Greg McGarity wasn’t kidding when he said he expected a quick search for Georgia’s new track coach.
Petros Kyprianou, the Bulldogs’ associate head coach, was promoted to head coach on Tuesday morning. His appointment came less than 24 hours after Wayne Norton was fired.
Kyprianou (KIP-ree-AH-noo), the two-time reigning National Assistant Coach of the Year, has been an assistant for Norton since 2009 and coached the Bulldogs’ renowned jumps and multi-events. His crew won four NCAA titles, six Southeastern Conference individual titles, earned a CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team certificate and returned to Athens with 15 NCAA First team All-American certificates this past season.
“Petros’ ability to recruit and develop student-athletes in a wide range of events illustrates his acumen in the track and field world,” McGarity said in the school’s news release. “The passion and excitement Petros brings to our program will be felt immediately. We look forward to working alongside Petros and his staff to further advance the six programs under his leadership.”
A native of Limassol, Cyprus, Kyprianou was named U.S. Track’s national women’s indoor assistant coach of the year back-to-back in 2014-15. He has also garnered South Region assistant coach of the year honors four times over the indoor and outdoor seasons in the last two years.
“I want to thank President Morehead, Greg McGarity and Carla Williams, our Deputy Director of Athletics, for this incredible opportunity to lead this program,” Kyprianou said. “I am very grateful for the opportunity Coach (Wayne) Norton has given me to be part of this family back in 2008. Coach Norton is a tremendous leader that served as a role model to our student-athletes and coaches and helped me get to where I am today.
“I will work tirelessly to help our student-athletes achieve a high level of performance along with an environment that promotes an exceptional student-athlete experience.”
First and foremost, Kyprianou will be charged with resurrecting Georgia’s stagnated sprints program. While the Bulldogs have been competitive on a national scale the past several season, almost all of their points have been scored in field events. Meanwhile, the state of Georgia annually produces some of the nation’s top sprinters.
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