Georgia Track: Senior Spring Athletes Make the Decision to Return for One More Year
This morning, an email was sent out by Associate Sports Communications Director, Leland Barrow, stating that eight senior athletes from the track and field team would be returning for one more season. Due to COVID-19, seniors who played a spring sport were given the opportunity to come back for another season if they wanted to and it appears that the track and field team took advantage of this new rule.
Darius Carbin (San Jose, Ca.), Taylor Scarbrough (Canton, Ga.), Jessica Drop (Durham, Conn.), Marie-Therese Obst (Oslo, Norway), Victoria Powell (Atlanta, Ga.), Kayla Smith (Indianapolis, Ind.), Amber Tanner (Brentwood, Tenn.) and Tiffany Yue (Lawrenceville, Ga.) all made the decision to return to Georgia for next season and compete one last time.
These eight athletes combined for two SEC individual titles, a number of them contributed to the 2018 Women's indoor team title, and the 2018 men's NCAA outdoor team championship. Before the 2020 season was canceled, the women were ranked fourth and the men were ranked fifth in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) polls.
Darius Carbin was particularly excited to be returning because he was going to be at school anyways next year trying to complete his undergrad. Now, he gets to stay in school and compete in the high jump event for another season.
Cross country runner, Taylor Scarbrough, said that seniors being able to come back was huge for the cross country team. 'We have a lot of young talent that’s going to be another year older and better, and we have a group of fifth years who have such a high level of respect and pride for being a Georgia Bulldog and who want nothing more than to show that with our performances out on the course."
This opportunity does not just allow for athletes to compete for another season, but for athletes like Tiffany Yue, it allows for them to make up for lost time in the sport. This last season, Yue was injured and did not get to compete at all during the cross country season and said that she was not ready to leave the sport just yet.
Other seniors discussed how the University of Georgia has been a home to them and they were excited to get to be a part of that community for one more year. The new rule allowing seniors who played a spring sport to come back for another season is huge and it could help Georgia's cross country and track and field teams have a memorable 2021 season.
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