Track Plays Host To Torrin Lawrence Memorial

Friday, April 30

Athens, Ga.

All Day

University of Georgia

Torrin Lawrence Memorial

April 29, 2021 | Track & Field

Schedule Heat Sheets

ATHENS, Ga. --- The Georgia track and field teams compete in their final regular season meet of the year as they play host to the fourth annual Torrin Lawrence Memorial in Athens on Friday and Saturday.

The Lady Bulldogs and the Georgia men will welcome Clemson, Columbia International University, Connecticut, Emory, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Kennesaw State, North Carolina, N.C. State and Virginia Tech, along with a host of professional competitors, to the Spec Towns Track for the program's second home meet of the year.

This will mark the final regular season action before the Southeastern Conference Championships arrive in College Station, Texas, on May 13-15.

When Do The Bulldogs Start Competition? The Torrin Lawrence Memorial begins with the men's hammer throw at 1 p.m. ET on Friday afternoon.  The first event on the track is the women's 800 meters at 5:30 p.m. later that day.

The meet's second day kicks off with the men's 5000m at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday.  The field events begin with the women's shot put at 11 a.m.

The Bulldogs will honor the late, great Torrin Lawrence and recognize the program's seniors who are saying farewell to their time in Athens at 12:30 p.m.

Due to current COVID-19 protocols, only pass-list guests will be allowed in the Spec Towns Track facility for the meet.

Where Are The Dogs Ranked? The Georgia women are ranked seventh in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) national poll while the Bulldog men stand at 13^th.

Live Stream: ESPN will live stream the meet.  Below are the links for each day:
Friday (beginning at 1 p.m.) – http://gado.gs/6x0
Saturday (beginning at 8:30 a.m.) – http://gado.gs/6x2

Live Results For The Torrin Lawrence Memorial (hashtag: #21TLMemorial): http://gado.gs/6x8

Kyprianou's Comments: "Distanced out about two weeks out from the beginning of our postseason, the Torrin Lawrence Memorial provides our teams the chance to compete in hopefully warm weather, pay tribute to our seniors and fine-tune everyone before SECs in a familiar setting with friends and family present," said head coach Petros Kyprianou.  "We have had a building number of breakthrough performances this season and I am encouraged that we can have more of those this weekend.  As usual, our main goal as we approach these months is to have everyone healthy and happy, especially going into an Olympic summer.  Looking forward to a weekend in Athens.  Go Dawgs!"

Kyprianou, who joined Georgia as an assistant in 2008 and was here throughout Lawrence's career at UGA, continues to honor one of the Bulldogs' all-time greats.

"Torrin's incredible talent on the track was only matched by what kind of character he presented each day of his life," Kyprianou explained.  "He was a team favorite because not only was he one of the world's best at what he did in the sprints, but also because his bright personality was infectious and his teammates, friends and those who he came in contact with followed him.  The name of this meet just fits since this event is a combination of collegiate student-athletes and post collegians preparing for the 'championship' part of their seasons, and that's the level where Torrin had immense success.  It is pretty rare to have a laid-back person like Torrin compete to win a national championship in the sprints and be in discussions as one of the world's fastest guys."

Remembering A Bulldog Great: Known in the past as the Georgia Invitational, Kyprianou and his coaching staff decided before the 2017 season to rename the Bulldogs' final home meet of the year the Torrin Lawrence Memorial (there was no 2020 meet since the outdoor season was canceled).  Lawrence, a Jacksonville, Fla., native competed for Georgia from 2009-12 and graduated with a degree in Sociology in 2013.  During his time as a Bulldog, he captured three SEC titles, an NCAA crown and set a collegiate record in the indoor 300m.  Lawrence was tragically killed in a car accident on July 28, 2014.  He was 25-years-old.

Lawrence, who is still the No. 10 all-time collegiate performer in the indoor 400m (45.03), started his career as the 2009 SEC Freshman Runner of the Year and was eventually named the 2010 USTFCCCA National Indoor Male Track Athlete of the Year.  Following his UGA career, Lawrence signed with Nike and was one of Team USA's brightest prospects in the sprints.

Honors Stacking Up: Senior Marie-Therese Obst continued her blazing streak in the javelin with her fourth victory in a row.  She worked up to a top effort of 192 feet, 1 inch to pick up the win and was later named the SEC Women's Field Athlete of the Week.  This marked the third honor of this kind for the Oslo, Norway, native, who has also been named the USTFCCCA Women's National Athlete of the Week this year.

Flashback To 2019 Torrin Lawrence Memorial: While the outdoor season was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Georgia played host to the third meet of this kind in 2019 and it included a host of performances that helped build momentum into the postseason:

Titiana Marsh led the charge for the underclassmen by recording the sixth-best triple jump in the country that year. On her sixth attempt, Marsh topped out at 44-8.75 to be the top collegiate finisher and second overall behind Georgia great Keturah Orji.
Elija Godwin sped to his second career best in a row, this time in the 400m for a victory. Godwin completed his lap in 45.92, which improved his No. 7 time in school history and put him 15^thon the 2019 national list.
Kayla Smith reached 14 feet in the pole vault for the Lady Bulldogs for the second time in a row. Smith won with a mark of 14-0 on a third attempt clearance.
Then senior Keenon Laine and Darius Carbin did their normal routine for the Bulldogs, clearing at least 7-1.50 and putting themselves in contention to win. This time around, Laine soared cleanly over at 7-2.50 on his second try to win and Carbin had a third attempt clearance at 7-1.50 for second place.
One week after posing top-five national marks in both the hammer throw (national leader) and the shot put, then senior Denzel Comenentia situated himself into the nation's top 15 in the discus to win. His winning mark of 189 feet put himself 40 feet ahead of second-place finisher Devon Williams, a former Bulldog who was training for the decathlon.
Then senior Hayden Merrick shot to No. 4 on UGA's all-time list with a second discus try of 171-3. This performance, which was the best for the Lady Bulldogs since 2012, earned her a second-place finish.
Godwin continued to watch his career best in the 200m drop as he won his fourth straight race at the distance. Godwin clocked a 20.59 to move to No. 9 on UGA's all-time top-10 list.

The Dogs' Last Action: The Bulldogs' five and sixth outdoor regular season meets arrived on April 16-17 at the Tom Jones Memorial (Gainesville, Fla.) and the Virginia Challenge (Charlottesville, Va.). Here is a breakdown of Georgia's highlights from the two meets:

Tom Jones Memorial:

Senior Amber Tanner 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 ranked No. 13 in the world this year.
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 a tie for the school record by .01, and moved to No. 7 on this year's NCAA performance list.
Displacing Herschel Walker and a couple others, sophomore Matthew 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 to take seventh. 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 (200-11). Williams moved from No. 9 to No. 8 in the school record books and finished sixth in the competition.
Obst did just what she had done her first three meets of 2021, which was finish first with a dominant mark in the javelin. Obst, who is the national leader, worked up to a final javelin toss of 192 feet to win her fourth consecutive meet and earn her third SEC Women's Field Athlete of the Week honor.
Making his collegiate outdoor debut in the 200m, Boling sped to a 20.43 for runner-up honors and shoot to No. 4 on the school's all-time top-10 list. Boling's time put him No. 10 on this year's NCAA list.
Cavanaugh was the second collegiate finisher (second overall) in the 400m hurdles with the 10^th-best time in school history in Gainesville. Cavanaugh completed his lap over the hurdles in 51.47.

Virginia Challenge:

Approaching her 15:38 school record from 2018, senior Jessica Drop ran a 15:41.63 for second place in the 5000m to rocket into the country's top six for 2021.

Next Up: This meet marks the final of seven scheduled regular season outdoor meets over five weekends. The SEC Championships will arrive on May 13-15 in College Station with the NCAA East Prelims scheduled for May 27-29 in Jacksonville, Fla. The 2021 NCAA Championships are in Eugene, Ore., on June 9-12.

Results and recaps from the Torrin Lawrence Memorial 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.