Track & Field Starts Indoor Season At Clemson Invite

Friday, January 14

Clemson, SC

All Day

University of Georgia

Clemson Invitational

Track & Field Starts Indoor Season At Clemson Invite

January 13, 2022 | Track & Field

Meet Program

ATHENS, Ga. --- Georgia's track and field teams will compete for the first time in more than seven months with the arrival of the Clemson Invitational in Clemson, S.C., on Friday.

This weekend during the two-day indoor meet, Georgia will open on Friday at 2:10 p.m. in the women's 1000 meters (senior Anna Marian Block, redshirt freshmen Charlotte Augenstein, Victoria Schneider, redshirt sophomore Aleesa de Castro).  Junior Sam Bowers and sophomore KC Heron will start the men's portion on Friday in the 1000m at 2:20 p.m.

The Bulldogs will then compete again at the Clemson Indoor Complex on Saturday with action starting in the women's high jump (freshman Elena Kulichenko, junior Shelby Tyler) at 11 a.m.  Sophomore Gavin Beverage, junior Kyle Garland and junior Ziggy Zoller (shot put) will also begin day two for the men at 11 a.m.  Garland captured his second straight SEC heptathlon title in 2021 and was the NCAA runner-up.

This will mark the first meet with Caryl Smith Gilbert leading the Bulldogs as head coach.  The Georgia men were third and the women were fifth at the 2021 NCAA Indoor Championships.  The Bulldog teams have combined for nine top-10 national indoor finishes since 2013, including the 2018 women's title, in addition to the 2021 finishes.

Smith Gilbert's USC teams finished fourth (women) and 11^th (men) indoors nationally last year before the Lady Trojans captured the 2021 outdoor championship and the men took fifth.

The Competition: The Bulldogs and the meet host Tigers will join UCF, Charleston Southern, Florida, Florida State, Kennesaw State, Life University, North Carolina, Richmond, Texas and others at the first meet.

Live Results: For live results to this weekend's meet, please visit: https://gado.gs/899

Coach Caryl's Comments: "We are super excited about finally having a competition after a whirlwind summer and full fall of getting to know and training these young people with our coaching staff," said Smith Gilbert.  "We are just getting started, but I'm eager to see what all of our student-athletes can do across the events.

"The goal for this opening meet is to knock the rust off and see where we stand and improve week to week since the postseason comes quickly indoors. Let's get started and Go Dawgs!"

Who's Competing & When: Eighteen Georgia women and 18 Bulldog men are scheduled to travel for UGA.  In addition to those mentioned above who will compete first, other Georgia women making the trip are: seniors Titiana Marsh, Imani Carothers, Halle McClintock, juniors Ana da Silva, Sara Bailey, redshirt sophomores Elsie Igberaese, Mia Anderson, redshirt freshmen Michaela Prevallet, Sophia Baker and freshmen Eddiyah Frye, Kenondra Davis and Bella Witt.

In addition to the first men competing, seniors Alencar Pereira, Delano Dunkley, Elija Godwin, juniors Matthew Boling, Curtis Borden, Caleb Cavanaugh, Tyler Fox, redshirt sophomore Nicolas Fontova, redshirt freshman Noah Hayes and freshmen Nikolai van Huyssteen, Grant Briscoe, Bryce McCray and Will Bray are scheduled to compete for the Bulldogs.

Bulldogs Making Their Debut: This will mark the first action in red and black on the indoor track for 16 Georgia team members, including nine true freshmen.  Da Silver, Igberaese, Augenstein, de Castro, Schneider, Baker and Hayes will be competing for the first time in their Georgia careers indoor after joining the program last year, transferring in to UGA or redshirting a previous season.  Frye, Prevallet, Davis, Kulichenko, van Huyssteen, Briscoe, McCray, Bray and Witt will line up during the first spring semester of their collegiate careers.

Where Does The Indoor Season Take The Dogs: This weekend's meet marks the first of the year and the first of two meets in Clemson.  Georgia will return to action there for the Tiger Paw Invitational on Feb. 11-12.  Following this weekend's meet, the Bulldogs are slated to compete at the Samford Invitational in Birmingham, Ala., on Jan. 21.

Georgia has a trio of regular season meet weekends scheduled in February.  After that, the postseason begins with the SEC Indoor Championships in College Station, Texas, on Feb. 25-26.  Georgia will return to the Birmingham CrossPlex on March 11-12 for the NCAA Indoor Championships.  One week later, the outdoor season cranks up in Atlanta.

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