Track Starts Georgia Tech Invite With Four Wins

Georgia thrower Elsie Igberaese during the Spec Towns + Torrin Lawrence Invitational at the Spec Towns Track in Athens, Ga., on Thursday, April 6, 2023. (Rob Davis)

Photo by: Rob Davis

April 21, 2023 | Track & Field

ATLANTA --- The Bulldogs collected four victories and a top collegiate finish to highlight the opening day of the Georgia Tech Invitational Friday.

After sweeping the hammer throw, Ana da Silva finished first in the shot put and Autumn Wilson crossed the finish line first in the 100-meter dash.

Another group of Georgia runners competed at the Virginia Challenge with Clay Pender showing up again in the school's all-time top-10 list in the 1500m.

When Do The Bulldogs Start Saturday? Alon Rogow (men's pole vault) and Julia Harisay and Elise Igberaese (women's discus) start the action for the Bulldogs on Saturday at the Georgia Tech meet.  The first event on the track is Dominique Mustin in the 400m hurdles at 1:25 p.m.

Live Results: Georgia Tech Invitational - http://gado.gs/agm
Virginia Challenge - https://gado.gs/agl

The Lowdown: The Lady Bulldogs went 1-2-3 in the 100m with a legal wind thanks to Wilson leading the charge.  Wilson (11.32) edged Kennodra Davis (11.33) for top honors and Brandee Presley clocked the seventh-best time in school history (11.37) for third.

The men's 100m finished with Matthew Boling taking third place as well with a 10.31.

Alencar Pereira started the day by winning the hammer throw with a top mark of 68.82 meters/225 feet, 9 inches on his sixth and final toss.  Starting the competition with another mark that would have won (66.39m/217-9), Pereira won his third meet of the year by 11 feet, marking his second victory in a row at the meet.

On the women's side, Igberaese worked up to a personal record of 64.01m/210-0 on her fourth toss in the hammer to complete the sweep.  This bettered her No. 8 spot in the school record books while da Silva finished third (59.51m/195-3).

Da Silva approached her season best in the shot put to also grab first-place honors in that event.  She had a mark of 16.94m/55-7 to win by nearly five feet.  During the men's shot, Gavin Beverage continued to hover around 60 feet to take third thanks to a fifth effort of 18.13m/59-5.75.

A week after Bella Witt registered a personal record in the 100m hurdles, she came close to that same time to earn bronze medal honors in the event on Friday.  She blazed to a 13.39 against -1.1 meter/second winds.

While former Lady Bulldog NCAA champion Chanice Porter grabbed top honors in the long jump (6.29m/20-7.75), current Georgia jumper Titiana Marsh was the top collegiate finisher and second overall with a fifth try measuring 6.24m/20-5.75.

Meanwhile, a group of Bulldog distance runners competed at the Virginia Challenge.  Sophia Baker started the competition by registering the top time for the Lady Bulldogs in the 3000m steeplechase since Bret McDaniel set the school record in 2015.  Sophia Baker completed her laps in 10:53.93 to take second in the race.  Cole Heron took the track in the next race and took third in the men's steeplechase with a 9:13.69.

Pender improved his No. 5 spot in the school record books with a 3:44.43 and finished the 1500m race in 14^th.

Heron's teammate Wesley John got close to his career best in the steeplechase Invite with a 9:00.74 for eighth place.

The Bulldogs last traveled to Charlottesville for this meet in 2021.  All-American Jessica Drop highlighted this meet for UGA after taking second in the 5000m (15:41.63).

How To Keep Up With The Dawgs: Results and recaps from the 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.