Georgia’s track and field teams punched two tickets to Nationals and qualified seven in five events for quarterfinals during the first day of the NCAA East Prelims Wednesday.
The Bulldogs qualified two competitors for the final rounds of the NCAA Championships as Marc Minichello (javelin) and Alencar Pereira (hammer throw) finished in the qualifying top 12.
- Minichello opened with the competition’s third-best effort of 74.74 meters/245 feet, 2 inches in the javelin to clinch the defending NCAA champion a spot in this year’s meet.
- Pereira, who moved from 20th in 2021 to 14th in 2022 at Nationals, built to a toss of 70.98m/232-10 in the hammer throw to take third.
Similar to the NCAA Championships, this meet is set up where one gender competes one day and then the other gender competes the next, and that pattern is followed all four days. Wednesday’s competition belonged to the men and the Bulldogs put seven competitors through in five events to the men’s quarterfinal round on Friday.
- Keshaun Black blazed to a personal best 10.17 to be fourth in his 100-meter dash heat in 17th overall. He will race in the next round on Friday at 6:35 p.m.
- Elija Godwin (45.90) and Christopher Morales Williams (46.31) went 1-2 in the second heat to finish fourth and 13th, respectively, in the 400m. The Bulldog duo races in the quarterfinal on Friday at 6:50 p.m.
- Defending SEC champion Will Sumner is second in his 800m heat and 16th overall with a 1:49.35 while Clay Pender, who was forced to sit out the conference meet with an illness, sneaks in the 22nd spot with a 1:49.82. The quarterfinal in the 800m is 7:05 p.m. on Friday.
- Caleb Cavanaugh runs out of the fifth heat and wins his 400m hurdles group thanks to a 49.86. He will race in the quarters on Friday at 7:25 p.m.
- Matthew Boling assures his spot in the second round of the 200m after registering a season best 20.17, which was fourth. He will line up in the quarters for a chance at Nationals on Friday at 7:50 p.m.
There are 48 competitors from the East Region in every individual event and 24 in the relays. The NCAA West Prelims is running simultaneously in Sacramento with the same format. The top 12 in each event from both regions will advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Austin, Texas, on June 7-10.
One of the Bulldogs traveling as a relay alternate is the national leader in the decathlon and has earned the right to skip the Prelims by automatically qualifying for the NCAA Championships. College record holder Kyle Garland most recently won the Southeastern Conference title with a meet record score of 8,589, which ranks second on the all-time collegiate list.
When Do The Bulldogs Start On Thursday? Ana da Silva begins the action for the women on Thursday in the hammer throw at 10 a.m. ET. Bella Witt is the first Lady Bulldog on the track during day two at 6 p.m. in the first round of the 100m hurdles.
Live Results: For live results between Wednesday and Saturday, please click on: http://gado.gs/aly
Live Stream: The NCAA East Prelims will be live streamed by ESPN all four days.
Here are the link for each day:
Day 2 (Thursday) - http://gado.gs/am0
Day 3 (Friday) - http://gado.gs/am1
Day 4 (Saturday) – http://gado.gs/am2
The Lowdown: Minichello opened his round with a javelin toss of 74.74m/245-2 to finish third. Rocketing to second on Georgia’s all-time list during the regular season, Minichello will return to the meet he won in 2022 after locking down the SEC title nearly two weeks ago in Baton Rouge.
Pereira, who hails from Sao Jose do Rio Preto, Brazil, transitioned his silver medal finish at the SEC Championships into a Nationals qualifying spot Wednesday. Improving on his second and third tosses, Pereira completed his three-throw series with a mark of 70.98m/232-10 to take third with his third-best mark of the season.
There were also seven Bulldog qualifiers for the quarterfinals on day one. A trio of Bulldogs clocked the fourth-fastest times in their events to move to the next round. Boling ran one of the country’s top 15 times this year with a season best in the 200m of 20.17. Black finished with a personal record 20.75 to complete his competition in 28th, just outside the top 24.
Boling’s training and relay partner Godwin won his heat and was fourth out of the 47 racers to advance with a 45.90 in the 400m. Godwin was third at the 2022 NCAA Championships with a then school record 44.50. Morales Williams, who was racing in his first Prelims, was one spot behind Godwin in their heat with a 46.31 to move on to Friday.
Cavanaugh earned his shot at competing at his third straight Nationals in the 400m hurdles after completing his lap in 49.86. His performance is on the heels of a career best 49.04 in the hurdles during the SEC prelims.
The Bulldogs added another pair in the first round of the 800m thanks to Sumner and Pender. Sumner continued his successful freshman campaign by crossing the line .01 behind the heat winner to qualifying automatically with a 1:49.35. Pender surprised the field last year to advance to Nationals and is now in the 800m quarters thanks to a 1:49.82.
Black collected his first personal record of the day in the 100m and it was enough to put him in the quarterfinals. Black’s 10.17 is the sixth best in school history and was 17th in the first round.
Results and recaps from the NCAA East Prelims 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.
Day 1 NCAA Championships Final Qualifiers (MEN)
Name Event Place / Mark
Marc Minichello Javelin 3rd / 74.74m/245-2
Alencar Pereira Hammer Throw 3rd / 70.98m/232-10
Day 1 NCAA East Prelims Quarterfinal Qualifiers (MEN)
Name Event Place / Mark
Matthew Boling 200m 4th / 20.17
Elija Godwin 400m 4th / 45.90
Caleb Cavanaugh 400mH 4th / 49.86
Christopher M. Williams 400m 13th / 46.31
Will Sumner 800m 16th / 1:49.35
Keshaun Black 100m 17th / *10.17
Clay Pender 800m 22nd / 1:49.82
*personal record
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