Track Plays Host To Fifth Annual Torrin Lawrence Memorial

Friday, April 29

All Day

University of Georgia

Torrin Lawrence Memorial

Photo by: Jack Casey

Track Plays Host To Fifth Annual Torrin Lawrence Memorial

April 28, 2022 | Track & Field

2022 Torrin Lawrence Memorial Schedule

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

The sixth-ranked Georgia men and 25^th-ranked Lady Bulldogs will welcome Auburn, Columbus State, Emory, Fort Valley State, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Kennesaw State, N.C. State, North Georgia, Paine College, Piedmont University, Shorter University, Truett-McConnell and Virginia Tech, along with a host of professional competitors, to the Spec Towns Track for the program's first and only home meet this year.

This will mark the final regular season action before the Southeastern Conference Championships arrive in Oxford, Miss., on May 12-14.

Admission is free to the Torrin Lawrence Memorial.  Fans can access the Spec Towns Track facility through entrances off Lumpkin Street or Smith Street.  No concessions will be sold so fans can bring in their own food and non-alcoholic drinks to the facility.

When Do The Bulldogs Start Competition? The Torrin Lawrence Memorial begins with the men's hammer throw at 12 p.m. on Friday.  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 at 12:45 p.m. and recognize the program's seniors who are saying farewell to their time in Athens at 12:50 p.m.

Those seniors getting honored include: Anna Marian Block, Quinn Burden, Imani Carothers, Grace Clements, Jamari Drake, Delano Dunkley, Tyler Fox, Kyle Garland, Destiny Jackson, Nicole John, Jayla Kirkland, Ty Kunzman, Courtney Long, Ahmed Magour, Halle McClintock, Shelby Tyler and Ziggy Zoller.

Live Stream: ESPN will live stream the meet.  Below are the links for each day:

Friday (starting at 12 p.m. ET to approximately 6:40 p.m.) –

Saturday (starting at 8:30 a.m. to approximately 3:45 p.m.) - http://gado.gs/99g

Live Results For The Torrin Lawrence Memorial (hashtag: #22TLMemorial): http://gado.gs/994

Coach Caryl's Comments: "Our final regular season meet of the year has arrived and it's at our favorite spot, the Spec Towns Track in Athens," said head coach Caryl Gilbert Smith.  "We are getting one chance to compete at our training facility this year so we want to make the best of that opportunity for our fans and families. We also want to end the regular season with excellent marks for the upcoming postseason competitions."
"We are eager to start the meet to display how much all of our hard work since August has paid off, and we want the Bulldog Nation to come and see this incredibly talented group who we will have competing."

Bulldogs Competing: In addition to the seniors listed above, John-Isaac Autry, Gavin Beverage, Cooper Bocko, Matthew Boling, Curtis Borden, Sam Bowers, Grant Briscoe, Darius Carbin, Caleb Cavanaugh, Alejandro Collins, Chase Condra, Johannes Erm, Nicolas Fontova, Elija Godwin, Noah Hayes, Cole Heron, Wesley John, Karthik Kochuparambil, Bryce McCray, Clay Pender, Alencar Pereira, Davis Potts and Seth White are expected to compete on the men's side.

Mia Anderson, Charlotte Augenstein, Sara Bailey, Charlotte Cattermole-Williams, Ana da Silva, Kenondra Davis, Aleesa de Castro, Grace Ellsworth, Eddiyah Frye, Elise Hall, Julia Harisay, Elsie Igberaese, Elena Kulichenko, Titiana Marsh, Gracie O'Neal, Michaella Prevallet and Victoria Schneider are entered from the women's squad.

Remembering A Bulldog Great: Known in the past as the Georgia Invitational, the decision was made 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.

Boling Blazing: Boling, a native of Houston, Texas, was named the USTFCCCA National Men's Athlete of the Week (second time in 2022, first time was indoors) and the SEC Men's Runner of the Week after he topped his own school record in the 200m with a 19.92 at the Georgia Tech Invitational last weekend.  This made him the No. 10 all-time collegiate performer with the No. 12 all-time collegiate performance.  Boling leads the NCAA and is ranked No. 3 in the world this year.

Having already gone a school record 9.98 in the 100m this year and 8.02 meters/26 feet, 3 ¾ inches in the long jump in 2021, Boling and nine-time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis are the only two competitors in history to gone sub-10 over 100m, sub-20 over 200m and at least 8 meters in the long jump.

Boling is slated to compete in the 100m at this meet on Saturday at 2:50 p.m.

Flashback To 2021 Torrin Lawrence Memorial: Georgia played host to the fourth annual meet last April and it included a host of performances that helped build momentum into the postseason:

The Bulldogs exploded for 19 top collegiate finishes with 15 of those being outright wins.
Block ran the sixth-fastest 1500m time in school history (4:19.20) to grab top honors.
Samantha Drop completed her final race on the Spec Towns Track and left with a victory in the 5000m and the seventh-best finish in UGA history (16:26.13).
Similar to Drop, Chelsea Zoller wrapped up her time in red and black with a personal record in the 400m hurdles (58.89) to have the top collegiate finish and rocket to fourth on the school's all-time top-10 list.
With Zoller on a leg, the Lady Bulldogs ran the 10^th-fastest 4x400m relay in UGA history (3:36.34) to win.
Kayla Smith concluded her home career by setting a school record in the pole vault (4.48m/14-8.25; she would later break that mark at SECs) to win.
Godwin shot to No. 4 in the school record books with a time of 20.32 to win the 200m. He also edged Boling in the 400m (45.86 to 45.87) last year.
Bowers took advantage of familiar confines to run the third-fastest 1500m time (3:43.50) in UGA history to grab top honors.

Next Up: This meet marks the final of seven scheduled regular season outdoor meet weekends dating back to March 18. The SEC Championships will arrive on May 12-14 at Ole Miss, with the NCAA East Prelims scheduled for May 25-28 Bloomington, Ind. The 2022 NCAA Championships are in Eugene, Ore., on June 8-11.

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.