Track To Play Host To Spec Towns Invitational

Friday, April 9

Athens, Ga.

All Day

University of Georgia

Spec Towns Invitational

April 08, 2021 | Track & Field

Friday's Start Lists Meet Schedule Saturday's Start Lists

ATHENS, Ga. --- The Georgia track and field teams will play host to the annual Spec Towns Invitational on Friday and Saturday at the Spec Towns Track in Athens, Ga.

Who Is The Competition: Akron, Arkansas State and Eastern Michigan will join the Bulldogs for the first of two home meets for Georgia.

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

When Do The Bulldogs Start: Action will start at 11:30 a.m. ET on Friday with the first five events of the decathlon (100-meter dash, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400m).  Junior Karel Tilga and sophomore Kyle Garland will be lining up in the dec for the Bulldogs.  Fifteen minutes later, sophomore Anna Hall will begin the first four of seven events of the heptathlon (100m hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200m) at 11:45 a.m.

The first open event competitors for Georgia are slated to be senior Samantha Drop, junior Grace Clements, sophomore Sara Bailey and freshman Charlotte Augenstein in the women's 1500m at 12:30 p.m. Friday. Senior Jack Bradley, sophomores Tyler Fox and Nicolas Fontova and freshman KC Heron are slated to run in the men's 1500m, which will be the first open event on the men's side for the Bulldogs at 12:45 p.m. during the meet's first day.

Live Stream: ESPN will live stream the meet.  Below are the links for each day:
Friday – http://gado.gs/6s9
Saturday - http://gado.gs/6sa

Live Results: For live results of the Spec Towns Invite, please visit: http://gado.gs/6sb

Kyprianou's Comments: "We are excited to compete at home since it has been two years since taking the Spec Towns Track for a meet because of the pandemic," said Bulldog head coach Petros Kyprianou.  "This will be a great chance for our youngsters who did not get the opportunity last year to go out and enjoy competing at the same spot where they practice and are comfortable.  This meet gives our more inexperienced team members another opportunity to become more seasoned and our elites a chance to aim for Olympic standards and lock down qualifying spots for NCAAs.

"The weather doesn't look promising but our student-athletes are resilient and fired up about competing in Athens.  We will just have to balance the weather with elite performances in as many events as we can.  Go Dawgs!"

Indoor All-Americans Make Athens Debut: Matthew Boling, Caleb Cavanaugh, Anna Hall, Shelby Tyler, Julia Fixsen, Jasmine Moore and Kyle Garland all scored at the 2021 NCAA Indoor Championships and will now be competing for the first time in the Bulldogs' home facility.

Name - indoor All-America event (Spec Towns event): Boling - *200m, long jump, 4x400m relay (long jump, 100m), Cavanaugh – 4x400m relay (400m hurdles), Hall – pentathlon, high jump (heptathlon), Tyler – high jump (high jump), Moore – triple/long jumps (triple/long jumps), Garland – heptathlon (decathlon)
*NCAA champion

Recent Bulldog Honors: Marie-Therese Obst was named the SEC Women's Field Athlete of the Weekfor the second consecutive week on March 30 after her performance in the javelin at the FSU Relays.  Also, the men and women's cross country teams were named U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic Teams for the 15^th consecutive year.

Time To Open The Combined Events: Teammates Karel Tilga and Kyle Garland had an epic battle indoors for the 2021 NCAA heptathlon title.  Tilga ended up edging Garland for the crown as the teammates became the first to go 1-2 at the same heptathlon in NCAA history.  Anna Hall also earned runner-up honors in the pentathlon at her first Nationals.

The above performances are examples of the Bulldogs' dominance in the multi-events.  Many of the country's notable performances in the decathlon and heptathlon outdoors have originated at the Spec Towns Track over the last five years.

In 2019, Erm scored the country's fourth-best total before the postseason at the Spec Towns meet and brought the national championship home in the decathlon.
In 2018, Erm exploded for 8,020 points for the fourth-best score in the nation at the meet before taking third at the NCAA Championships. Louisa Grauvogel scored the country's seventh-best total at the Spec Towns meet and went on to earn runner-up honors in the heptathlon.
In 2017, Kendell Williams registered the country's top score at the meet and collected her third NCAA heptathlon crown two months later. Older brother Devon Williams scored the country's second-highest decathlon total at the meet and then finished second at Nationals.
In 2016, Karl Saluri went for 8,108 at the meet to clinch his spot at the Olympics and followed that up with a First Team All-America finish at Nationals. Kendell Williams had the seventh-best score nationally at the Spec Towns meet and was won the heptathlon NCAA title.
In 2015, Garrett Scantling scored what would finish as the nation's second-highest score (8,2332) at the meet while teammate Maicel Uibo went for a national leading 8,326 at the SEC meet before winning Nationals. Quintunya Chapman scored the country's No. 2 score at the meet (6,146) and was third at the NCAA Championships behind teammate Kendell Williams.

Glimpse At The Bulldogs' Last Action: While one group stayed in Athens to train in anticipation for the Spec Towns meet, another group traveled to compete in the Florida State Relays in Tallahassee, Fla., while yet another group went to Raleigh, N.C., for the Raleigh Relays over March 25-27.

At the FSU Relays, senior Marie-Therese Obst stole the show for the second straight meet.  The Oslo, Norway, native became the No. 4 all-time collegiate performer with the No. 5 all-time collegiate performance after sending her second javelin attempt 201 feet, 1 inch.  This topped her school record from the week before at the Yellow Jacket Invitational, bettered her national lead and shot her to No. 7 on the 2021 world list.  Senior Halle McClintock also won the 800m (2:09.15), senior Kayla Smith rocketed to seventh on the national list by winning the pole vault (13-11.25) and senior Chelsea Zoller moved into the No. 5 spot in the school record books in the 400m hurdles (1:00.05) to highlight the women's side.

For the men, graduate transfer Jonathan Tharaldsen shot to No. 2 on this year's national list and No. 6 on the Bulldogs' all-time top-10 list by winning the shot put (65-7) while sophomore Gavin Beverage topped 60 feet for the first time to take fourth (61-0.75).  Junior Alencar Pereira also locked down the country's No. 9 mark in the hammer throw after going 219-3.

In Raleigh, junior Anna Marian Block battled for a sixth-place finish in the 800m (2:06.03) with the school's No. 5 finish all-time and the No. 8 time on this year's national performance list.  Junior Clay Pender pushed his way into the country's top 20 in the men's 800m after running a 1:49.87 for 10^th.

Last Time At The Spec Towns Invite: The pandemic did not allow collegiate track and field to have an outdoor season in 2020 so the last Spec Towns meet arrived in 2019.  At that meet, Georgia tallied 15 top collegiate finishes.  A number of the highlights included: current senior Amber Tanner won the 800m with the second-fastest time in school history (2:04.60), Keenon Laine cleared 7-4.25 to win the high jump with the nation's No. 5 mark that year (prior to the NCAA meet) and current senior Johannes Erm scored the country's fourth-best score in the decathlon with 7,913 points prior to capturing an NCAA title in the event.

Where This Season Will Take The Dogs: This weekend's meet marks the fourth of seven scheduled regular season outdoor meets over five weekends, including the third-annual Torrin Lawrence Memorial (April 26-27) in Athens.

The SEC Championships will arrive on May 13-15 in College Station, Texas, with the NCAA East Prelims scheduled for May 27-29 in Jacksonville, Fla.  The 2021 NCAA Championships are in Eugene, Ore., at the newly renovated Hayward Field on June 9-12.  The Olympic Trials land in Eugene less than a week later on June 17-27.

How To Keep Up With The Dogs: Results and recaps from the Spec Towns Invite 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.