Cross Country Set To Start 2021 At Kennesaw State Opener

Friday, September 3

Kennesaw, Ga.

TBA

University of Georgia

Kennesaw State Opener

Photo by: Beau Brune

Cross Country Set To Start 2021 At Kennesaw State Opener

September 02, 2021 | Cross Country

ATHENS, Ga. --- The Bulldog cross country teams will take the Noonday Creek Park course in Kennesaw, Ga., on Friday morning to begin their 2021 campaign at the Kennesaw State Opener.

This will mark the program's first cross meet since last year's Southeastern Conference Championships in Baton Rouge, La., on Oct. 30, 2020.  In fact, the Bulldogs only had the opportunity to compete in a pair of races last year since the COVID-19 pandemic shortened the fall season.

When Do The Starting Guns Fire: The Georgia men will start the meet with their 6k race at 8:30 a.m. while the Lady Bulldogs will race in 4k competition at 9 a.m.

Who Is The Competition: In addition to Georgia, the field includes Kennesaw State (who did not compete last fall because of the pandemic), Clemson, Georgia Tech, Life University and North Georgia.

Weather: Temperatures are expected to be in the mid to upper 60s in Kennesaw on Friday morning.  Partly cloudy skies with light winds are predicted.

Cunniff's Quotes: "We are eager to get started and even though we won't be running our full team, we welcome bringing the energy of competition into everything we do," said Bulldog distance coach Patrick Cunniff, a UGA graduate who is starting his 10^th year back with the program.  "The excitement of people racing and the season finally being here should lift our intensity on a daily basis.  The runners going to race are ready to make the most of this opportunity to compete and get better.  We look forward to adding the rest of our squad into the next meet or two and hope the crew running on Friday will start to get the momentum going for us."

What Dogs Are Competing: Georgia is expecting to have 21 runners competing in its opener.  On the women's side, seniors Grace Clements, Nicole John, Marisa Petit, junior Sara Bailey, redshirt sophomores Ellie Hall, Maggie Yankovich, sophomores Charlotte Augenstein, Sophia Baker, redshirt freshmen Grace Ellsworth, Morgan Vaden and Gracie O'Neal will represent the Red and Black.  Everyone on this year's Lady Bulldogs' squad was also on the roster in 2020.

Senior Quinn Burden, juniors Nicolas Fontova, Tyler Fox, Wesley John, Clay Pender, sophomore Noah Hayes, redshirt freshmen Cole Heron, KC Heron, Zachary Roe and freshman Mac Howie will take the course for the Bulldog men.  Howie is one of five newcomers to this year's men's team.

Career Debut: Seven Georgia runners will be officially suiting up in the red and black in the fall for the first time.  Ellsworth, Vaden and O'Neal will be making their career cross debut for the Lady Bulldogs while Howie, the Heron twins and Roe will be the newest members to race for the Bulldog men.

Oh Captains, My Captains: Cunniff announced this week that two women and two men will represent his team as captains.  Nicole John, a native of Watkinsville, Ga., and Hall, a native of Marietta, Ga., will be the captains for the Lady Bulldogs.  Wesley John, a native of Watkinsville, and Michael Hans, a native of Watkinsville, will represent the Georgia men as captains.

"Our captains this season are great runners who all lead by example in competition and daily preparation," Cunniff said.  "They are all excellent at communicating with both their teammates and the coaches.  I'm certainly excited to see them help push and guide these teams to great results."

Now Presenting Mr. & Mrs. John: The offseason of a collegiate career always brings change for student-athletes.  For two of the Bulldogs on this trip, a particularly large change came calling over the summer.  Wesley John and the former Nicole Pachuta, who are both Oconee County High School graduates, married in July and are racing for the first time as husband and wife on Friday.

What Happened In The 2020 Opener: Georgia ran in its only regular season meet of the year to open last year's season.  The Bulldogs traveled to Tallahassee, Fla., for the FSU Invitational and won the 8k competition.  Sam Bowers pulled out the individual victory with a 24:07.8 while Chase Condra (fifth), Hans (13^th), Taylor Scarbrough (16^th) and Nicholas Yanek (21^st) comprised the rest of Georgia's top-five finishers who scored.

The Lady Bulldogs finished fourth on their 5K course with Samantha Drop topped her teammates thanks to a seventh-place finish (17:08.5).  Clements (fourth), Anna Marian Block (33^rd), Jayda Woods (45^th) and Bailey (52^nd) were the next four across the finish line for the Georgia women.

Georgia would eventually have the Blazer Invitational (Birmingham, Ala.) canceled a month later and would only race one more time at the SEC Championships.

What's Up Next: The Bulldogs are scheduled to travel to Huntsville, Ala., for the first of two times on Sept. 17 for the North Alabama Showcase.  Georgia will return to the course on Nov. 12 for the NCAA South Regional.  Following their second regular season meet, UGA will compete in Fairburn, Ga., at the Alexander/Asics Invitational (Oct. 2) and in Tallahassee at the Pre-Nationals meet (Oct. 15).

The Bulldogs' postseason will start with the SEC Championships in Columbia, Mo., on Oct. 29.  Following the Regional in Alabama, Georgia is planning on concluding its season at the NCAA Championships in Tallahassee on Nov. 20.

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