2007 Highlights:
* UGA women earning fourth straight trip to NCAA Championships
* Natalie Picchetti grabbing All-American honors
* Sarah Madebach winning the school’s first SEC individual title
Madebach wins school’s first SEC individual title
ATHENS, Ga. --- Since arriving as Georgia’s cross country coach in 2004, Dave Hartman has developed the Bulldog program into one of the nation’s elite.
| 2007 Results | ||
| Fri., Aug. 31 | Covered Bridge Open | W-1, M-3 |
| Sat., Sept. 22 | Bulldog Stampede | W-1, M-2 |
| Sat., Sept. 29 | Bill Dellinger Invitational | W-6, M-15 |
| Sat., Oct. 6 | Panther Invitaitonal | NTF |
| Sat., Oct. 13 | NCAA Pre-Nationals | W-11, M-30 |
| Sat., Oct. 27 | SEC Championships | W-3, M-7 |
| Sat., Nov. 10 | NCAA South Regionals | W-2, M-7 |
| Mon., Nov. 19 | NCAA Championships | W-22 |
|
W - Women, M - Men |
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The 2007 campaign further strengthened the above argument as the Lady Bulldogs advanced to the NCAA Championships for the fourth straight time, taking 22nd (465 points). Hartman also saw senior Natalie Picchetti earn the first All-American certificate for the Georgia women’s cross country team since 1990 after she finished 27th (season-best time of 20:52.3). Also, senior Sarah Madebach captured the school’s first Sout
heastern Conference individual crown.
The Bulldogs ended their season after finishing seventh at the NCAA South Regionals. Senior Ryley Miller managed an 18th-place finish (31:18.08) to give the Georgia men an All-Region performer for the sixth season in a row.
Miller was the Bulldogs’ top finisher in all six of the team’s meets and had a top 8k time of 24:13 (Bill Dellinger Invitational). The Snellville, Ga., native jump-started his season by finishing fourth and third at the Covered Bridge Open and the Bulldog Stampede, respectively, at the beginning of the season.
 The Georgia women, who were the defending South Regional champions, left Gainesville, Fla., with second place this time around. Madebach topped her teammates for the third meet in a row and finished sixth, while Picchetti sped to a seventh-place finish to lead the Lady Bulldogs. In addition to Madebach and Picchetti, junior Kiah Vernon and freshman Emily Houston all garnered All-Region honors after all finishing 21st place or better.
Perhaps the most dominant performance of the season for Georgia came from Madebach at the SEC meet in Lexington, Ky. Coming off a team-best 18th-place finish at NCAA Pre-Nationals, Madebach beat Arkansas’ Christine Kalmer by nearly four seconds to win the SEC individual title. Aided also by Picchetti’s third-place finish, the Lady Bulldogs took third at the conference meet. Both Madebach and Picchetti brought All-SEC honors back to Athens.
| 2007 Honors |
| SEC Female Freshman of the Week: Emily Houston (Week 4) |
| SEC Female Athlete of the Week: Sarah Madebach (Week 6) |
| All-SEC: Natalie Picchetti, Sarah Madebach |
| SEC Individual Champion: Sarah Madebach |
| SEC Female Cross Country Athlete of the Year: Sarah Madebach |
| NCAA All-Region: Natalie Picchetti, Sarah Madebach, Kiah Vernon, Emily Houston, Ryley Miller |
| NCAA All-American: Natalie Picchetti (27th - 20:52.3) |
Madebach was named the SEC Female Cross Country Athlete of the Year the week following the league race.
The majority of Georgia’s travel came during the middle portion of the season. Both teams had a chance to test the course for the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind., at the NCAA Pre-Nationals. Madebach, who finished a conference-best 18th place and was named SEC Female Athlete of the Week, led the Georgia women to 11th place as the Bulldogs took 30th.
At the Bill Dellinger in Eugene, Ore., senior Nicole DeMarco sped to a 16th-place finish to lead the Lady Bulldogs to sixth place against a nationally-ranked field. For the men, Miller took 38th and the Bulldogs finished 15th.
The 2007 season also marked the return of Georgia’s home meet - the Bulldog Stampede - to Athens for the first time since 2003. Led by Picchetti, the Lady Bulldogs had individual finishers take third, fourth, fifth, sixth and 10th to run away with the victory. The Georgia men grabbed a second-place finish after winning the meet in 2003.
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