University of Georgia Athletics
Bulldog Track & Field: 2015 Throws Preview (Men)
February 10, 2015 | Track & Field
Georgia returns a Southeastern Conference outdoor champion and two First Team All-American scorers from the 2014 squad to this year’s team. Traditionally, the Bulldog throwers, under the tutelage of Don Babbitt, have been contributors of big points at the SEC and NCAA meets. In fact, nine of Georgia’s 15 individual NCAA titles and 41 overall SEC titles dating back to 1933 on the men’s side have come from the Bulldog throwers on the men’s side.
This year’s group consists of two promising sophomores, a junior who has turned the corner, a senior who surged at the end of 2014 and is repeating that success in ‘15, another who wants to end his career on a high note in the discus and one who is aiming to stay healthy and consistent in the javelin.
Here is the third look at Georgia’s talent in different event areas as the 2015 indoor and outdoor seasons continue . . .
MEN
Alex Larsson: Like he did at the 2014 VT Elite Meet as a true freshman, Larsson reached a personal-best distance in the weight throw over the weekend. The Swedish sophomore launched an effort of 60 feet, 10 ¾ inches for 12th place. This bodes well for the rest of the indoor season, and especially well for his coming outdoor season. Larsson was fourth at least year’s SEC Outdoor Championships before earning Second Team All-America honors with a 12th-place finish in the hammer (210-5). The son of two-time Olympian Kent Larsson reached 214 feet three times last year and stayed between 209-214 feet in his last seven meets of the season to show his consistency at the distance. Babbitt is gunning for Larsson to keep his consistency rolling with even deeper throws in 2015.
Ashinia Miller: Babbitt has been excited about Miller’s potential since watching him throw the shot put and discus during his prep days in Jamaica. At the McCravy Memorial this season, Miller began making a push towards that potential in his third year. He shattered the 20-year-old school record and took over the national lead in the shot with an effort of 66 feet, 7 ¾ inches to win his first meet of the year. Miller, who opened his series with a mark of 65-0.75 at the McCravy meet, then finished fourth at the VT Elite Meet with a throw of 62-8.50, which is a sign of early consistency for the 6-foot-2 thrower. Miller currently stands second in the SEC and fourth nationally going into the final regular season action of the indoor season. Also of note, Miller had a personal-best discus mark of 178-4 in 2013 and led the Bulldogs with an effort of 170-11 last year.
Alex Poursanidis: Similar to his sophomore teammate in the weight/hammer, Poursanidis has stormed into the 2015 indoor season with some of the best performances of his young career. After opening with a career-best weight throw of 65 feet, 3 ¼ inches for fifth place at the McCravy meet, Poursanidis let go of four 66-foot throws at the VT Elite Meet. He topped out at 66-9.75, which ranks fifth in the SEC this year. With the outdoor campaign rapidly approaching, the future looks very bright for Poursanidis in the hammer. The Cyprus native captured the SEC championship outdoors last year as a true freshman before tuning up his throws another nine feet at the NCAA Regionals and Championships. Poursanidis had matching throws of 227-3 to win the NCAA East Prelims and then take sixth at the NCAA Championships for a First Team All-America certificate. He was later named the SEC Freshman Field Athlete of the Year and is looking to build on that honor this year.
Nick Vena: Vena had a personal-best performance overshadowed at the McCravy meet by Miller. Vena reached 64 feet, 5 ¼ inches in the shot put despite opening and closing with a foul in Kentucky, which allowed him to take over the No. 3 spot in the school record books. At the VT Elite Meet, Vena posted yet another career best (65-7) to take second, improve his third position in the school record books and this time beat Miller. This type of performance has turned into a habit for Vena. To end his 2014 outdoor campaign, Vena finished third at the SEC Championships and then went 66 feet in back-to-back meets. His final performance of 66-1.75 earned the University of Virginia transfer a third-place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Vena, who recorded a national record 96 throws over 70 feet with the high school shot growing up in New Jersey, has been a Second Team All-American four times in addition to his scoring performance at last year’s national outdoor meet. Like Miller, Vena also competes in the discus and came to the Bulldogs with a personal record of 179-11. Last year, he was 13th at the SEC Championships with a season-best toss of 168-10.
(the next two will join the team outdoors in the javelin and discus)
Braydon Anderson: Anderson reached a personal-best mark of 224 feet, 6 inches in the javelin, which is No. 9 on the school’s all-time list, last season and competed at the NCAA East Prelims for the third time after taking eighth at the SEC Championships. He opened his career by finishing third in the javelin (218-2) at the 2011 SEC meet in Athens. Since his first season, Anderson has been slowed by injuries and has been building to peak in his final campaign. The 25-year-old Anderson completed a two-year service mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after graduating from Sprayberry High School and is determined to make this season a success.
Burke McCarty: McCarty, who is a product of The Marist School in Atlanta, has also competed at three difference NCAA East Prelims, advancing to the 2012 NCAA Championships in the discus. Last year, McCarty was limited to a single meet because of injuries and is aiming to return to the form that saw him have a career-long discus mark of 183 feet, 7 inches (No. 9 in school history) during the 2012 regular season. He has a pair of fourth-place finishes at the SEC Championships in his career and, like Anderson, would like to finish his time in Athens with a personal best and postseason points.
Next group to be spotlighted: Bulldog throwers (women)
