UGA Track wraps up SEC meets, gears up for NCAA competition

Sophomores Lynna Irby and Johannes Erm both registered NCAA leading marks to win individual titles during the final day of the Southeastern Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., on Saturday.
 
The sixth-ranked Georgia men finished seventh with 45 points while the 23rd-ranked Lady Bulldogs were also seventh thanks to 49 points scored. Florida (103) captured the men's title by 15 points over Arkansas and the Lady Razorbacks (151) were the women's winner with the nearest competitor scoring 70 points.
 
Irby, a native of Indianapolis, Ind., followed up her 52.08 in the 400-meter dash prelims on Friday with a national leading 52.02 to claim the Lady Bulldogs' their first SEC indoor title in the event since Gudrun Arnardottir in 1996. Irby's time is ranked third on the current world list.
 
Erm, a native of Tallinn, Estonia, locked down Georgia's seventh straight heptathlon gold medal to defend his own title at the meet with a personal-best score of 5,996 points. This score leads the NCAA and is ranked ninth in the world this year.
 
After senior Keenon Laine set the men's high jump record on Friday, the women's 4x400m relay team created a new No. 1 in the school record books to finish fifth overall in their race. Micaiah Ransby, Sterling Lester, Amber Tanner and Irby combined to clock a 3:31.97 to leave their former record of 3:32.50 from earlier this year in the rearview mirror and solidify their spot at NCAAs.
 
Other day two Bulldog scorers included:

• senior Denzel Comenentia returned to the ring in the weight throw a day after winning the shot put crown and finished with runner-up honors to score 18 points for the Bulldogs
• Tanner put her name at No. 2 in the school record books in the 800m to take third
• junior Kayla Smith recorded UGA's best mark in the pole vault since 2013 to take fourth place
• freshman Titiana Marsh improved her triple jump personal record at Georgia more than a foot to manage fourth place and continue her season
• senior Michael Nicholls matched his 2018 SEC finish and secured fourth in the 60m hurdles
• freshman Imani Carothers hung in the women's 60m hurdle final and took sixth

On Friday, the following Bulldogs scored:

• Comenentia won the second indoor shot put title of his career
• senior Keenon Laine set a school record to earn runner-up honors in the high jump while junior Darius Carbin was seventh in the event
• sophomore Aliyah Whisby was second in the pentathlon and Lester was fourth
• junior Samantha Drop managed an eighth-place finish in the 5000m
• the men's distance medley relay battled for a seventh-place finish
• Marsh opened her conference career with a seventh-place finish in the long jump.

Dwight Stones, Jill Montgomery and John Anderson were ESPN's crew for the SEC Championships as the meet has been featured on the SEC Network and SECN+. 
Sunday: (Tape Delayed on SECN) 8 p.m. – 11:30 p.m.
 
For results throughout the weekend, please visit: gado.gs/1ip
 
"I thought the second day of this meet delivered us some breakthroughs with high-level performances," said coach Petros Kyprianou. "We talked before this meet about finding your 'dark side' where you get your job done without worrying about any of your surroundings or competition and just go crazy. We had some moments like that today and it was encouraging to see.
 
"Obviously individual titles are always a highlight and Johannes and Lynna went out there and took care of business in the way that we have become accustomed to them performing. Denzel totaled 18 points at this meet in two events that are hard to pair together so I was proud of him. The 4x4's record was very impressive, especially Amber and Lynna's splits, and I don't know the last time we scored in this event at the SEC Indoor Championships. Amber came back on the track after running the second-fastest 800m time in school history to run her leg, which I thought was particularly satisfying. 
 
"We also had four other scorers today with Michael in the hurdles, Imani in the hurdles, Kayla in the pole vault and Titiana in the triple jump. Michael is staying consistent and I am excited to see what he can do at Nationals after having success there last year. Imani came in as a true freshman, ran a competitive time and finished sixth at her first final, which is not an easy thing to do in the SEC. Kayla had a breakthrough in the pole vault and we only expect her to keep improving as she comes back from a really tough injury. And Titiana punched her ticket to the NCAA meet with her (personal record) in the triple jump during the very first postseason of her career. Again, a difficult thing to do in the best conference in the land.
 
"All in all, I am proud of our effort and performances and can't wait to get back to work to prepare for the NCAA Championships."
 
Irby, who completed the prelims with the fastest qualifying time, shot out of the blocks and held on for her first conference crown at the distance. Irby held off Texas A&M sophomore Syaira Richardson (52.09) for the win. This marks Irby's third career SEC championship (second indoors) and first for the Lady Bulldogs indoors at 400m since Arnardottir went back-to-back in 1995-96.
 
In the heptathlon, Erm began his second day by clocking the second-fastest 60m hurdle time with a personal-best effort. He sped to an 8.13 to score his first 949 points of the day and stay in second place by 51 points. Erm's time bested his previous personal record of 8.21 run during both the 2018 and 2019 seasons.
 
Surging back into the lead with a season-best mark in the pole vault, Erm passed in the pole vault until 14-6.75 and then cleared the next four heights to score 892 points. Erm eventually soared over the bar at 16-2.50 and took a 69-point lead on Arkansas senior Gabe Moore, who cleared 14-10.75, going into the final event.
 
With the title on the line, Erm grabbed the lead in his 1000m's first lap and never relinquished it while Moore chased him. Erm ran a season-best time of 2:41.30 to win the race and his 859 points scored bumped him past Moore by 88 points and delivered him an eight-point personal record.
 
Comenentia opened in the weight with a mark of 70-2.25 to secure his spot in the final. His next four marks featured a shorter throw and three fouls before arriving at his sixth attempt as he tried to become the first SEC competitor in history to sweep the shot and weight at the same meet. Comenentia lifted his final chance 74-10.50 to surge into the lead. However, Florida senior A.J. McFarland answered with a toss of 76-7.25 three throwers later to clinch the victory.
 
Last year, Tanner stopped the clock at a personal record for fourth place during the 800m final. In 2019, she again shaved time off her career best and finished third with a 2:05.59 after roaring back from the back of the pack. This time transitioned her to No. 2 on the school's all-time list with the best finish since Megan Malasarte set the school record (2:03.08) at the 2014 meet.
 
Smith, who battled back after having to sit out the 2018 season with injuries, elevated to a career-best height of 13-11 to finish fourth in the pole vault. Smith stayed clean with no misses through her first heights, which included her final mark that ranks fifth on the school's all-time list and is the best for the program since 2013. 
 
Also of note in the pole vault, freshman Courtney Long reached personal bests of 12-5.25 and then 12-11 to finish one spot out of scoring in ninth.
 
Another fourth-place finish for the Lady Bulldogs came from a freshman in the triple jump. Arriving in Fayetteville with a top effort of 42-9.50, Marsh opened at 42-11.50 before going 43-5.75, 43-10.50 and 44.3.25 on her next three attempts, in that order. Her top performance vaulted her to fourth on the school's all-time list and moved her into the top 10 nationally.
 
Nicholls repeated his 2018 SEC performance by taking fourth in the 60m hurdle final with a 7.78. Nicholls, who was a scoring All-American last year with a 7.77 at the NCAA meet, has a 7.67 on his resume this year and will be expected to be in the NCAA Championships field.
 
The Lady Bulldog 4x400m relay squad did not lead in their race until the final handoff from Amber to Irby and then managed to pick up a half second victory over Kentucky in the opening heat. Following a split for Tanner that was 52.69 on the third leg, Irby took the baton and quickly overtook the Wildcats with her split of 51.18. This positioned the Georgia women in the country's top 10, according to the national performance list heading into the meet.
 
Carothers posted the top finish for a freshman in the women's 60m hurdle final after clocking an 8.30 for sixth. This was the third-fastest time of her career after crossing the finish line in 8.27 during the prelims and winning the Husker Invitational with an 8.25.
 
Georgia returns to action at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Birmingham, Ala., on March 8-9.
 
Results and recaps from the SEC Indoor Championships 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.
 Bulldog Day 1 ScorersNameEventFinish (Mark/Time)Denzel ComenentiaM. Shot put1st(66-9.75)Keenon LaineM. High Jump2nd($7-5.75)Aliyah WhisbyPentathlon2nd(4,305 pts.)Sterling LesterPentathlon4th(3,882 pts.)Tyler Jones, Ziggy Zoller, Clay Pender, Michael HansM. DMR7th(^10:00.98)Titiana MarshW. Long Jump7th(19-11.50)Darius CarbinM. High Jump7th(7-1)Samantha DropW. 5000m8th(^16:57.73) Bulldog Day 2 ScorersJohannes ErmHeptathlon1st(*5,996 pts.)Lynna IrbyW. 400m1st(^52.02)Denzel ComenentiaM. Weight throw2nd(74-10.50)Amber TannerW. 800m3rd(*2:05.59)Kayla SmithW. Pole vault4th(*13-11)Titiana MarshW. Triple jump4th(*44-3.25)Michael NichollsM. 60mH4th(7.78)Micaiah Ransby, Sterling Lester, Amber Tanner, Lynna IrbyW. 4x400m relay5th($3:31.97)Imani CarothersW. 60mH6th(8.30) Pentathlon ScoresName60mHHJSPLJ800mTOTALAliyah Whisby*8.35*5-11.5034-1.50*19-11.75*2:20.334,305Sterling Lester8.585-4.5035-4.7517-4.75*2:16.263,882
Heptathlon ScoresName60mLJSPHJDay 1Johannes Erm7.12^24-9.2547-1.75^6-4.75*3,296 pts.60mHPV1000mTOTAL*8.13^16-2.50^2:41.30*5,996 pts.

$school record, *personal record, ^season best

PLAYERS MENTIONED

Darius Carbin

Jumps 6' 6" Junior

Denzel Comenentia

Throws 6' 2" Senior

Samantha Drop

Distance 5' 3" Junior

Johannes Erm

Multi-Events 6' 6" Sophomore

Michael Hans

Distance 6' 0" Redshirt Sophomore

Lynna Irby

Sprints 5' 5" Sophomore

Tyler Jones

Distance 6' 3" Junior

Keenon Laine

Jumps 6' 4" Senior

Michael Nicholls

Hurdles 5' 10" Senior

Micaiah Ransby

Sprints 5' 7" Junior

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