University of Georgia Athletics
Friday, November 10
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NCAA South Regional
Georgia Qualifies For Cross Country NCAAs, Has Individual Champ
November 10, 2017 | Cross Country
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. --- The Lady Bulldogs posted their top finish since 2007 and punched their ticket to the NCAA Cross Country Championships while also having the meet's individual champion at the NCAA South Regional in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Friday.
After the Georgia men captured a one-point victory over Florida for the 2013 team title in Tuscaloosa to earn their last trip to the NCAA meet, the 14th-ranked Georgia women earned a spot to their first Nationals since 2012 on Friday. The Lady Bulldogs scored 73 points to finished behind Ole Miss (59) and 21 points in front of Samford (94) for the clinching spot.
Sophomore Sam Drop clocked a 6k time of 19:40.9 to leave the Harry Pritchett Running Park with Georgia's first individual title since 2010 (Kristie Krueger). Her career-best time also marked the third time in her two-year career that she has led the Lady Bulldogs, including her All-Region 17th-place finish (20:45.2) at this meet in 2016.
Twin sister Jessica Drop, who was third overall after taking 33rd last year, along with sophomore Yanely Gomez and senior Addy Lippitt joined Sam with expected All-Region finishes.
On the men's side, senior Bryan Kamau complemented his All-Region 13th-place finish in 2016 with a similar All-Region performance taking 15th this season. His finish, which marked the 12th time in a row that he has led the Bulldogs, helped put Georgia in ninth place (242). Middle Tennessee State (71) edged Ole Miss (76) for the title.
"I am ecstatic to have the women qualify for NCAAs and to see a Bulldog win the individual title," said Georgia distance coach Patrick Cunniff, who took over the cross country teams at his alma mater before the 2012 season. "We were all confident that we could finish in the top two and now that we have done it, I think it's a tribute to this team's hard work and dedication and the fact that they believed in each other. It was truly a total team effort with the two at the front, Yanely surging into the top 20 and Addy and Hailey securing strong finishes at the fourth and fifth scoring spots. Everyone should be extremely proud of this finish."
Four out of the five scorers for the Bulldog men were seniors and Cunniff thought they concluded their season and careers with a valiant effort.
"Our guys gave everything they had and showed what type of heart and determination they have had throughout their careers at Georgia," Cunniff said. "We would have loved to have a higher finisher, but they should be proud of their effort and how they went out. Bryan worked hard for his third consecutive All-Region performance and we are hoping this crew continues to develop when we hit the track this season."
After receiving an at-large bid for the 2012 NCAA Championships with a third-place finish at that season's NCAA South Regional, the Lady Bulldogs' last automatic qualifying finish for Nationals was with another runner-up finish in 2007.
This year, it was the Drop twins clocking career-best times to break into the top three individually. Less than five seconds behind her victorious sister was Jessica Drop, who clocked a 19:45.4. One of the sisters has now been the team's top finisher in all 12 competitions that they have raced in over the last two years.
Gomez improved her finish from 52nd in 2016 to 16th this year with the fastest finish of her career (20:29.1) for All-Region honors. Battling to extend her cross country career, Lippitt shaved more than 30 spots off of her finish last season at the meet to take 24th (a career-best 20:44.0). This will mark Lippitt's first All-Region performance.
Rounding out Georgia's scorers was Branch, who missed the meet in 2016 and was 101st two years ago. The Atlanta native took 32nd after completing the course in 20:52.3.
The Bulldog men were again led by Kamau, who first earned All-Region honors as a sophomore in 2015 taking 17th. This year, the native of Kenya and graduate of Shiloh High School (Ga.) completed his first 10k of the season with a 31:14.1. Behind Kamau, senior Austin Sprague continued his trend of being the second Bulldog finisher and finished 36th (32:04.3).
Senior Eric Westog was next across the line for Georgia after taking 66th (32:44.) in his final collegiate cross meet. Six spots behind Westog was senior Jon Moses, who made his debut at the meet and finished in 32:52.7. Redshirt sophomore Tyler Jones, who had no postseason experience coming into his second season, scored for the Bulldogs with a time of 32:53.5 for 74th place.
The NCAA Championships will begin on November 18 with the women's 6k at 10:45am. Georgia last raced on the course at the E.P. Tom Sawyer Park in Louisville, Ky., at the NCAA Pre-Nationals on October 14.
Updates from Georgia's track and field and cross country teams can always be found on Twitter/Instagram (UGATrack) and Snapchat (ugatrack) or at georgiadogs.com.
After the Georgia men captured a one-point victory over Florida for the 2013 team title in Tuscaloosa to earn their last trip to the NCAA meet, the 14th-ranked Georgia women earned a spot to their first Nationals since 2012 on Friday. The Lady Bulldogs scored 73 points to finished behind Ole Miss (59) and 21 points in front of Samford (94) for the clinching spot.
Sophomore Sam Drop clocked a 6k time of 19:40.9 to leave the Harry Pritchett Running Park with Georgia's first individual title since 2010 (Kristie Krueger). Her career-best time also marked the third time in her two-year career that she has led the Lady Bulldogs, including her All-Region 17th-place finish (20:45.2) at this meet in 2016.
Twin sister Jessica Drop, who was third overall after taking 33rd last year, along with sophomore Yanely Gomez and senior Addy Lippitt joined Sam with expected All-Region finishes.
On the men's side, senior Bryan Kamau complemented his All-Region 13th-place finish in 2016 with a similar All-Region performance taking 15th this season. His finish, which marked the 12th time in a row that he has led the Bulldogs, helped put Georgia in ninth place (242). Middle Tennessee State (71) edged Ole Miss (76) for the title.
"I am ecstatic to have the women qualify for NCAAs and to see a Bulldog win the individual title," said Georgia distance coach Patrick Cunniff, who took over the cross country teams at his alma mater before the 2012 season. "We were all confident that we could finish in the top two and now that we have done it, I think it's a tribute to this team's hard work and dedication and the fact that they believed in each other. It was truly a total team effort with the two at the front, Yanely surging into the top 20 and Addy and Hailey securing strong finishes at the fourth and fifth scoring spots. Everyone should be extremely proud of this finish."
Four out of the five scorers for the Bulldog men were seniors and Cunniff thought they concluded their season and careers with a valiant effort.
"Our guys gave everything they had and showed what type of heart and determination they have had throughout their careers at Georgia," Cunniff said. "We would have loved to have a higher finisher, but they should be proud of their effort and how they went out. Bryan worked hard for his third consecutive All-Region performance and we are hoping this crew continues to develop when we hit the track this season."
After receiving an at-large bid for the 2012 NCAA Championships with a third-place finish at that season's NCAA South Regional, the Lady Bulldogs' last automatic qualifying finish for Nationals was with another runner-up finish in 2007.
This year, it was the Drop twins clocking career-best times to break into the top three individually. Less than five seconds behind her victorious sister was Jessica Drop, who clocked a 19:45.4. One of the sisters has now been the team's top finisher in all 12 competitions that they have raced in over the last two years.
Gomez improved her finish from 52nd in 2016 to 16th this year with the fastest finish of her career (20:29.1) for All-Region honors. Battling to extend her cross country career, Lippitt shaved more than 30 spots off of her finish last season at the meet to take 24th (a career-best 20:44.0). This will mark Lippitt's first All-Region performance.
Rounding out Georgia's scorers was Branch, who missed the meet in 2016 and was 101st two years ago. The Atlanta native took 32nd after completing the course in 20:52.3.
The Bulldog men were again led by Kamau, who first earned All-Region honors as a sophomore in 2015 taking 17th. This year, the native of Kenya and graduate of Shiloh High School (Ga.) completed his first 10k of the season with a 31:14.1. Behind Kamau, senior Austin Sprague continued his trend of being the second Bulldog finisher and finished 36th (32:04.3).
Senior Eric Westog was next across the line for Georgia after taking 66th (32:44.) in his final collegiate cross meet. Six spots behind Westog was senior Jon Moses, who made his debut at the meet and finished in 32:52.7. Redshirt sophomore Tyler Jones, who had no postseason experience coming into his second season, scored for the Bulldogs with a time of 32:53.5 for 74th place.
The NCAA Championships will begin on November 18 with the women's 6k at 10:45am. Georgia last raced on the course at the E.P. Tom Sawyer Park in Louisville, Ky., at the NCAA Pre-Nationals on October 14.
Updates from Georgia's track and field and cross country teams can always be found on Twitter/Instagram (UGATrack) and Snapchat (ugatrack) or at georgiadogs.com.
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