Drop Leads Georgia To Fourth At SEC Championships

Friday, October 26

Auburn, Ala.

TBA

University of Georgia

SEC Championships

Photo by: Kristin M. Bradshaw

October 26, 2018 | Cross Country

Women's Results Men's Results

AUBURN, Ala. --- Junior Jessica Drop led the Georgia women to their second-best finish in the last seven years during the Southeastern Conference Cross Country Championships at the Indian Pines Golf Course in Auburn, Ala., on Friday morning.

The 24^th-ranked Lady Bulldogs grabbed fourth place in the women's 6k after scoring 144 points.  This is their first fourth-place finish since earning that spot four consecutive seasons from 2008-11.  Fifth-ranked Arkansas captured its sixth straight league title after tallying 24 points.

Drop, a native of Durham, Conn., earned expected First Team All-SEC honors for the second year in a row by taking seventh.  This gives the 2017 All-American three performances of 14^thplace of better at the Championships during her career.  Drop was fourth and one spot in front of her twin sister Samantha (redshirting in 2018) at the 2017 SEC meet.

The Bulldogs registered 190 points to take ninth during the men's 8k on a morning featuring temperatures in the low 60s and soggy conditions after a day of rain.  Redshirt sophomore Michael Hans led the charge for Georgia for the fourth time in 2018 while true freshman Sam Bowers earned expected SEC All-Freshman Team honors with his finish.

The 21^st-ranked Ole Miss Rebels (36) won to break an eight-year winning streak at the meet by edging 20^th-ranked Arkansas (44).

A one-hour SEC Championships highlight show will air Sunday, Nov. 4, at 1 p.m. on the SEC Network.

"I'm really proud of both teams," said Bulldog distance coach Patrick Cunniff.  "Today was a great reminder of how competitive and tough the SEC is.  I think our teams competed as well as they could have out there. In the women's race, Jessica Drop was in that top pack and in contention throughout the race.  Anna Marian Block and Yanely Gomez had a great showing today and truly battled until the finish line.

"For the men, I think they had a good race plan and executed it well.  We moved up throughout the race and I was proud of (Jonathan) Pelham and (Daniel) Navarro for setting the tone and sticking in there.  The future is bright with the finishes of our top two guys in sophomore Michael Hans and freshman Sam Bowers and now we have to get ready for Regionals in two weeks."

In the women's race, Jessica Drop surged to second place at one point in the race and held on for seventh with a 19:26.6, which represents her best time at any of her three league meets.  Junior Yanely Gomez was next across the line for UGA, taking 23^rdat 20:07.1.  This marks a 37-spot improvement for Gomez, who scored at the SEC meet for the first time since 2016.

Senior Grace Tavani, who was running at her third straight SEC Championships, was the Lady Bulldogs' third finisher for the second year in a row. The Roswell, Ga., native finished 27^thwith a time of 20:17.6.

Georgia's final two scorers finished within seven spots of each other.  True freshman Anna Marian Block made her debut at the meet and was 43^rdwith a 20:34.7.  This marked the first scoring finish for Block this fall after finishing up at Athens Academy last spring.  Senior Hailey Branch scored for the second time in a row during her third SEC Championships since 2015.  She clocked a 20:38.1 for 49^thplace.

On the men's side, Hans trimmed his 2017 finish at the meet in half to take 26^thwith a time of 23:44.6.  This was the second time Hans has scored at the SEC meet after being the Bulldogs' fifth finisher last year.  Bowers, a native of Milton, Ga., was two spots behind in 28^thwith a 23:46.5 to score in his third consecutive meet.  He was the seventh freshman across the finish line at his first SEC meet to earn a spot on the All-Freshman squad.

A pair of upperclassmen were next to score for Georgia with top-50 performances.  Junior Jonathan Pelham bettered his 75^th-place finish a year ago to take 42^ndand scored for the first time with a 24:05.6.  This time shaved more than a minute and a half off of his finish last year. Crossing the line in 44^thplace, senior Daniel Navarro scored for the third time in his career, which began in the 2014 fall.  Navarro registered a 24:06.9 in his fourth SEC Championships.

Redshirt sophomore Nate Reichard began his first postseason by scoring at his third meet in a row.  Reichard was 52^ndthanks to completing the course in 24:15.7.

This meet marked the first of hopefully three postseason meets for the Bulldogs.  The Lady Bulldogs will be gunning to qualify for two straight NCAA meets while the Georgia men are in search of their first berth since 2013 at the NCAA South Regional in Tallahassee, Fla., on Friday, Nov. 9. The NCAA Championships are set for Saturday, Nov. 17 in Madison, Wis.

Updates from Georgia's track and field and cross country teams can always be found on Twitter/Instagram (UGATrack) and Snapchat (ugatrack).

TEAM FINISHES
Women
1. Arkansas (24)
2. Florida (69)
3. Ole Miss (116)
4. GEORGIA (144)
5. Missouri (149)
6. Vanderbilt (181)
7. Tennessee (197)
8. Kentucky (242)
9. Alabama (242)
10. Texas A&M (260)
11. LSU (275)
12. Mississippi State (277)
13. South Carolina (333)
14. Auburn (249)

Men
1. Ole Miss (36)
2. Arkansas (44)
3.  Kentucky (122)
4. Tennessee (132)
5. Missouri (135)
6. Alabama (166)
7. Texas A&M (170)
8. Florida (184)
9. GEORGIA (190)
10. Auburn (266)
11. Vanderbilt (291)
12. LSU (335)

BULLDOG INDIVIDUAL FINISHES
Women
1. *Jessica Drop (7^th– 19:26.6)
2. Yanely Gomez (23^rd– 20:07.1)
3. Grace Tavani (27^th– 20:17.6)
4. Anna Marian Block (43^rd– 20:34.7)

5. Hailey Branch (49^th– 20:38.1)

6. Skylar English (51^st– 20:41.2)
7. Ansley Heavern (74^th– 21:06.0)
8. Tiffany Yue (109^th- 21:42.3)
9. Marisa Petit (114^th– 21:47.2)
10. Nicole Pachuta - DNF
*First Team All-SEC; DNF – Did Not Finish

MEN
1. Michael Hans (26^th– 23:44.6)
2. ^Sam Bowers (28^th– 23:46.5)
3. Jonathan Pelham (42^nd– 24:05.6)
4. Daniel Navarro (44^th- 24:06.9)

5. Nate Reichard (52^nd– 24:15.7)

6. Darr Smith (63^rd – 24:31.6)
7. Tyler Jones (65^th– 24:34.9)
8. Jack Bradley (89^th– 25:26.5)
9. Tyler Fox - DNF
10. Davis Stockwell - DNF
^SEC All-Freshman Team