Thomas To Direct Men’s & Women’s Sprinters In 2018-19
June 26, 2018 | Track & Field
ATHENS, Ga. --- Georgia track and field assistant and recruiting coordinator Althea Thomas will be adding men's sprints/hurdles/relays to her existing role with the women's sprinters, according to an announcement from head coach Petros Kyprianou.
Thomas, a native of Birmingham, Ala., arrived in Athens in August 2017 and started as the team's recruiting coordinator and women's sprints/hurdles/relays coach. Following a reshuffling of duties that included adding assistant Russ Johnson to coach the pole vault, Thomas will now be guiding both sprinters groups on the track.
"I felt Coach 'AT' has proven herself in a short amount of time and that she can develop world-class sprinters from any level," said Kyprianou. "Whether the student-athletes are walk-ons to the level of Lynna Irby, she has proven to know how to adapt to their needs and help them grow in an impressive way. I have watched her do the same on the men's side while she was at Clemson and she has recruited and signed our biggest sprint signee in Elijah Godwin from Atlanta.
"I am looking forward to seeing our student-athletes and future recruits get a taste of her greatness as I believe she has fit in very well with the rest our great staff. Don Babbitt, Patrick Cunniff, Tatijana Jacobson, AT and now Russ are all on the same pace in moving this ship forward, challenging for more championships in the future. Go Dawgs!"
Thomas' first season directing the Lady Bulldog sprinters provided immediate dividends. She worked with true freshman Lynna Irby during indoor and outdoor campaigns where she was named the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) South Region Track Athlete of the Year thanks to a flurry of titles and unforgettable performances.
Indoors, the Indianapolis, Ind., native recorded the top time in the world at the time in the 200-meter dash after clocking of 22.66 to win the Southeastern Conference title, which was her third time dipping under 23 seconds indoors. Irby also recorded the second-fastest time in the world in the 400m at 50.62 to finish second at SECs. That time also ranked fourth all-time among collegians in the event. Irby also recorded an all-time collegiate top-ten performance in the 300m with a best time of 36.73.
Two weeks later at the NCAA Indoor Championships, Thomas coached Irby to third-place finishes in both the 200m and 400m. These performances were highlighted by her school record of 22.55 in the 200m.
Outdoors, Irby sat atop the NCAA Division I descending order list in the 200m this year with a run of 22.25 that earned her an SEC crown. She ran a 22.06 at the NCAA East Prelims, which is the third-best wind-aided time in collegiate history. Irby was also the top qualifier for Nationals in the 400m with a time of 50.44, breaking an NCAA East Prelims record.
At the NCAA Championships, Thomas directed Irby to the seventh-fastest collegiate 400m time in history (50.11) in the semifinals before she won Georgia's first NCAA title in the event with the second-fastest time in NCAA collegiate history (49.80). This time was also No. 2 on the 2018 world list.
Thomas' 4x100m relay teams outdoors also established fresh No. 2 (43.90) and No. 3 (44.02) times in the Georgia women's record books.
In addition, Thomas trained sophomore Micaiah Ransby to a personal record of 23.47 in the outdoor 200m and 53.85 in the indoor 400m. She also prepared sophomore Amber Tanner to run a 2:06.28 in the indoor 800m and 2:07.13 at the distance outdoors.
Thomas, a native of Birmingham, Ala., arrived in Athens in August 2017 and started as the team's recruiting coordinator and women's sprints/hurdles/relays coach. Following a reshuffling of duties that included adding assistant Russ Johnson to coach the pole vault, Thomas will now be guiding both sprinters groups on the track.
"I felt Coach 'AT' has proven herself in a short amount of time and that she can develop world-class sprinters from any level," said Kyprianou. "Whether the student-athletes are walk-ons to the level of Lynna Irby, she has proven to know how to adapt to their needs and help them grow in an impressive way. I have watched her do the same on the men's side while she was at Clemson and she has recruited and signed our biggest sprint signee in Elijah Godwin from Atlanta.
"I am looking forward to seeing our student-athletes and future recruits get a taste of her greatness as I believe she has fit in very well with the rest our great staff. Don Babbitt, Patrick Cunniff, Tatijana Jacobson, AT and now Russ are all on the same pace in moving this ship forward, challenging for more championships in the future. Go Dawgs!"
Thomas' first season directing the Lady Bulldog sprinters provided immediate dividends. She worked with true freshman Lynna Irby during indoor and outdoor campaigns where she was named the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) South Region Track Athlete of the Year thanks to a flurry of titles and unforgettable performances.
Indoors, the Indianapolis, Ind., native recorded the top time in the world at the time in the 200-meter dash after clocking of 22.66 to win the Southeastern Conference title, which was her third time dipping under 23 seconds indoors. Irby also recorded the second-fastest time in the world in the 400m at 50.62 to finish second at SECs. That time also ranked fourth all-time among collegians in the event. Irby also recorded an all-time collegiate top-ten performance in the 300m with a best time of 36.73.
Two weeks later at the NCAA Indoor Championships, Thomas coached Irby to third-place finishes in both the 200m and 400m. These performances were highlighted by her school record of 22.55 in the 200m.
Outdoors, Irby sat atop the NCAA Division I descending order list in the 200m this year with a run of 22.25 that earned her an SEC crown. She ran a 22.06 at the NCAA East Prelims, which is the third-best wind-aided time in collegiate history. Irby was also the top qualifier for Nationals in the 400m with a time of 50.44, breaking an NCAA East Prelims record.
At the NCAA Championships, Thomas directed Irby to the seventh-fastest collegiate 400m time in history (50.11) in the semifinals before she won Georgia's first NCAA title in the event with the second-fastest time in NCAA collegiate history (49.80). This time was also No. 2 on the 2018 world list.
Thomas' 4x100m relay teams outdoors also established fresh No. 2 (43.90) and No. 3 (44.02) times in the Georgia women's record books.
In addition, Thomas trained sophomore Micaiah Ransby to a personal record of 23.47 in the outdoor 200m and 53.85 in the indoor 400m. She also prepared sophomore Amber Tanner to run a 2:06.28 in the indoor 800m and 2:07.13 at the distance outdoors.
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Sprints
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