March 14, 2013
THE FLATS – The Georgia Tech track and field team opens the outdoor portion of its 2013 schedule Friday and Saturday at the Georgia Relays in Athens. Ga.
The men’s hammer throw starts the meet at noon on Friday at the Spec Towns Track. The first event on the track is the women’s Gainey Special, which is a 100-meter-100-200-400 relay, at 4:40 p.m.
On Saturday, the women’s steeplechase kicks off at 11 a.m. while the women’s javelin is scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. Admission is free for the meet.
Competitors from Augusta State, Shorter, Brenau, Kennesaw State, Western Carolina, Georgia State, Jacksonville, Chattahoochee Tech, Florida A&M, among others, join the Jackets at this weekend’s meet.
The Jackets are coming off an indoor season that saw two school records fall, four All-ACC selections, an NCAA First-Team All-America honor and three USTFCCCA All-America awards.
Both the men’s and women’s squads are looking to improve on 10th-place finishes at last season’s outdoor ACC Championships and return two NCAA qualifiers in Julienne McKee and Shawn Roberts.
McKee qualified for the long and triple jumps, and earned USTFCCCA Second-Team All-America honors in both events, while Roberts placed 20th in the 800 meters.
This meet will be the first of nine outdoor season weekends before the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds May 23-25 in Greensboro, N.C. Tech will host the Yellow Jacket Invitational March 29-30 and the Georgia Tech Invitational May 10-11. The ACC Championships are set for April 19-20 in Raleigh, N.C.
