Track Records Five Wins In Outdoor Opener

Friday, March 17

Atlanta, GA

University of Georgia

Yellow Jacket Invitational

March 17, 2023 | Track & Field

ATLANTA --- Georgia's track and field teams won five events during a soggy St. Patrick's Day to start the outdoor season at the Yellow Jacket Invitational in Atlanta Friday.

Alencar Pereira (men's hammer throw), Elsie Igberaese (women's hammer), Gavin Beverage (men's shot put), Marc Minichello (men's javelin) and Brandee Presley (women's 100-meter dash) all finished first in their respective events at Georgia Tech's George C. Griffin Track.

When Do The Dogs Start Saturday: Action will start on Saturday with the women's high jump, pole vault and discus at 12 p.m. along with the men's triple jump.  The first Bulldog competing will be freshman heptathlete Ella Rush in the high jump, Courtney Long and Michaela Prevallet in the women's pole vault and graduate transfer Julia Harisay and Igberaese in the discus.

The Lowdown: In his first meet with the Bulldogs, Minichello launched a second toss of 69.20 meters/227 feet on his second attempt to win the javelin, move to into the national lead and assume the No. 10 spot in the school record books.  Minichello was the 2022 NCAA champion for Penn before transferring to UGA.

Another javelin transfer, Erin McMeniman, sent her fourth try 50.48m/165-7 and earned a bronze medal.  This effort also took over the No. 10 spot in the school record books in McMeniman's first meet since transferring from Brown.

Pereira, a native of Sao Jose do Preto, Brazil, started his year off with the second-best hammer toss of his career to grab top honors.  Pereira launched the hammer 70.45m/231-1 on his opening attempt to win by more than 30 feet and shoot to No. 2 on the early version of the outdoor national list.

On the women's side, Igberaese completes the sweep in the hammer after her first try was also her top effort.  The Dacula, Ga., native had a top distance of 59.90m/196-6 to edge the nearest competitor by two and a half feet.  This was the longest opener for Igberaese in her career and situated her No. 3 on the national list.

Beverage improved on his second toss in the shot put to 17.24m/56-6.75 to win the men's competition by half a foot.

Presley edged the nearest competitor by .02 with an 11.59 in the 100m for the season-opening victory.

In the distances, Charlotte Augenstein bettered her personal record to 4:28.39 for runner-up honors in the 1500m.

Clay Pender (3:50.00) headlined a 2-3-4-5 finish in the men's 1500m with Sam Bowers registering a 3:50.86 for bronze.

Also of note, Ana da Silva started her shot put series with a mark of 13.84m/45-5 and took second.  Another silver medal winner was Bella Witt, who crossed the 100m hurdle finish line in 13.77.

How To Keep Up With The Dogs: Results and recaps from the Bulldogs' outdoor season 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.