University of Georgia Athletics
Bulldog Track & Field Hosts Georgia Invitational Friday
May 08, 2008 | Track & Field
The Bulldogs will be welcoming the 19th-ranked Tennessee women, Fort Valley State, Albany State and Southern Connecticut State to the Spec Towns Track for the third and final home meet of the season. The meet’s first event is the men’s hammer at 9 a.m. and the first event on the track is the 3000-meter run at 12:15 p.m. Sixteen of Georgia’s seniors who will be present will also be recognized at approximately noon on Friday.
“This meet is important because a rule against competition during final exams keeps us from competing two weeks before the SEC Championships so this should be a good tune-up,” said head coach Wayne Norton. “Without this meet, we would have consecutive weekends without competition. It is important for us to compete well and emerge from the meet healthy. I expect a lot of seasonal bests from our athletes.”
With final exams ending this past Tuesday, Georgia’s team members have been able to take a break from the classroom to prepare for Friday’s meet and the coming conference action.
“Without the rigors of schoolwork, we can focus on training and competing,” Norton said. “It is similar to going from working two full-time jobs to working only one.”
The 23rd-ranked Bulldog men have registered 21 NCAA regional qualifying marks and one provisional qualifying mark. The Georgia women have six regional qualifying marks as the teams prepare for the postseason.
Leading the way for Georgia is a pair of competitors who have the nation’s top performances this season. Junior Justin Gaymon, who has regional times in four different events, has the country’s top finish in the 400-meter hurdles (49.26) and is No. 10 on this year’s IAAF world list.
Sophomore Chris Hill took over the No. 1 spot on the men’s javelin list after unleashing a school-record throw of 268 feet, 1 inch to break the Drake Relays meet record on April 25. Hill is currently fifth on the 2008 world performance list.
For the women, senior Sigrun Sveinsdottir improved her No. 3 spot in the school record books with a mark of 170-4 at Drake and now leads the SEC and is ranked ninth in the nation.
Those who have regional qualifying marks will have the opportunity to compete at the NCAA East Regional in Tallahassee, Fla., on May 30-31 for a chance at advancing to the NCAA Championships (Des Moines, Iowa June 11-14).
Georgia will arrive in Auburn, Ala., for the SEC Championships next week after the women finished third in 2007 and the men took fourth. While the men’s and women’s teams both finished fourth at the 2004 and 2005 outdoor meets, the Bulldog men are in position to record a better finish than the women for the first time since 2003. The men’s one and only SEC team title came in 1937 during the outdoor season.
Live results and a full recap after Friday’s action will be located at georgiadogs.com.
