University of Georgia Athletics
University of Georgia
NCAA Outdoor Championships
Georgia's Michael Ayers In Third In Decathlon At NCAA Championships
June 08, 2011 | Track & Field
June 8, 2011
DES MOINES, Iowa --- Georgia junior Michael Ayers won the long jump to help move into third place in the decathlon during the opening day of the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, on Wednesday.
Ayers was able to tally a day one personal-best score of 4,169 after five of 10 events in the decathlon. Senior teammate Tommy Barrineau, competing in his final meet as a Bulldog, is in 18th place after scoring 3,879 on Wednesday.
"Mike, and Tommy, are really demonstrating that they are outstanding competitors," said head coach Wayne Norton. "They have the opportunity to finish in the top eight and score, they just have to keep their performance levels up. Unfortunately, they were our only two bright spots today. We had two pluses and plenty of negatives. But we just have to get through tomorrow's events, try to survive and get some good things going."
All of the top eight finishers in event finals will be named First Team All-Americans at the conclusion of the meet while the ninth- through 16th-place finishers will be called Second Team All-Americans. The rest of the field at the NCAA Championships will all earn the distinction of Honorable Mention All-American honors.
In the decathlon, Ayers won the long jump with a personal-best mark of 24 feet, 9 inches to help propel him into third place through five events. The Nashville, Tenn., native opened the competition by taking third in the 100 with a time (10.66) just one hundredth of a second from his personal best. Ayers reached another personal best at Georgia in the high jump after going over the bar at 6-5 on his first attempt to tie for 11th.
Ayers scored the most points (7,659, No. 2 in UGA history) of his Georgia career to win this season's Sea Ray Relays and has a career-best total of 7,794, which he put together as a Tennessee Volunteer in 2009 before transferring to UGA.
"I thought things went good day and I was able to finish with a day one (personal best) score," said Ayers, who was fourth and an All-American in the decathlon at the 2009 NCAA Championships. "The long jump was key for me since I was able to get a career-best mark without any tailwind. All the events went pretty smoothly and now I just have to keep it going. I've been struggling with my second day and everyone knows the decathlon is a day two event so I have to keep it rolling."
Barrineau had a best finish of fourth during the first five events and is in 18th place with another day of competition to go. He moved into 17th place after equaling his career best in the high jump (6-7.50) to finish fourth. Barrineau cleared 6-5 on his third and final try before reaching the next two heights on his opening attempt.
In a final event, junior Brian Moore finished 15th in the javelin after his only legal throw of the competition reached 225-8. The Willow Grove, Pa., native purposely stepped passed the end line on his final two throws after he realized they would not match his opening attempt. Moore finished 13th at the 2010 NCAA meet with a top throw of 221-3.
Sophomore Ben Davies, serving as an alternate, was the lead leg of the 4x100 relay team that finished 23rd in the semifinals with a time of 41.01. Davies combined with freshman Jevon Maynard, junior Phillip Adams and freshman Waymon Storey to take eighth in the first heat.
Junior Torrin Lawrence, who was on the Bulldog 4x100 team that clocked the fastest time (39.91) of 2011 earlier in the season at the Drake Relays on this same track, did not run on the relay since the 400 semifinals fell so close to the race.
Unfortunately for Georgia, Lawrence sprained his ankle an hour before the 400 semifinals and was unable to compete at all. His status is still uncertain for Thursday's 4x400 relay semifinals.
Adams returned to the track in the 400 hurdle semifinals and was sixth in his heat (19th overall) with a finish of 51.77. Earlier this season, Adams had twice clocked a personal-best time of 51.12, taking fourth at the Southeastern Conference Championships with one of them. He is expected to compete in his third event at the NCAAs when the 4x400 relay semifinals arrive on Thursday.
In his first NCAA Championships, junior Matt Cleaver took 11th in the opening heat and 20th overall after crossing the finish line in 9:03.91. Cleaver, who captured the school's first SEC title in the event in May and topped his own school record at the NCAA East Prelims with an 8:45.01, finished the semifinals with his slowest time of the year.
Senior Bridget Lyons, who had a career-best finish of 33:31.14 to win this year's Drake Relays in Des Moines, raced in her final race as a Lady Bulldog in the 10,000 finals. Jumping into the front pack from the starting gun, Lyons stayed with the top eight runners for the first 10 laps. But following a severe stomach cramp, the Evans, Ga., native slipped to 20th with a time of 35:53.00.
This completes a stellar career for Lyons on and off the track. The 2010 SEC 10,000 champion started her career as a walk-on and became one of the Lady Bulldogs' most dominant distance runners. Named a captain for her 2009 UGA cross country team, Lyons finishes second in the school record books in the 10,000 and third in the outdoor 5000.
Lyons deferred dental school in 2011 so she could give the Lady Bulldogs another season. Off the track, she was named one of two Brad Davis SEC Community Service Leaders of the Year and earned a postgraduate scholarship for her work. She also was named the overall "Peach of an Athlete" for the state of Georgia by the Boy Scouts of America.
Thursday's schedule features the final five events of the decathlon and the first four of the heptathlon starting at 1 p.m. ET. Freshman Justin Welch will also compete in the hammer throw at 4 p.m. while the Bulldog 4x400 relay team will take the track in its semifinal at 9:20 p.m. Like Lyons, Welch won the Drake Relays with a personal-best effort of 225-2.
Live results and recaps from each day's action at the NCAA Championships will be located at georgiadogs.com.
Bulldog Decathlon Results Through Day One
| Name | Event/Mark | Place |
|---|---|---|
| Tommy Barrineau | *Decathlon/3,879 pts. | 18th |
| 100m/11.12 | 15th | |
| Long Jump/21-10.75 | 20th | |
| Shot Put/41-8.75 | 17th | |
| High Jump/^6-7.50 | 4th | |
| 400m/49.52 | 15th | |
| Michael Ayers | *Decathlon/4,179 pts. | 3rd |
| 100m/10.66 | 3rd | |
| Long Jump/^24-9 | 1st | |
| Shot Put/43-7.25 | 9th | |
| High Jump/^6-5 | T11th | |
| 400m/49.58 | 16th |
* - through five events of the decathlon; ^ - personal best or ties personal best
Schedule For Georgia On Day Two - Thursday, June 9
| Name | Event | Time (ET) |
|---|---|---|
| Justin Welch | Hammer Throw | 4 p.m. |
| 4x400m Relay | P. Adams, T. Lawrence, E. Mills, W. Storey (possibly B. Davies) | 9:20 p.m. |
| Barrineau, Ayers | Decathlon - 110mH | 1 p.m. |
| Discus | 2 p.m. | |
| Pole Vault | 4 p.m. | |
| Javelin | 7 p.m. | |
| 1500m | 9:40 p.m. | |
| Lucie Ondraschkova | Heptathlon - 100mH | 2 p.m. |
| High Jump | 3 p.m. | |
| Shot Put | 6 p.m. | |
| 200m | 7:30 p.m. |
