How Georgia track and field became a 'sexy' destination program
Two weeks before the Georgia men's track and field program's first-ever outdoor national championship, the father of a top recruit sent head coach Petros Kyprianou a complimentary text.
The message, as Kyprianou remembers, was written in all caps.
“YOU HAVE MADE GEORGIA SEXY,” it read.
Kyprianou, hired to lead Georgia's track and field program in 2015, was blown away with the sentiment. At a program that didn’t have a rich track and field history, at least from a team perspective, Kyprianou has accomplished a lot in three years.
The men’s team won its first-ever NCAA outdoor national title this past weekend. The women’s team, which won the indoor national championship three months ago, finished second at historical Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
While watching the track and field action, Georgia men’s basketball coach Tom Crean tweeted that Kyprianou’s squad is now a “destination program” among the major track teams in the country.
“If you’re a recruit right now, you’ve got to look at Georgia, like, ‘Holy moly, that’s where I need to be,’ ” Kyprianou said.
Kyprianou arrived at Georgia in 2008 as an assistant on Wayne Norton’s staff. When Norton, who spent 16 years leading Georgia, was let go in 2015, athletics director Greg McGarity took a look at Kyprianou, who was passed over for other head coaching opportunities.
Kyprianou, in stating his vision, remembered telling McGarity that he wanted Georgia to win a national championship within a three-year period.
“I said, ‘Let’s go. Let’s do it,’ ” McGarity said. “But realistically, knowing where we had been, you have to say, ‘Can that happen?’ He had no question about it. He thought it could happen. He was convincing, and it became reality.”
Said Kyprianou: “People were laughing at me, but Greg really believed in me. Even though I don’t think he took me seriously when I told him I wanted to win a title within three years, but he did believe in me. He saw something in me when he made that change and did what he had to do.”
Kyprianou, who would have taken an assistant position at USC if he didn’t become Georgia’s head coach, is meticulous as a leader. Upon his promotion, he made it a point to change the culture and hold more people within the program accountable.
Every year he writes a 20-page evaluation of the program, which is presented to McGarity. The report critiques everyone — himself, his assistants and his support staff.
The words aren’t always what others want to read. But Kyprianou believes they are necessary if Georgia is to be an elite program.
“I’m extremely hard on myself first,” Kyprianou said. “It comes down to very little things and makes a lot of support staff and my staff uncomfortable. But that’s what Kirby Smart is doing. It’s what Alabama (football) is doing. When your mentors taught you to think that way, you can’t look back and think differently. That’s what wins championships.”
The most important aspect to building a nationally elite program — obviously — is recruiting the best athletes in the nation. Under Kyprianou, Georgia has been doing that in a major way, even if other schools have grander facilities. The incoming men’s and women’s track and field recruiting class is considered the third-best in the nation, according to MileSplit.com’s rankings.
Junior Kendal Williams didn’t want to make a grand proclamation about where Georgia is as a track and field program. But it is obvious to him and others what is happening in Athens.
“We’re starting to put Georgia on the map,” Williams said. “We’re starting to get exposure. We’re starting to tell everybody and show the world Georgia is a contender.”
Kyprianou said he hopes to maintain the level Georgia is now competing at. His athletes have bought in, certainly. And a lot of the talent that contributed to two national titles will be back next year, too. Lynna Irby, who won the women’s outdoor 400-meter national championship race in a blistering 49.80 seconds, is only a freshman. Irby's time set an NCAA championship meet record.
Junior Denzel Comenentia won individual national titles in the men’s shot put and hammer throw, which gave Georgia 20 of its 52 first-place points. Comenentia said the body of work Kyprianou has put together in only three years has made Georgia an attractive program to compete for.
“He knows how to build champions,” Comenentia said. “He’s just getting started. We’re just getting started, I feel like.”
The final relay
Not again.
That was the feeling Kyprianou had racing through his mind as USC’s Kendall Ellis ran down Purdue’s Jahneya Mitchell during her kick to the finish of the women’s 1,600-meter relay. Mitchell had a big lead but was tiring out toward the end of her leg.
Ellis had just enough energy to catch up and edge Mitchell out at the finish line. The Georgia women were leading USC by nine points going into that race, the last of this year’s NCAA national championships. The Trojans added 10 points and a one-point title-meet victory after the photo finish.
“They call it the ‘Hayward Field Magic,’" Kyprianou said. “I call it the ‘Hayward Field Curse’ for us.”
A similar scenario played out a year ago for Georgia as well. Heading into the last event, Georgia needed any team but Oregon to win the women’s 1,600-meter relay. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, Oregon, like USC this year, won the race and the national title. The Georgia women have now finished second at the outdoor national championships two years in a row.
McGarity was with deputy athletics director of operations Josh Brooks at this year's national championships. As Mitchell made the final turn, McGarity and Brooks were sure the Bulldogs were about to double up on men’s and women’s track and field titles.
Instead, Ellis left them speechless.
“You’re just sitting there stunned,” McGarity said.
Once the initial disappointment faded Saturday evening, the reality of a men’s national championship and a women’s runner-up showing set in. Considering the fact that Georgia won both a men's outdoor championship and a women's indoor title in one season is evidence of the program’s arrival.
“It all comes down to recruiting and good coaching,” Kyprianou said. “You can sign and get those top dogs to come in. But it takes a special supporting cast to get them to perform at that level. Showing up and showing out, it’s what defines Georgia track and field.”
This story was originally published June 11, 2018 at 3:16 PM with the headline "How Georgia track and field became a 'sexy' destination program."