Dogs Square Off Versus The League At SECs

Friday, October 29

Columbia, Mo.

TBA

University of Georgia

SEC Championships

October 28, 2021 | Cross Country

ATHENS, Ga. --- The Georgia cross country teams made the trip to Missouri on Wednesday in preparation for the Southeastern Conference Cross Country Championships in Columbia, Mo., on Friday morning.

When & Where: The Georgia men will start the meet with their 8k race at 11:08 a.m. ET at the Gans Creek Course while the Lady Bulldogs will race in the 6k at 11:50 a.m.

Where To See The Meet: The meet will air live on the SEC Network and can be seen at the following link starting at 11 a.m.: http://gado.gs/7vv

Results: Live results for the meet will be located here: http://gado.gs/7vt

Weather: Following a rainy Thursday, Friday's forecast is calling for showers in the morning with temperatures in the upper 40s at race time.  Winds are also expected to top 15 miles per hour when the starting gun fires.

Cunniff's Quotes: "We go into Friday wanting to give a championship level effort in both races," said Bulldog distance coach Patrick Cunniff.  "I hope and expect that racing at an SEC Championship and representing the University of Georgia will allow each student-athlete to dig deep and bring the best out of themselves.  The weather could be nasty and hopefully toughness and grit will allow us to elevate even further.

"These men and women have worked so hard since August to shape this 2021 team.  Samantha (Drop) and Michael (Hans) have worked hard for as long as six years to prepare for these moments.  It's time to put that work to work and race as hard as we can.  Both teams have a chance to surprise some people and I know we want to beat our preseason rankings (men seventh, women 10^th) on both genders."

The Bulldog men started the year with two top-five team finishes and most recently took 34^th versus some of the nation's top squads at Pre-Nationals in Tallahassee, Fla., on Oct. 15.  The 2020 group surged for a third-place finish at the SEC Championships.

"For the men, I expect Sam Bowers and Michael Hans to lead us and I'm super excited to see who else will step up in tough conditions with a Bulldog mentality," Cunniff said.

The Lady Bulldogs were 15^th during their action at the Pre-Nationals.  Last year, the Georgia women battled for an eighth-place finish with three of their five scorers in 2020 in the lineup for Friday's race.

"Samantha Drop has had some great races in adverse conditions, and I think that New England upbringing will serve her well here," explained Cunniff.  "I think Sara Bailey will thrive in this environment as well because of her toughness and will.  Anna Marian Block and Marisa Petit have the most experience and we are counting on them to provide leadership and focus to a very young crew."

What Dogs Are Competing: Georgia is expecting to have 17 runners competing at the SEC meet.  On the women's side, seniors Anna Marian Block, Samantha Drop, Marisa Petit, junior Sara Bailey sophomores Charlotte Augenstein, Sophia Baker and redshirt freshman Grace Ellsworth are scheduled to race.

Senior Michael Hans, juniors Sam Bowers, Nicolas Fontova, Wesley John, sophomore Noah Hayes, redshirt freshmen Cole Heron, KC Heron, Zachary Roe and freshmen Cooper Bocko and Davis Potts will take the course for the Bulldog men.

Experience at SECs, Debut Time For Others: Eight of Georgia's competitors have at least one SEC race on their resume.  In fact, Drop, Hans and Petit will be racing in their fourth league meet on Friday.

Drop, who is now a sixth-year senior from Durham, Conn., scored in 2017 and 2019-20, was an SEC First Team selection in 2017 and Second Team selection in 2019 and was the Lady Bulldogs' top finisher in 2020 (21^st).  Hans also scored at all three of his SEC meets (2017-18, 2020) and was the team's top finisher at the 2018 meet, taking 26^th overall.  Petit has competed at the last three SEC meets and topped out last year with a scoring finish of 61^st.

Also of note, Block is a two-time scorer, Bailey scored in 2020, Bowers earned a spot on the All-SEC Freshman Team in 2018 and was the team leader with a 10^th-place finish last year and John is also a returning scorer after crossing the line in 69^th in 2019.

A majority of Bulldogs have never competed at SECs.  Augenstein, Baker and Ellsworth from the women's team will be making their conference debut while Hayes, both Heron brothers, Roe, Bocko and Potts will also be lining up for the first time at the league meet.

FLASHBACK – 2020 SEC Championships: The men highlighted last year's meet by surging for a third-place finish in windy, soggy conditions at the University Club Golf Course in Baton Rouge, La.

Matching their best finish since 2013, the Bulldogs scored 121 points to edge Tennessee (123) for the bronze spot on the medal stand in the 8k.  Bowers took 10^th to have the top finish for a Georgia male since 2013 (Luke Baker, fourth) and then redshirt freshman Chase Condra hung on for 12^th to be the race's top freshman finisher.

Drop posted the third top-25 individual finish of her SEC career to lead the Lady Bulldogs to an eighth-place finish (249 points) in the women's 6k race to start the day.

Two years after earning All-SEC Freshman honors, Bowers collected All-SEC Second Team honors along with Condra, who also earned his own All-SEC Freshman honor last year.

In addition, Drop received her SEC Women's Cross Country Scholar-Athlete Award following the day's races.

Last Time Out: Bailey finished eighth overall to highlight the Pre-Nationals in Tallahassee, Fla., on Oct. 15.

Bailey was the Lady Bulldogs' top finisher for the third consecutive meet with her third top-10 finish in a row in the women's Open 6k against the field of 294 total runners.  The Georgia women were 15^th (383).

Bowers, who was making his season debut, was the top Bulldog finisher, taking 101^st (24:16.2) in the 304-man field during the 8k Garnet race that opened the day.  Georgia took 34^th as a team with 889 points.

The men started the action at the Apalachee Regional Park and Bowers managed to top his teammates for the fifth time in his career.  Next across the finish line was Hans.  The sixth-year senior registered a 24:39.3 for 152^nd place after also leading the Bulldogs the last time out.

John, who was Georgia's No. 1 finisher in the 2021 season opener, was the third runner in red and black across the line, taking 195^th with a 24:55.5. Bocko (235^th – 25:18.2) scored for the first time during his second collegiate race while Cole Heron finished six spots later in 241^st (25:21.6) to also break into Georgia's top five for the first time.

The Lady Bulldogs finished in the middle of the 29-team field during the team's last regular season action.  Opening the year with a sixth-place finish and taking ninth during Georgia's last meet, Bailey was the second SEC runner to cross the finish line and eighth overall.  Junior Ellie Hall made it three straight scoring performances by finishing 84^th with a 22:37.4.

The next Georgia runner to finish the course was Augenstein, who took 110^th (22:59.9) to also score for the third straight time.  Last racing cross during the 2020 opener, Block was the fourth Lady Bulldog across the finish line thanks to 23:35.2 for 152^nd.  Five spots behind was Baker.  She returned to the top five after finishing in that zone in the first race of the season with a 157^th-place finish (23:40.4).

What's Up Next: Following the start to their postseason, the Bulldogs will return to action at the NCAA South Regional in Huntsville, Ala., on Nov. 12.  Georgia ran the same course at the North Alabama Showcase in mid-September.

Keeping Up With The Dogs: Updates from Georgia's track and field and cross country teams can always be found on Twitter/Instagram (UGATrack).