University of Georgia Athletics
Saturday, January 30
Fayetteville, Ark.
All Day
University of Georgia
at
Razorback Invitational
‘Plethora Of Positive Showings’ Come From Razorback Invite
January 30, 2021 | Track & Field
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. --- Georgia's track and field teams posted five of the nation's top-four performances in addition to a school record as the Razorback Invitational wrapped up in Fayetteville, Ark., on Saturday.
Junior Imani Carothers moved to the top of the country's list in the 60-meter hurdles; senior Jessica Drop topped her own school record in the 3000m and moved to No. 2 nationally; sophomore Jasmine Moore jumped from No. 3 to No. 2 on the NCAA's triple jump list; junior Elija Godwin joined his teammate at the top of the national 400m list; and senior Kayla Smith crept into No. 4 on the country's pole vault list with yet another 14-foot clearance.
Full Results: For live results to this weekend's meet, please visit: http://gado.gs/5zv
Kyprianou's Comments: "Today our student-athletes responded wonderfully to the competition on this blazing-fast track," said head coach Petros Kyprianou. "I'm very excited for both indoor and outdoor season as these young men and women are just hungry to compete for championships and prove it every weekend. Our coaches are doing a great job keeping our philosophy and foundation very fresh and the spark is there. We had so many outstanding performance today I can't choose a single highlight. From Elija, to Jasmine, to Kayla, there were a plethora of positive showings by the Dawgs! We just got to keep pushing and adding more firepower going in to the postseason, Go Dawgs!"
The Low Down: In the 60m hurdle final, Carothers, who had been stuck on a personal record of 8.18 three different times, scorched that previous career best with an 8.06 to win. Her time moved her from fourth to third on the school's all-time record books, gave her the NCAA lead in the event and placed her No. 13 on the 2021 world list. Carothers started her day by finishing second in the prelims with an 8.19, which was only .01 off her previous personal record.
Drop collected the school record (9:11.01) in the 3000m at the 2018 SEC Championships. On Saturday, she sped by that time with a meet record 9:03.29 to move into the No. 2 spot on this year's national performance list and into the top 15 in the world.
Moore began her second triple jump competition of the year with a pair of fouls. Dropping a third attempt mark (44 feet, 2 inches) that would have won the event, she then went 45-3.50 on her fourth jump to lock down her fifth straight victory in the triple bridging the 2020 season and stay undefeated collegiately.
This mark puts Moore, who won the long jump on Friday, second on the national list and in the world's top 10 this year. Only her effort of 45-7.25 at the meet last year has been longer by any competitor in meet history.
The mixture of strength on the track and in the field continued with Godwin's showing in the 400m. Breaking the 46-second mark at the 2020 SEC meet, Godwin won his first indoor collegiate race at the distance with the country's third-best time this year. He flew to a 45.56, which put he and teammate Matthew Boling (45.51) second and third on both the school's all-time top-10 list and on this year's national list. Godwin's time is also the third best in meet history.
Also in the triple jump, junior Titiana Marsh sustained four fouls but had a top effort of 42-4.75 in the fourth round for third place.
Smith pushed her winning streak to two consecutive meets with a season-best mark of 14-3.25 in the pole vault. Smith, who has now surpassed 14 feet twice in 2021, fought for a third attempt clearance and inched her way to the No. 4 spot on the national list.
In the men's 3000m, sophomore Sam Bowers improved his own No. 8 spot in the school record books with a 8:10.68 to take 11th.
Redshirt sophomore Clay Pender has now entered the Bulldog all-time top-10 list with his finish in the mile. He kept a consistent pace through his laps and clocked a 4:07.27, which is the 10th-best time in school history, for fourth.
Boling returned to the track after setting it on fire in the 200m a day before and was fifth in the 60m with a 6.70. Boling (6.74) and senior Delano Dunkley (personal best 6.85) were sixth and eighth, respectively, in the prelims. Dunkley had a 6.91 for seventh in the final.
Freshman transfer Gavin Beverage is making a habit of going longer in the shot put and bettering his placing each week. Beverage reached 58-6.50 on his opening try to win, which marked the third straight week showing an improvement both with his distance and where he finished.
Also of note, redshirt sophomore heptathlete Kyle Garland hit three season bests in the shot put, topping out at 48-9 for fourth place.
Redshirt freshman Mia Anderson's top meet of her career started out shaky as she let go of a pair of fouls in the women's shot. However, Anderson answered those with a personal best of 42-0.75 on her fifth try and then a fresh career best of 42-11.75 on her sixth and final attempt to earn bronze medal honors.
Going into day two with a 42-point lead in the heptathlon, sophomore Karel Tilga completed his seven events in third place with 5,713 points. Redshirt sophomore Ziggy Zoller kept his day one fifth-place spot after day two with a total of 5,519.
While he ran an 8.32 in an open 60m hurdles race in 2020, Tilga hit the same time for a combined events personal best in the hep's fifth event on Saturday. He scored 903 and was fifth in the event. Zoller was two spots behind with an 8.44, which earned him 874 going into the pole vault.
Tilga reached the seventh-best pole vault mark of the competition with an effort of 14-7.25. This scored him 746 points and put him in fourth by 151 points going into the finale. Zoller finished with three first attempt clearances, topping out at 13-11.25 for 688 points. He put himself in seventh place with the 1000m coming.
Zoller captured top honors in the 1000m to conclude his first collegiate hep. He ran a 2:37.44 to finish 308 points behind the winner. Tilga was the runner-up in the 1000m thanks to his 2:41.03 and was 114 points short of the winner.
Up Next: Training through next weekend, Georgia is then planning on splitting the squad and traveling back to Columbia, S.C., and Clemson, S.C., on Feb. 12-13.
Keeping Up With The Dogs: Updates from Georgia's track and field and cross country teams can always be found on Twitter/Instagram (UGATrack) and Snapchat (ugatrack).
Junior Imani Carothers moved to the top of the country's list in the 60-meter hurdles; senior Jessica Drop topped her own school record in the 3000m and moved to No. 2 nationally; sophomore Jasmine Moore jumped from No. 3 to No. 2 on the NCAA's triple jump list; junior Elija Godwin joined his teammate at the top of the national 400m list; and senior Kayla Smith crept into No. 4 on the country's pole vault list with yet another 14-foot clearance.
Full Results: For live results to this weekend's meet, please visit: http://gado.gs/5zv
Kyprianou's Comments: "Today our student-athletes responded wonderfully to the competition on this blazing-fast track," said head coach Petros Kyprianou. "I'm very excited for both indoor and outdoor season as these young men and women are just hungry to compete for championships and prove it every weekend. Our coaches are doing a great job keeping our philosophy and foundation very fresh and the spark is there. We had so many outstanding performance today I can't choose a single highlight. From Elija, to Jasmine, to Kayla, there were a plethora of positive showings by the Dawgs! We just got to keep pushing and adding more firepower going in to the postseason, Go Dawgs!"
The Low Down: In the 60m hurdle final, Carothers, who had been stuck on a personal record of 8.18 three different times, scorched that previous career best with an 8.06 to win. Her time moved her from fourth to third on the school's all-time record books, gave her the NCAA lead in the event and placed her No. 13 on the 2021 world list. Carothers started her day by finishing second in the prelims with an 8.19, which was only .01 off her previous personal record.
Drop collected the school record (9:11.01) in the 3000m at the 2018 SEC Championships. On Saturday, she sped by that time with a meet record 9:03.29 to move into the No. 2 spot on this year's national performance list and into the top 15 in the world.
Moore began her second triple jump competition of the year with a pair of fouls. Dropping a third attempt mark (44 feet, 2 inches) that would have won the event, she then went 45-3.50 on her fourth jump to lock down her fifth straight victory in the triple bridging the 2020 season and stay undefeated collegiately.
This mark puts Moore, who won the long jump on Friday, second on the national list and in the world's top 10 this year. Only her effort of 45-7.25 at the meet last year has been longer by any competitor in meet history.
The mixture of strength on the track and in the field continued with Godwin's showing in the 400m. Breaking the 46-second mark at the 2020 SEC meet, Godwin won his first indoor collegiate race at the distance with the country's third-best time this year. He flew to a 45.56, which put he and teammate Matthew Boling (45.51) second and third on both the school's all-time top-10 list and on this year's national list. Godwin's time is also the third best in meet history.
Also in the triple jump, junior Titiana Marsh sustained four fouls but had a top effort of 42-4.75 in the fourth round for third place.
Smith pushed her winning streak to two consecutive meets with a season-best mark of 14-3.25 in the pole vault. Smith, who has now surpassed 14 feet twice in 2021, fought for a third attempt clearance and inched her way to the No. 4 spot on the national list.
In the men's 3000m, sophomore Sam Bowers improved his own No. 8 spot in the school record books with a 8:10.68 to take 11th.
Redshirt sophomore Clay Pender has now entered the Bulldog all-time top-10 list with his finish in the mile. He kept a consistent pace through his laps and clocked a 4:07.27, which is the 10th-best time in school history, for fourth.
Boling returned to the track after setting it on fire in the 200m a day before and was fifth in the 60m with a 6.70. Boling (6.74) and senior Delano Dunkley (personal best 6.85) were sixth and eighth, respectively, in the prelims. Dunkley had a 6.91 for seventh in the final.
Freshman transfer Gavin Beverage is making a habit of going longer in the shot put and bettering his placing each week. Beverage reached 58-6.50 on his opening try to win, which marked the third straight week showing an improvement both with his distance and where he finished.
Also of note, redshirt sophomore heptathlete Kyle Garland hit three season bests in the shot put, topping out at 48-9 for fourth place.
Redshirt freshman Mia Anderson's top meet of her career started out shaky as she let go of a pair of fouls in the women's shot. However, Anderson answered those with a personal best of 42-0.75 on her fifth try and then a fresh career best of 42-11.75 on her sixth and final attempt to earn bronze medal honors.
Going into day two with a 42-point lead in the heptathlon, sophomore Karel Tilga completed his seven events in third place with 5,713 points. Redshirt sophomore Ziggy Zoller kept his day one fifth-place spot after day two with a total of 5,519.
While he ran an 8.32 in an open 60m hurdles race in 2020, Tilga hit the same time for a combined events personal best in the hep's fifth event on Saturday. He scored 903 and was fifth in the event. Zoller was two spots behind with an 8.44, which earned him 874 going into the pole vault.
Tilga reached the seventh-best pole vault mark of the competition with an effort of 14-7.25. This scored him 746 points and put him in fourth by 151 points going into the finale. Zoller finished with three first attempt clearances, topping out at 13-11.25 for 688 points. He put himself in seventh place with the 1000m coming.
Zoller captured top honors in the 1000m to conclude his first collegiate hep. He ran a 2:37.44 to finish 308 points behind the winner. Tilga was the runner-up in the 1000m thanks to his 2:41.03 and was 114 points short of the winner.
Up Next: Training through next weekend, Georgia is then planning on splitting the squad and traveling back to Columbia, S.C., and Clemson, S.C., on Feb. 12-13.
Keeping Up With The Dogs: Updates from Georgia's track and field and cross country teams can always be found on Twitter/Instagram (UGATrack) and Snapchat (ugatrack).
Players Mentioned
Throws
/ Track & Field
Throws
/ Track & Field
Sprints/Jumps
/ Track & Field
Distance
/ Track & Field
Jumps
/ Track & Field
Distance
/ Track & Field
Sprints
/ Track & Field
Multi-Events
/ Track & Field
Sprints
/ Track & Field
Jumps
/ Track & Field
Jumps
/ Track & Field
Distance
/ Track & Field
Jumps
/ Track & Field
Multi-Events
/ Track & Field
Hurdles
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