Friday, February 5
Columbia, S.C.
All Day
University of Georgia
at
South Carolina Invitational
Photo by: AP
Pair Of Bulldog Heptathletes Open Their Year Friday
February 04, 2021 | Track & Field
ATHENS, Ga. --- After two Georgia heptathletes opened their indoor season with a pair of the country's top-10 scores last weekend, another duo of Bulldogs will compete in the heptathlon starting Friday at the South Carolina Invitational and continuing through Saturday.
Georgia will start Friday in the first four events of the heptathlon (60-meter dash, long jump, shot put, high jump) at 9:45 a.m. with senior Johannes Erm and redshirt sophomore Kyle Garland. The heptathletes will wrap up their final three events (60m hurdles, pole vault, 1000m) on Saturday starting at 9 a.m.
Erm finished with the country's leading heptathlon score (6,114 points) last year. Garland was the nation's third-highest scorer in 2020 with 5,994 points.
Due to COVID-19, there will be no spectators allowed in the facility.
Where They Are Ranked: The Georgia women check in at No. 3 in the second U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) national poll released earlier this week while the Bulldog men jumped from No. 22 to No. 9.
Live Results: For live results to this weekend's meet, please visit: http://gado.gs/61z
Live Stream: For a live stream of the South Carolina Invitational, please visit:
Saturday, 11 a.m..: http://gado.gs/621
Another Combined Events Debut: Georgia has become the nation's dominant force in the combined events and a trio of those scoring threats opened in the multi-events last weekend. Sophomore Anna Hall became the fourth-best collegiate performer with the ninth-best collegiate performance (also No. 9 on all-time American performer list) by winning the pentathlon at the Razorback Invitational with a meet record 4,590 points.
Sophomore Karel Tilga finished third in the heptathlon at the Razorback with the country's fourth-best total this year (5,713) while redshirt sophomore Ziggy Zoller finished his first collegiate heptathlon with 5,519 points, putting him eighth on the national list.
The Bulldog men have won nine SEC heptathlon crowns since 2004, including the last eight in a row with Garland finishing first in 2020 and Erm winning the 2018-19 titles. The Lady Bulldogs have captured five SEC pentathlon titles since 1987 (SEC did not include pentathlon in the Championships between 1993-2002), including three straight for 2016 Olympian Kendell Williams from 2015-17.
At the national level, the Bulldogs have also had a regular presence on the podium. Last year, Georgia had a combined four team members qualify for the 2020 NCAA Indoor Championships in the multi-events, including the top three national scorers in the heptathlon and Hall ranked fifth in the pentathlon as a freshman. During the stretch from 2014-19, Georgia had 19 scoring All-Americans and five NCAA championships in the combined events.
Where Does The Indoor Season Take The Dogs: Georgia has competed three times in 2021, opening at the Clemson Invitational (Jan. 15-16) and then traveling to the Carolina Challenge (Jan. 23) and Razorback Invitational (Jan. 29-30). The Bulldogs are scheduled to return to Columbia, S.C., for the USC Indoor Open on Feb. 13 and to Nashville, Tenn., for the Music City Challenge on Feb. 12-13.
The postseason begins with SECs in Fayetteville, Ark., on Feb. 25-27. Georgia will return to Arkansas on March 12-13 for NCAAs. One week later, the outdoor season cranks up in Atlanta.
Shortened 2020: Last year, the Georgia women worked up to a No. 4 ranking on the USTFCCCA national poll while the Bulldog men stood at No. 5 headed into the 2020 NCAA Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, N.M. However, after UGA arrived and joined the other qualifying teams for a practice day in the Albuquerque Convention Center, the meet was cancelled before it began and the Bulldogs flew home.
Although Nationals was cancelled, all of those team members who competed indoors used a year of eligibility. Since the outdoor season, along with the rest of the NCAA's other spring sports, was also canceled, student-athletes did not exhaust a year of their outdoor eligibility in 2020.
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 Snapchat (ugatrack).
Georgia will start Friday in the first four events of the heptathlon (60-meter dash, long jump, shot put, high jump) at 9:45 a.m. with senior Johannes Erm and redshirt sophomore Kyle Garland. The heptathletes will wrap up their final three events (60m hurdles, pole vault, 1000m) on Saturday starting at 9 a.m.
Erm finished with the country's leading heptathlon score (6,114 points) last year. Garland was the nation's third-highest scorer in 2020 with 5,994 points.
Due to COVID-19, there will be no spectators allowed in the facility.
Where They Are Ranked: The Georgia women check in at No. 3 in the second U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) national poll released earlier this week while the Bulldog men jumped from No. 22 to No. 9.
Live Results: For live results to this weekend's meet, please visit: http://gado.gs/61z
Live Stream: For a live stream of the South Carolina Invitational, please visit:
Saturday, 11 a.m..: http://gado.gs/621
Another Combined Events Debut: Georgia has become the nation's dominant force in the combined events and a trio of those scoring threats opened in the multi-events last weekend. Sophomore Anna Hall became the fourth-best collegiate performer with the ninth-best collegiate performance (also No. 9 on all-time American performer list) by winning the pentathlon at the Razorback Invitational with a meet record 4,590 points.
Sophomore Karel Tilga finished third in the heptathlon at the Razorback with the country's fourth-best total this year (5,713) while redshirt sophomore Ziggy Zoller finished his first collegiate heptathlon with 5,519 points, putting him eighth on the national list.
The Bulldog men have won nine SEC heptathlon crowns since 2004, including the last eight in a row with Garland finishing first in 2020 and Erm winning the 2018-19 titles. The Lady Bulldogs have captured five SEC pentathlon titles since 1987 (SEC did not include pentathlon in the Championships between 1993-2002), including three straight for 2016 Olympian Kendell Williams from 2015-17.
At the national level, the Bulldogs have also had a regular presence on the podium. Last year, Georgia had a combined four team members qualify for the 2020 NCAA Indoor Championships in the multi-events, including the top three national scorers in the heptathlon and Hall ranked fifth in the pentathlon as a freshman. During the stretch from 2014-19, Georgia had 19 scoring All-Americans and five NCAA championships in the combined events.
Where Does The Indoor Season Take The Dogs: Georgia has competed three times in 2021, opening at the Clemson Invitational (Jan. 15-16) and then traveling to the Carolina Challenge (Jan. 23) and Razorback Invitational (Jan. 29-30). The Bulldogs are scheduled to return to Columbia, S.C., for the USC Indoor Open on Feb. 13 and to Nashville, Tenn., for the Music City Challenge on Feb. 12-13.
The postseason begins with SECs in Fayetteville, Ark., on Feb. 25-27. Georgia will return to Arkansas on March 12-13 for NCAAs. One week later, the outdoor season cranks up in Atlanta.
Shortened 2020: Last year, the Georgia women worked up to a No. 4 ranking on the USTFCCCA national poll while the Bulldog men stood at No. 5 headed into the 2020 NCAA Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, N.M. However, after UGA arrived and joined the other qualifying teams for a practice day in the Albuquerque Convention Center, the meet was cancelled before it began and the Bulldogs flew home.
Although Nationals was cancelled, all of those team members who competed indoors used a year of eligibility. Since the outdoor season, along with the rest of the NCAA's other spring sports, was also canceled, student-athletes did not exhaust a year of their outdoor eligibility in 2020.
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 Snapchat (ugatrack).
