Amber Tanner Completes The 800m School Record Sweep

Saturday, April 17

Gainesville, Fla.

All Day

University of Georgia

Tom Jones Memorial

Amber Tanner Completes The 800m School Record Sweep

April 17, 2021 | Track & Field

Full Results Virginia Challenge - Results

GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- Georgia senior Amber Tanner sped to a school record in the 800-meter run to top the highlights at the Tom Jones Memorial in Gainesville, Fla., on Saturday.

Junior Elija Godwin, sophomore Matthew Boling and the men and women's 4x400m relay teams also posted top-10 all-time marks in the sprints during the final day of the Bulldogs' last regular season road meet.

Results: For results of the Tom Jones Memorial, please visit: http://gado.gs/6u6

For results of Friday's Virginia Challenge, please visit: http://gado.gs/6u4

Kyprianou's Comments: "As a staff, we anticipated some great performances yet again this weekend with highlights from both locations and we got just that," said Bulldog head coach Petros Kyprianou.  "The highlight in Virginia is without a doubt Jessica Drop and her 15:41 5000m debut that shows she is a true warrior and a solid senior leader of our team. I have been around Jessica all her five years and I have witnessed her greatness on and off the field.  Coach Cunniff has done a marvelous job developing her to a consistent contender at the NCAA Championships and I am truly proud of both of them.  Our 'fast' people did not disappoint in Florida even though we thought we would get the usual Florida sunshine and breeze, and we got some wet conditions.  As I said last weekend at home, when our athletes set records left and right in the rain, our kids are resilient and motivated to live their Olympic dreams!  Clearly the highlight in the not-so Sunshine State was Amber Tanner with her blazing fast 2:01 school record and establishing her intention going into postseason.

"I am very proud of Matthew and Elijah as they both showed consistent improvements and are chasing their targeted times.  Coach AT (Althea Thomas) has developed Amber, Elija and Matt to an elite level in the NCAA and can't wait to see them enjoy the fruits of their labor come June!  Marie showed again how consistent she is in the javelin and overall our throwers are slowly but surely are sharpening their weapons as they looking at postseason.  As a head coach, I am very happy with the consistency and ambition of this group of athletes who continue to carry our tradition as an NCAA title contender as well as making it their own!  Go Dawgs!"

The Lowdown: Tanner, a native of Brentwood, Tenn., now owns both the indoor and outdoor school records in the 800m after dropping more than two seconds off of her personal best.  Tanner edged Florida's Gabrielle Wilkinson (2:01.45) for the victory, knocking Megan Malasarte's former school record of 2:02.06 from 2013 to No. 2 while also locking up in the No. 2 spot in the NCAA this year.  Tanner's time ranks No. 13 in the world this year.

Also, senior Halle McClintock registered a career best 2:09.04 for 18^th in the 800m.

Godwin kept the fast times coming for the Bulldogs in the 400m as he registered the second-fastest time in school history and quickest since 1987 to win.  Godwin clocked a 45.34, missing the school record by .01, and moved to No. 7 on this year's NCAA performance list.

Displacing Herschel Walker and a couple others, Boling recorded the seventh-best 100m time in UGA history to take third.  Boling ran a 10.21, which ranks 10^th nationally.

Boling and Godwin combined with Caleb Cavanaugh and Delano Dunkley in the 4x400m relay to run the ninth-fastest time in school history (3:05.53) for fourth place.

On the women's side, Chelsea Zoller, Julia Hall, Destiny Jackson and Tanner passed the baton in the 4x400m relay for a 3:36.37.  This also stands as the ninth-fastest finish in UGA history.

Freshman Charlotte Williams continued her upward move in the school record books with the longest throw of her UGA career in the hammer throw (200 feet, 11 inches).  Williams moved from No. 9 to No. 8 in the school record books and finished sixth in the competition.

In the men's hammer, junior Alencar Pereira watched his fifth attempt travel 210-7 to take fifth.

Up Next: The Bulldogs will train through next weekend before playing host to the fourth annual Torrin Lawrence Memorial in Athens at the Spec Towns Track on April 30-May 1.

How To Keep Up With The Dogs: Results and recaps from the Bulldogs' outdoor season 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.