Five things to know: Spec Towns Invitational

Spec Towns Invitational

April 6-7 | Athens, Georgia

MADISON, Wis. – After opening its season in San Diego, the Wisconsin women's track and field team will compete at the Spec Towns Invitational, hosted by the University of Georgia, this weekend in Athens, Georgia.

Action starts on Friday at 11 a.m. and Saturday at 8 a.m. and Badger fans can follow the action on Twitter (@BadgerTrackXC).

1. LAST TIME OUT: Wisconsin won the California Collegiate Open hosted by UC-San Diego last Saturday, capturing eight event titles. Meagan Blair won both the triple jump and the long jump with outdoor PRs, while Gabby DesRosiers, Georgia Ellenwood, Alicia Monson, Sophia Rivera, Hannah Wilson and the 4x100 relay picked up wins.

A couple of Badgers made their marks on the program's top-10 list as Sophia Rivera broke the school record in the javelin, while Josie Schaefer and Hanna Barton earned the No. 4 and No. 5 marks, respectively, in UW history in the discus.

2. RIVERA ROCKET: Redshirt freshman Sophia Rivera had a spectacular outdoor debut in San Diego, breaking the school record in the javelin on her first attempt with a toss of 175 feet, 2 inches. That mark ranks No. 2 in the Big Ten and No. 9 in the country and also was the No. 9 throw last weekend.

Big Congratulations to Sophia Rivera @sophia_rivera13 on her first collegiate javelin throw! A new Wisconsin school record at 175'-2" (53.40m). Awesome to see Sophia throwing far again! #badgerthrows #badgertough pic.twitter.com/wPWh2SsY0B
— Coach Dave Astrauskas (@CoachAstrauskas) April 1, 2018

Rivera redshirted the entire 2017 track and field season after qualifying for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials in the event with a toss of 180 feet, 4 inches, becoming the fourth high school girl to break 180 feet in the javelin in U.S. history.

3. ABOUT THE MEET: The Badgers will compete at the Spec Towns Invitational for the third time in the last five years. This year's meet, which is named after former Georgia Head Coach Forrest "Spec" Towns, features No. 9 Georgia, No. 20 Ole Miss, Georgia Tech, No. 6 Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Arkansas State, Nebraska, Indiana and South Carolina.

4. STRAIGHT FROM THE COACH: "This weekend's meet at Georgia is important because it gives most of our athletes an opportunity to compete against top-notch competition outside of the Big Ten, in hopefully warm weather, but more importantly, for us to be together as a combined program supporting each other's efforts," UW Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Mick Byrne said. "Our multi-event athletes will hone their individual skills in preparation for the upcoming decathlon and heptathlon competitions and our throwers will face some amazing national-caliber throwers. When you compete in SEC territory, you can always expect some big-time sprinting, so this is a nice opportunity for our sprinters and relay teams to compete at the highest level."

5. UP NEXT: Wisconsin will stay close to home next weekend, travelling to the Musco Twilight in Iowa City, Iowa, on Saturday, April 14.