a regional mark for the Bulldogs in the men’s shot put. Helf finished first by more than 4 feet (58-10.75)
ahead of freshman Geno Atkins, who had a career-best throw of 54-4.75 on his fourth attempt.
Another regional mark for Georgia came after senior Krista Woodward won the javelin with an opening throw of 175-7. Woodward’s teammate junior Sigrun Fjeldsted finished second after tallying a second throw of 161-6, which also was a regional mark.
In the men’s pole vault, junior Wes Fuller earned a trip to the regional meet after reaching a season-best height of 16-6.75 to take second.
Diagonally across the infield from the pole vault, sophomore Nate Rolfe won for the discus for fourth time during the 2007 outdoor campaign after unleashing a regional qualifying throw of 183-6 on his second attempt of the day. Freshman Israel Machovec took third with a regional qualifying mark of 171-1.
Junior Levern Spencer was able to keep her outdoor streak going with her third straight win in the high jump. Spencer, who is the top-ranked high jumper in the nation, cleared a regional qualifying mark of 6-1.50 to take first.
Sophomore Josipa Jelicic took third in the discus and tallied her fifth consecutive regional mark (169-1) as well. Jelicic’s top throw was only 1 inch shy of her personal-best effort, which sits in the No. 3 spot in the Lady Bulldog record books.
Saturday also marked the final three events of the Bulldog heptathlon. Senior Sarah Gretzmacher improved her provisional qualifying score in the event while winning with 5,229 points. Gretzmacher, who advanced to the 2006 NCAA Championships in the heptathlon, topped her competition in the javelin
with an effort of 118-8 on Saturday. Freshman Brittney Robbins took second in her first career heptathlon after scoring 4,184 points.
Senior Ian Burrell, who has already broken the school 10,000 record this spring, managed to come from behind and overtake Boston University’s David Proctor to win the men’s 1500. Burrell clocked a 3:48.61 to finish ahead of Proctor and Georgia junior Ryley Miller, who took fourth with a time of 3:52.08.
Another pair of wins for the Bulldogs came from senior Brian Etelman. In the 200, Etelman broke away from the group and finished with a time of 21.25 to take first. Etelman also knocked off second-place finisher Jamial Rolle by .03 seconds for his first win in the 100.
Junior Marvin Menafee came away a season-best time in the 200 of 22.42 to take second.
In the men’s 5000, sophomore Bejan Abtahi won with a time of 14:58.70 and junior Matthew Roberson took third and in the women’s 5000, junior Kiah Vernon clocked a personal-best time of 17:21.11 to take second.
In the men’s 800, sophomore Kris Ward had a season-best time of 1:52.58 to take second and in the women’s 100, junior Felicia Hamilton finished second
with her fastest time of the season (11.93). Also, freshman Daniel Averso managed second in the high jump with a mark of 6-6.75.
Freshman Tommy Barrineau also posted a personal-best effort while taking fifth place in the men’s javelin. Barrineau, who is the son of former four-time Bulldog All-American James Barrineau, opened with a throw of 156-10 to top his career-best mark and he also managed to take third in the high jump (6-0.75).
On Friday, senior Jennifer Dahlgren set new SEC, NCAA and South American records in the hammer throw after a throw of 239-4 to get the meet rolling.
Georgia will take a group of throwers to the UC San Diego Invitational in San Diego, Calif., on April 20-21. The NCAA East Regional meet arrives for
the Bulldogs on May 25-26 in Gainesville, Fla.
Full results and a recap from Friday’s action can be found at georgiadogs.com.
Georgia’s Winners
Justin Gaymon (110m Hurdles)
Jennifer Dahlgren (hammer)
Ian Burrell (1500m)
Bejan Abtahi (5000m)
David Dickens (400m)
Brian Etelman (100m)
Etelman (200m)
Levern Spencer (high jump)
Sarah Madebach (3000m steeplechase)
Sam Gillespie (3000m steeplechase)
Nate Rolfe (discus)
Krista Woodward (javelin)
Julianne Toto (pole vault)
Kyle Helf (shot put)
Sarah Gretzmacher (heptathlon – 5,229 points)
(14.79 – 100H, 5 feet, 7 3Z4 inches – High jump, #38 feet – Shot put, #25.76 –
200m, 17-10.25 – Long jump, 118-8 - Javelin, 2:25.41 - 800m))
Georgia’s Regional Qualifiers
#Nate Rolfe (hammer) – 216-7
#Kyle Helf (hammer) – 202-5
John Freeman (hammer) – 200-5
$#^Jennifer Dahlgren (hammer) – 239-4
#David Dickens (400m) – 46.00
#Justin Gaymon (400m) – 47.07
#Natalie Picchetti (800m) – 2:07.42
Levern Spencer (high jump) – 6-1.50
Nate Rolfe (discus) – 183-6
Israel Machovec (discus) – 171-1
#Trey Fletcher (400m hurdles) – 52.20
#^Sarah Madebach (3000m steeplechase) – 10:21.04
Shenae Dawkins (triple jump) – 41-1.50
Wes Fuller (pole vault) – 16-6.75
Josipa Jelicic (discus) – 169-1
Krista Woodward (javelin) – 175-7
Sigrun Fjeldsted (javelin) – 161-6
#Julianne Toto (pole vault) – 12-9.50
Helf (shot put) – 58-10.75
^ - school record
$ - SEC, NCAA, South American record
# - personal-best effort
Including Madebach's NCAA regional time, Georgia finished with 19 regional qualifiers and 15 winners during the teams' second and final home meet of the year.
“I'm really satisfied with what I saw today. This was a typical home meet where we were threatened by the weather and still were able to have some great performances,” said head coach Wayne Norton. “Natalie (Picchetti) in the 800 and (Julianne) Toto in the pole vault also broke into (Southeastern Conference) scoring range today so I think we are definitely moving toward the form we need to be in during the month of May."
Madebach, who previously broke her own school record in the event at this season’s Alabama Relays, went head-to-head with Minnesota’s Jamie Cheever and finished in 10:21.04 to win, which was only .53 seconds ahead of Cheever. This was Madebach’s second regional time of the season in as many races.
Sam Gillespie, one of the 14 seniors honored during the meet, completed the sweep in the steeplechase for Georgia after crossing the finish line in 9:09.37, which was only 2 seconds shy of a regional time.
Another of the seniors who were honored on Saturday was senior David Dickens. Dickens, who has qualified for the regional meet in five events, crossed the finish line in the 400 with a personal-best time of 46.00 to take first. The Marietta, Ga., native’s time improved his No. 4 spot in the school record books.
Also in the 400, sophomore Justin Gaymon clocked a career-best and regional qualifying time of 47.07 to finish second. Gaymon also took first in the 110 hurdles with a time of 14.31, which was just .11 seconds ahead of unattached Javonie Small.
Junior Natalie Picchetti ran in her second 800 of the season and finished with the top time of her career. Clocking her first regional qualifying time (2:07.42) in the event this season, Picchetti jumped from the No. 10 spot to No. 5 in the Georgia record books and finished third.
In the field, sophomore Julianne Toto recorded a breakout performance in the pole vault. Toto, who owned the No. 7 spot in the school record books,
cleared a regional qualifying height of 12-9.50 to win her event and move to fifth on the all-time list.
Junior Kyle Helf also picked up a win and a regional mark for the Bulldogs in the men’s shot put. Helf finished first by more than 4 feet (58-10.75)
ahead of freshman Geno Atkins, who had a career-best throw of 54-4.75 on his fourth attempt.
Another regional mark for Georgia came after senior Krista Woodward won the javelin with an opening throw of 175-7. Woodward’s teammate junior Sigrun Fjeldsted finished second after tallying a second throw of 161-6, which also was a regional mark.
In the men’s pole vault, junior Wes Fuller earned a trip to the regional meet after reaching a season-best height of 16-6.75 to take second.
Diagonally across the infield from the pole vault, sophomore Nate Rolfe won for the discus for fourth time during the 2007 outdoor campaign after unleashing a regional qualifying throw of 183-6 on his second attempt of the day. Freshman Israel Machovec took third with a regional qualifying mark of 171-1.
Junior Levern Spencer was able to keep her outdoor streak going with her third straight win in the high jump. Spencer, who is the top-ranked high jumper in the nation, cleared a regional qualifying mark of 6-1.50 to take first.
Sophomore Josipa Jelicic took third in the discus and tallied her fifth consecutive regional mark (169-1) as well. Jelicic’s top throw was only 1 inch shy of her personal-best effort, which sits in the No. 3 spot in the Lady Bulldog record books.
Saturday also marked the final three events of the Bulldog heptathlon. Senior Sarah Gretzmacher improved her provisional qualifying score in the event while winning with 5,229 points. Gretzmacher, who advanced to the 2006 NCAA Championships in the heptathlon, topped her competition in the javelin
with an effort of 118-8 on Saturday. Freshman Brittney Robbins took second in her first career heptathlon after scoring 4,184 points.
Senior Ian Burrell, who has already broken the school 10,000 record this spring, managed to come from behind and overtake Boston University’s David Proctor to win the men’s 1500. Burrell clocked a 3:48.61 to finish ahead of Proctor and Georgia junior Ryley Miller, who took fourth with a time of 3:52.08.
Another pair of wins for the Bulldogs came from senior Brian Etelman. In the 200, Etelman broke away from the group and finished with a time of 21.25 to take first. Etelman also knocked off second-place finisher Jamial Rolle by .03 seconds for his first win in the 100.
Junior Marvin Menafee came away a season-best time in the 200 of 22.42 to take second.
In the men’s 5000, sophomore Bejan Abtahi won with a time of 14:58.70 and junior Matthew Roberson took third and in the women’s 5000, junior Kiah Vernon clocked a personal-best time of 17:21.11 to take second.
In the men’s 800, sophomore Kris Ward had a season-best time of 1:52.58 to take second and in the women’s 100, junior Felicia Hamilton finished second
with her fastest time of the season (11.93). Also, freshman Daniel Averso managed second in the high jump with a mark of 6-6.75.
Freshman Tommy Barrineau also posted a personal-best effort while taking fifth place in the men’s javelin. Barrineau, who is the son of former four-time Bulldog All-American James Barrineau, opened with a throw of 156-10 to top his career-best mark and he also managed to take third in the high jump (6-0.75).
On Friday, senior Jennifer Dahlgren set new SEC, NCAA and South American records in the hammer throw after a throw of 239-4 to get the meet rolling.
Georgia will take a group of throwers to the UC San Diego Invitational in San Diego, Calif., on April 20-21. The NCAA East Regional meet arrives for
the Bulldogs on May 25-26 in Gainesville, Fla.
Full results and a recap from Friday’s action can be found at georgiadogs.com.
Georgia’s Winners
Justin Gaymon (110m Hurdles)
Jennifer Dahlgren (hammer)
Ian Burrell (1500m)
Bejan Abtahi (5000m)
David Dickens (400m)
Brian Etelman (100m)
Etelman (200m)
Levern Spencer (high jump)
Sarah Madebach (3000m steeplechase)
Sam Gillespie (3000m steeplechase)
Nate Rolfe (discus)
Krista Woodward (javelin)
Julianne Toto (pole vault)
Kyle Helf (shot put)
Sarah Gretzmacher (heptathlon – 5,229 points)
(14.79 – 100H, 5 feet, 7 3Z4 inches – High jump, #38 feet – Shot put, #25.76 –
200m, 17-10.25 – Long jump, 118-8 - Javelin, 2:25.41 - 800m))
Georgia’s Regional Qualifiers
#Nate Rolfe (hammer) – 216-7
#Kyle Helf (hammer) – 202-5
John Freeman (hammer) – 200-5
$#^Jennifer Dahlgren (hammer) – 239-4
#David Dickens (400m) – 46.00
#Justin Gaymon (400m) – 47.07
#Natalie Picchetti (800m) – 2:07.42
Levern Spencer (high jump) – 6-1.50
Nate Rolfe (discus) – 183-6
Israel Machovec (discus) – 171-1
#Trey Fletcher (400m hurdles) – 52.20
#^Sarah Madebach (3000m steeplechase) – 10:21.04
Shenae Dawkins (triple jump) – 41-1.50
Wes Fuller (pole vault) – 16-6.75
Josipa Jelicic (discus) – 169-1
Krista Woodward (javelin) – 175-7
Sigrun Fjeldsted (javelin) – 161-6
#Julianne Toto (pole vault) – 12-9.50
Helf (shot put) – 58-10.75
^ - school record
$ - SEC, NCAA, South American record
# - personal-best effort
Sunday, June 14
Sunday, June 14
Sunday, June 14
Saturday, June 13