Track Begins Postseason At SEC Championships

Friday, February 28

College Station, Texas

All Day

University of Georgia

SEC Indoor Championships

February 27, 2020 | Track & Field

2020 SEC Indoor Championships - Notes Schedule Heat Sheets

COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS --- The second-ranked Georgia women and sixth-ranked Bulldog men traveled to College Station, Texas, on Wednesday in preparation for the Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships at the Aggies' Gilliam Indoor Stadium scheduled for Friday and Saturday.

When Do The Bulldogs Start On Friday?: Redshirt freshman Kyle Garland starts the competition for Georgia in the first event of the seven-event heptathlon (60-meter dash) at 12:15 p.m. ET on Friday. Garland is ranked third on the national list in the combined events behind his teammates, top-ranked and two-time defending SEC hep champion Johannes Erm and redshirt freshman Karel Tilga. Erm and Tilga will be competing in the open 60m hurdles and the pole vault in College Station instead of the hep.

Sophomore Sterling Lester and freshman Anna Hall will open the women's competition in the pentathlon (60m hurdles) at 12:45 p.m. on Friday. Freshmen Haze Farmer and Collin Lark (pole vault) will begin the open events for UGA at 6:15 p.m. The first competitor on the track is sophomore Anna Marian Block in the women's mile at 6:32 p.m.

Who Is Ranked In The SEC?: A total of 16 SEC men and women's track and field programs are included in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) top 25 national rankings released Monday. A nation-leading eight SEC men's teams are ranked: No. 2 LSU, No. 3 Florida, No. 6 Georgia, No. 8 Tennessee, No. 10 Arkansas, No. 13 Texas A&M, No. 19 Kentucky and No. 23 Alabama.

A nation-best eight SEC women's teams are also ranked in the top 25: No. 1 LSU, No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Arkansas, No. 5 Texas A&M, No. 6 Kentucky, No. 11 Florida, No. 17 Alabama and No. 20 Ole Miss.

Where To Catch The SEC Championships: Dwight Stones, Dan O'Brien, Jill Montgomery and Larra Overton will be ESPN's crew for the SEC Championships as the meet will be featured on the SEC Network and SECN+.
Friday: (SECN+) 6:30 p.m. ET; gado.gs/4gn
Saturday: (SECN+) 4:55 p.m.; gado.gs/4gp
Sunday: (Tape Delayed on SECN) 9 p.m.

Live Results: For results throughout the weekend, please visit: gado.gs/4jq

Kyprianou's Comments: "We are excited to be entering the Championship season," said fifth-year head coach Petros Kyprianou. "The favorite season of every hyper-competitive athlete, especially in our ultra-competitive league. Even though our teams are geared towards the NCAA Championships and we will be resting some key people, the excitement of being in contention of individual titles is obvious and our young men and women are ready to go!

"It has been a long rainy cold winter and we tried to do our best maximizing the limitations of our facilities. I feel the coaching staff has done a great job preparing our student-athletes and that adds to the excitement of the postseason. This is a great test before the major goal of 2020 at the NCAA Championships in March.

"We are going to go to College Station with a fresh new team that wants to find its own greatness and make a legacy of its own. I can't wait to watch them go out and put on their show and have fun representing the G!"

What Bulldogs Are Competing?: For the Lady Bulldogs, graduate Victoria Powell, seniors Micaiah Ransby, Kayla Smith, Amber Tanner, Tiffany Yue, juniors Jessica Drop, Samantha Drop, Destiny Jackson, Halle McClintock, sophomores Block, Imani Carothers, Lester, Titiana Marsh and freshmen Julia Fixsen, Hall, Ellie Hall, Ani Henderson, Arria Minor, Jasmine Moore, Nicole Pachuta and Shelby Tyler traveled for SECs.

On the men's side, seniors Darius Carbin, Taylor Scarbrough, juniors Delano Dunkley, Erm, Michael Hans, sophomores Elija Godwin, Tilga and freshmen Matthew Boling, Sam Bowers, Chase Condra, Farmer, Tyler Fox, Garland, Wesley John and Lark will represent Georgia.

A Glimpse At The 2019 SEC Championships: The Georgia men and women finished seventh at last year's indoor league meet in Arkansas. The Lady Bulldogs used 10 scorers, including 400m champion Lynna Irby, to score 49 points. The Bulldog men tallied 45 points thanks in part to Erm winning his second consecutive heptathlon crown and Denzel Comenentia securing his second indoor shot put championship since 2017.

The women also were aided by Tanner taking third in the 800m and Marsh adding seven points with a fourth-place finish in the triple jump and seventh-place finish in the long jump.

In addition to the pair of men mentioned above, returning scorers included Carbin (high jump) and Hans in the distance medley relay.

Last Time In College Station: The Georgia women left the Gilliam facility as national champions the last time UGA visited Texas A&M's campus in 2018. The Lady Bulldogs scored a school record 61 points to capture the team's first national title at the NCAA Indoor Championships. The Georgia men also had their top finish in school history at third place with 32 points. In addition, the Georgia women were second at the SEC indoor meet that year, which was also held in College Station, while the Bulldog men finished fifth at the conference meet.

Similar to last year's indoor and outdoor SEC meets begin in Fayetteville, Ark., in 2019, College Station will also be the site of this year's SEC Outdoor Championships as well.

Did You Know?: The Georgia men and women's cross country teams were recently named USTFCCCA All-Academic Teams for the 14^th consecutive year. The Georgia women posted a 3.55 cumulative GPA during the 2019 fall semester while the Bulldog women finished with a 3.3 GPA for the term.

On Wednesday, Jessica Drop was named the SEC Indoor Women's Co-Scholar-Athlete of the Year, making her only the second Lady Bulldog to garner the honor since its inception in 2015.

Also of note, Jessica Drop and Samantha Drop, twin sisters who are both natives of Durham, Conn., were included as All-Academic Individuals. Jessica has a 3.92 GPA in Cellular Biology while Samantha has a 3.99 GPA in Nutritional Sciences. Jessica was third at the 2019 NCAA Cross Country South Regional for the third straight year to earn All-Region honors for the third year in a row. Samantha was fifth at the Regional to collect her third All-Region certificate also.

What's Next For The Bulldogs?: After the SEC meet, the Bulldogs will train through the first weekend of March before traveling to Albuquerque, N.M., for the NCAA Indoor Championships (March 13-14). This will mark the first NCAA meet in New Mexico since 2014. The Georgia women tied for third at that meet.

The Bulldogs then immediately start their outdoor season at the Yellow Jacket Invitational in Atlanta on March 20-21. They will host three home meets outdoors: Spec Towns Invitational – April 3-4, Torrin Lawrence Memorial – April 24-25, Bulldog Last Chance – May 9.

Where To Find Bulldogs News: Results and recaps from the SEC Indoor Championships will be found at georgiadogs.com. News and updates from Georgia's track and field and cross country teams are always located on Twitter/Instagram at @UGATrack.