Members of the Bulldog track and field program traveled to Austin, Texas, this week before the NCAA Outdoor Championships arrive at the Mike A. Myers Stadium on Wednesday through Saturday.
The third-ranked Bulldog men begin the meet on Wednesday after earning a team trophy with a fourth-place finish at the same facility in 2019. The eighth-ranked Lady Bulldogs come to the University of Texas campus having finished in the top five at six of the last eight outdoor Nationals.
The 2020 NCAA Outdoor Championships were also scheduled to be in Austin, however the COVID-19 pandemic canceled that season. This year’s meet returns to Texas to make up for the skipped Nationals. Following the 2023 NCAA Championships, the 2024-27 NCAA Outdoor Championships will be held at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field, which has undergone a $270 million renovation.
Georgia qualified 20 individuals in a combined 20 events from the NCAA East Prelims in Jacksonville, Fla., on May 24-27. Senior decathlete Kyle Garland (NCAA No. 1) had already qualified automatically for the final round because of his national leading score in the decathlon during his run to a Southeastern Conference title in early May.
When Do The Bulldogs Start? Garland will start the meet for the Bulldogs in the decathlon’s first event (100-meter dash) at 3:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday. The Philadelphia, Pa., native will complete four more events (long jump, shot put, high jump, 400m) on the first day before wrapping up the final five on Thursday.
Alencar Pereira begins the open events for the Bulldogs in the men’s hammer throw also at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Ana da Silva, who like Pereira is a native of Brazil, will begin the competition for the women in the hammer at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Other than the decathlon running Wednesday-Thursday and the heptathlon going Friday-Saturday, the meet is set up to be a men’s competition on Wednesday and Friday and a women’s competition on Thursday and Saturday.
Where To Catch The NCAAs: ESPN has exclusive rights to broadcast the meet and will feature the Nationals on ESPN2 this week:
Wednesday: 7:30 p.m., ESPN2
Thursday: 8:30 p.m., ESPN2
Friday: 9 p.m., ESPN2
Saturday: 9 p.m., ESPN2
Live Results: To check out live results throughout the four-day season finale, please check: http://gado.gs/ank
Coach Caryl’s Comments: “We have arrived at the most important part of the year, and I feel confident our team is prepared for the challenges,” said head coach Caryl Smith Gilbert. “Every year this meet brings together not only the top track and field athletes in the country, but also around the world. The months of preparation and excitement about the NCAA Outdoor Championships always makes this meet a spectacular four days for our sport. I can’t wait to see how our team reacts and represents the ‘G’. GO DAWGS!”
What Bulldogs Are Competing: For the women, freshman Aaliyah Butler (400m, 4x100m relay, 4x400m relay), da Silva (hammer throw, shot put), graduate transfer Julia Harisay (javelin), sophomore Elena Kulichenko (high jump), freshman Kaila Jackson (100m, 200m, 4x100m relay), senior Titiana Marsh (triple jump, long jump), graduate transfer Erin McMeniman (javelin), junior Dominique Mustin (400m hurdles, 4x400m relay), senior Brandee Presley (100m, 4x100m relay, 4x400m relay), freshman Haley Tate (4x400m relay), senior Mikeisha Welcome (triple jump) and freshman Autumn Wilson (4x100m relay) will line up for the Lady Bulldogs.
On the men’s side, sophomore Keshaun Black (4x100m relay), senior Matthew Boling (200m, 4x100m relay, 4x400m relay), senior Caleb Cavanaugh (400m hurdles, 4x400m relay), Garland (decathlon), senior Elija Godwin (400m, 4x100m relay, 4x400m relay), freshman Christopher Morales Williams (4x100m relay, 4x400m relay), graduate transfer Marc Minichello (javelin), senior Alencar Pereira (hammer throw) and freshman Will Sumner (800m, 4x400m relay) are slated to compete.
Honors Begin To Roll In: While the most important meet of the outdoor season is still to come, a pair of SEC honors has already rolled in. Kaila Jackson (Women’s Freshman Runner) and Will Sumner (Men’s Co-Freshman Runner) completed the indoor-outdoor sweep after being voted the SEC freshmen runners of the year for both seasons.
Boling was also recognized as the SEC Men’s Outdoor Co-Scholar-Athlete of the Year during the SEC Outdoor Championships. This was his record-setting fourth league Scholar-Athlete honor.
In addition, Marsh and Cavanaugh were included on the SEC Community Service Team for their dedication to volunteering in order to help others.
FLASHBACK – 2022 NCAA Outdoor Championships: Georgia crossed the country to Oregon last year and left with a fifth place showing for the men and 45th place finish for the women. The Bulldog men tallied 32 points to lock down their fifth straight top-10 finish while the Lady Bulldogs scored four points.
Succeeding On & Off The Track: Princeton graduate and Athens, Ga., native Julia Harisay was recently included on the 2023 College Sports Communications (CSC) Academic All-District Team. The second-year Lady Bulldog finished with a 4.0 and earned a Master’s of International Policy this spring at UGA. Harisay scored for the second time in a row at the SEC Championships in the javelin and will be lining up with her fellow Ivy League graduate transfer Erin McMeniman (Brown University) in the field this week.
A Glimpse From The Dogs’ Last Action: The Bulldogs continued their 2023 postseason at the NCAA East Prelims on the University North Florida’s campus on May 24-27.
Here is a breakdown of Georgia’s qualifying performances from the meet:
- Boling ran the eighth-best time in the 200m quarterfinal with a 20.20 to qualify.
- Godwin’s 46.05 was the second best at the East Prelims and put the defending NCAA indoor champion into the 400m field.
- In his first season, Sumner also had the second fastest time in the 800m with a 1:49.22 to punch his ticket to Austin.
- Cavanaugh will return to the NCAA Championships in the 400m hurdles after his 51.26 made him the 10th of 12 qualifiers.
- Both men’s relays advanced as Godwin, Morales Williams, Boling and Cavanaugh won the 4x400m relay with a 3:04.71 and Black, Boling, Morales Williams and Godwin had the seventh best 4x100m relay time (39.62).
- Pereira had a top effort of 70.98 meters/232 feet, 10 inches to reach third in the hammer throw.
- Also collecting third-place honors was Minichello, who will be representing the Bulldogs for the first time in the javelin thanks to a toss of 74.74m/245-2.
- Jackson earned a shot to Nationals in both the 200m (fifth – 22.72) and in the 100m (seventh – 11.09).
- Presley will join Jackson in the 100m semifinal in Austin thanks to her 11.11 for 10th in the quarters.
- Butler continued her late season push with a 52.23 in the 400m to take fourth.
- Mustin was 10th in the 400m hurdle quarters thanks to a 57.56.
- Jackson, Wilson, Presley and Butler registered a qualifying finish of third (43.35) in the 4x100m relay while Butler, Tate, Presley and Mustin clocked a 3:33.6 for eighth.
- Kulichenko continued her dominant performances with a 1.82m/5-11.50 showing in the high jump to be top qualifier.
- Marsh accomplished what she has for eight other NCAA Championships: punched her ticket to Nationals. She was second in the triple jump (13.51m/44-4) and 10th in the long (6.24m/20-5.75).
- Da Silva was another Lady Bulldog to qualifying in a pair of events after sneaking in with the 12th spot in the shot put (16.60m/54-5.50) and taking 11th in the hammer (62.27m/204-3).
- The Georgia women had a duo punch their tickets in the javelin with Harisay (48.38m/158-9) taking ninth and McMeniman (48.15m/157-11) managing an 11th-place finish.
Results and recaps from the NCAA Championships will be found at georgiadogs.com. News and updates from Georgia’s track and field and cross country teams are always located on Twitter/Instagram at @UGATrack.