Georgia Womens Track Soars to a Number One National Rank
With the SEC and NCAA Indoor meets looming, the Georgia womens track team claims a number one national ranking.
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Georgia sophomore
and true freshman
combined to earn three weekly honors after the Doc Hale Virginia Tech Elite, leading the Lady Bulldogs to a
(USTFCCCA)
Williams is the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division I Women’s National Athlete of the Week and the Southeastern Conference Women’s Field Athlete of the Week.
Orji garnered SEC Women’s Freshman of the Week honors for the third time this season after her performance at Virginia Tech’s Rector Field House.
Ranked number 4 in the two previous national polls, the Georgia women vaulted past Florida for the top spot this week. The Georgia men are ranked eighth in the latest poll.
This news comes with the SEC Indoor Championships arriving in Lexington, Ky., on February 27-28. The NCAA Championships will be run in Fayetteville, Ark., on March 13-14.
Holding nearly a 200-point edge in the national pentathlon standings, Williams, a native of Marietta, Ga., set a new personal best in the long jump and matched the fastest time of her career in the 60-meter hurdles to pick up two wins at the VT Elite Meet.
Williams bounced back from an opening foul in the long jump to travel 21 feet, ¾ inches on her second try. However, Orji traveled a personal-best distance of 21-2 on her third attempt. Williams answered Orji’s effort with a career-long and national-leading mark of 21-5.50 in the third round.
Williams is now the number 2 U.S. performer (No. 15 worldwide) this year with the second-best jump in Georgia history, trailing only 2008 Olympic silver medalist Hyleas Fountain (21-7.25, 2004 NCAA Championships).
Williams also equaled her fastest time in the 60 hurdles of 8.21 to cruise to the open event victory. Her time ranks ninth nationally (second in the SEC) and tied her 8.21 set at last year’s NCAA Championships during her run to a collegiate record in the pentathlon. Her 8.21 also matches her No. 2 time on the Lady Bulldog all-time top-10 list.
In addition, Williams is fifth on the national list with a clearance of 6-0.75 in the high jump.
Orji stands fourth nationally (only freshman in the top 10) and is fifth in the school record books with two current Lady Bulldogs ahead of her (Chanice Porter, Williams). Orji also remains the national leader in the triple jump by 8 inches with a mark of 45-10.50.
Georgia travels to its last regular season meets this weekend. The majority of the Bulldogs travel to the site of the NCAA Championships for the Tyson Invitational while the distance corps travels across the country to compete at the Husky Classic in Seattle, Wash.