Track Travels To Birmingham For Samford Invite

Friday, January 21

Birmingham, AL

All Day

University of Georgia

Samford Invite

January 20, 2022 | Track & Field

ATHENS, Ga. --- The Bulldog track and field squads will line up in their second indoor meet of the season on Friday at the Samford Invite in Birmingham, Ala.

Georgia will open in the shot put for both the women (redshirt sophomore Mia Anderson, junior Ana da Silva) and the men (sophomore Gavin Beverage, junior Kyle Garland) at 10 a.m. ET.  The first event on the track is the women's 60-meter dash (freshman Kenondra Davis, senior Titiana Marsh, freshman Victoria Perrow) at 12 p.m.

This will mark the first of two trips to the Birmingham CrossPlex for the Bulldogs this year.  This season's NCAA Indoor Championships will also be at the facility on March 11-12.  While Georgia has not competed there in the last two years, the Bulldogs battled in both a regular season meet and at Nationals in the location in 2019.

The Competition: Georgia and the meet host Samford Bulldogs will join Alabama, Alcorn State, Bethune-Cookman, Louisiana Tech, Savannah State, South Alabama, Tulane, UAB, UT-Chattanooga, UT-Tyler and Wofford in competition during Friday's Invite.

Live Results: For live results to Friday's meet, please visit: http://gado.gs/8ae

Coach Caryl's Comments: "We are looking forward to getting on the track for the second time this season," said Smith Gilbert.  "Birmingham is the site of the 2022 NCAA Indoor Championships so I always believe in having our team compete on the same track earlier in the season that they will compete on in March. The coaches were encouraged by last weekend's opener and are aiming for more development and improvements on Friday."

Who's Competing: Twenty-one Georgia women and 18 Bulldog men are scheduled to travel for UGA.  In addition to those mentioned above who will compete first, other Lady Bulldogs making the trip are: graduate transfer Jayla Kirkland, seniors Imani Carothers, Halle McClintock, juniors Nicole John, Brandee Presley, Shelby Tyler, redshirt sophomores Elsie Igberaese, Aleesa de Castro, redshirt freshmen Michaela Prevallet, Sophia Baker, Charlotte Augenstein, Grace Ellsworth, Victoria Schneider and freshmen Eddiyah Frye, Kenondra Davis, Elena Kulichenko and Bella Witt.

In addition to the first men competing, seniors Alencar Pereira, Delano Dunkley, Elija Godwin, Quinn Burden, juniors Matthew Boling, Caleb Cavanaugh, Tyler Fox, Chase Condra, Wesley John, Clay Pender, redshirt sophomore Nicolas Fontova, sophomore Zachary Roe, redshirt freshman Noah Hayes and freshmen Nikolai van Huyssteen, Bryce McCray and Will Bray are scheduled to compete for the Bulldogs.

Honors Begin Early: A pair of Bulldogs picked up early honors following the Clemson Invite last weekend.  Boling, a native of Houston, Texas, swept the long jump (a school record mark of 8.25 meters, 27 feet, 1 inch) and the 200m (20.49) with NCAA leading marks to earn U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Men's Athlete of the Week and Southeastern Conference Men's Runner of the Week honors.

Davis, a native of Fort Worth, Texas, rocketed to sixth on the school's all-time top-10 list in the 200m with a 23.62 and to seventh in the 60m (7.43) as she took third and ninth, respectively, during her collegiate debut races.  She was named the SEC Women's Co-Freshman of the Week.

Bulldogs Making Their Debut: Last weekend in Clemson, 16 Bulldogs made their indoor debut for UGA.  On Friday, six more team members will compete for the first time in red and black indoors.  Ellsworth redshirted in 2021 during her first year and Prevallet was not on the team.  Kirkland (FSU) and Presley (Ole Miss) transferred in to UGA.  Perrow and van Huyssteen are each competing for the first time in their young collegiate careers.

Where Does The Indoor Season Take The Dogs: Following Friday's meet, the Bulldogs are slated to compete at the Razorback Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark., on Jan. 28-29.

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.