ATLANTA — For the first time in school history, a Georgia State track and field team will be defending conference champions entering the 2012 season.
The GSU women's team captured the 2011 CAA Track and Field title on May 5-6 in Fairfax, Va. Seven events were won by Georgia State competitors and ten individual Panthers took home All-CAA honors.
Chris England steps into the position of interim head coach this season, in addition to his role as head cross country coach. The Panthers also welcome new assistant coach Amy Henry, who will be in charge of sprints and hurdles.
“Everyone is excited for the upcoming track season,” said England. “Piggy-backing off the championship last season, we have high expectations for the teams. These are both young teams but they continue to improve and impress.”
The women's team returns 26 letterwinners from last year's championship roster, graduating only five seniors in 2011. For the men, fourteen runners return from last season while only four will not return. Seven freshman join the women's side in the 2011-12 season, while four rookies have signed on to run for the men.
“Several new additions are ready to fill in the roles left by some outstanding seniors,” said England. “They are hungry to make their mark on the team and motivate everyone to contribute.”
Distance/Mid-Distance
With months of competition already under their belts following the 2011 cross country season, the distance runners should prove a strength for the Georgia State track team this year. Both men's and women's cross country teams saw steady improvement during the fall and hope to continue that success on the track.
The women's cross country team placed third at the CAA championship meet and put two Panthers on the All conference team in freshman Hannah Stefanoff and junior Katharine Showalter. Showalter was also an All-CAA competitor in track last year, finishing second in the steeplechase at the conference meet.
The GSU men's team came in fourth place at the CAA championship and were paced by sophomores Valentin Poncelet and Tyler Tomy. Poncelet led the Panthers in each meet during the season after transferring from American International College. Tomy was a top competitor for GSU in both track and cross country last year as a freshman.
This will be the final year of competition for seniors Chris Harper, Zanny Anderson, Kacee Houle, Andrea Rodriguez and Danyel Mitchell.
With 15 women and 11 men listed as either distance or middle distance on the 2012 roster, distance will be the deepest event group for the Panthers.
Sprints/Hurdles
New sprints assistant coach Amy Henry inherits a young, but talented group in her first season. The speedsters were a crucial component in capturing the conference title and earned a number of accolades.
Four individuals and one relay team in this event group earned All-CAA honors at the 2011 conference championship. Brandy Swann (400m), Tamara Moore (110m hurdles), Danielle Hill (400m hurdles) and Kacey Rollins (110m hurdles) all placed in the top three at the conference meet.
The 4x400m relay team of Swann, Hill, Angelia Nugent and Lavina Dent also earned the All-CAA distinction. Swann, Hill and Moore all qualified for the NCAA East Regional in their respective events.
Moore was also named CAA Rookie of the Year following her performance at the conference meet, where both she and Hill captured CAA individual titles.
All of these sprinters, with the exception of Dent, will compete again for the Panthers in 2012.
Seniors Alex Gainous, Chris Miles, Charlesha Lightbourne, Latrica Jackson and Brandy Swann will provide leadership to the large group of sprinters in their final year of competition. Ten men and nine women are listed as either sprinters or hurdlers on the roster and should provide depth in these events.
Jumps
Senior Angelia Nugent was the top Panther performer last season, qualifying for the NCAA national meet in the triple jump in 2011. She finished seventh at the NCAA East Regional with a school-record jump of 12.77m.
At the CAA Championship, Nugent won both the triple jump and the long jump and senior transfer Shaquita Young won the high jump. Both earned All-CAA honors and qualified for the regional meet, although Young was unable to compete at the NCAA.
Although Young exhausted her collegiate eligibility in 2011, Nugent will return this season to help guide a group of talented jumpers, many of whom also compete in sprints. Juniors Gabby Brooks and Kelsye Holt, along with sophomores Wande Brewer and twins Talia and Tatiana Colbert compose the event group.
Throws
Yolanda Berryhill leaves as one of the most decorated track and field athletes in Georgia State history. She won three CAA titles, holds the school records in the discus, shot put and hammer throws and was named the Most Outstanding Field Performer at the 2011 CAA championship.
Although she will no longer compete for the Panthers, Berryhill remains a part of the program as a graduate assistant in strength and conditioning. She graduated from GSU in 2011 with a degree in exercise science and is currently pursuing a Master's degree in exercise physiology.
Her departure leaves the throwing events to juniors Kesean Henderson and Sydney Henry, along with freshman Carresa Reeves. Henderson has a personal best of 36.11m in the discus and Henry boasts a best shot put toss of 10.82m.
Schedule
The Panthers kicked off the indoor season with a trip to Clemson, S.C. and the Orange and Purple Winter Classic.
Three of the remaining four meets during the indoor season were held at the newly constructed Birmingham CrossPlex facility located in Birmingham, Ala.
The Panthers finished the season at Sewanee, Tenn. and the Sewanee Invitational.
Georgia State will remain in the city of Atlanta for three meets during the outdoor portion of the 2012 schedule. These are the Georgia Intercollegiate meet on March 16-17, the Yellow Jacket Invite on March 31 and the Georgia Tech Invite on May 11-12.
During the season, the Panthers also will make road trips to Athens, Ga., Oxford, Miss., Auburn, Ala., and Troy, Ala. GSU concludes the schedule with the CAA Outdoor Championship which will take place on May 4-5 in Fairfax, Va.
For those able to qualify during the season, the 2012 NCAA East Regional meet will be held in Jacksonville, Fla. on May 24-25 and the NCAA Championship take place in Des Moines, Iowa on June 6-9.
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