Georgia Track & Field Opens Postseason In Florida At SEC Outdoor Championships
GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- The Georgia track and field teams are set to compete in the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships, scheduled for Thursday through Saturday on the campus of the University of Florida.
The eighth-ranked women’s team and the 22nd-ranked men’s squad will open the outdoor postseason at Florida’s James G. Pressly Stadium at Percy Beard Track, marking the SEC Outdoor Championships’ return to Gainesville for the first time since 2009. The Bulldogs will look to build on last year’s success after finishing fourth (men) and sixth (women), respectively, at the 2023 championships in Baton Rouge, La.
Who’s The Competition?: The Bulldogs will be joined by the other 13 Southeastern Conference schools at the meet. All 14 universities will be represented on the women’s side while 13 teams will compete for the men’s SEC title.
When Do The Bulldogs Start?: Jan Duhovnik will open competition in the decathlon at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday with the 100-meter dash, followed by the long jump, shot put, high jump, and 400m. Stephanie Ratcliffe will represent the Lady Bulldogs in Georgia’s first field event of the day at 2:15 p.m., participating in the hammer throw. Georgia’s first running event on Thursday is the women’s 800m prelims with Kieley Gayle set to compete for the Lady Bulldogs.
Who Is Ranked In The SEC?: Twenty total SEC men’s and women’s teams cracked the top 25 in the most recent U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) national rankings, released on Tuesday, May 7. Eleven of the 13 SEC men’s teams are ranked in the top 25, including sweeping the top five spots in the NCAA. No. 1 Florida, No. 2 Texas A&M, No. 3 LSU, No. 4 Alabama, No. 5 Arkansas, No. 10 Auburn, No. 12 Kentucky, No. 14 Tennessee, No. 15 Mississippi State, No. 20 South Carolina, and No. 22 GEORGIA are all ranked heading into the SEC Championship meet this weekend.
Nine SEC women’s teams rank in the top 25 nationally, all placing within the top 15. The LSU women hold the nation’s top ranking while No. 2 Arkansas, No. 4 Texas A&M, No. 6 South Carolina, No. 7 Florida, No. 8 GEORGIA, No. 10 Tennessee, No. 12 Ole Miss, and No. 15 Alabama are also ranked.
Where To Catch The SEC Championships: There will be live ESPN coverage of all three days of the SEC Outdoor Championships. The meet will be broadcast on SEC Network+ and SEC Network with Dwight Stones, Dan O’Brien, Larra Overton, and Fernando Paloma serving on the announcing crew.
SEC+/SECN Info:
Day One – Thursday, May 9
SEC Network+ – 11:55 a.m.-4:30 p.m.: https://gado.gs/bu8
SEC Network + – 5:25-8:00 p.m.: https://gado.gs/bu9
Day Two – Friday, May 10
SEC Network + – 11:25 a.m.-4:30 p.m.: https://gado.gs/bua
SEC Network + – 4:55-8:30 p.m.: https://gado.gs/bub
Day Three – Saturday, May 11
SEC Network + – 2:55-4:30 p.m.: https://gado.gs/buc
SEC Network – 6:00 p.m.: https://gado.gs/bud
Live Results: For results throughout the weekend from the SEC Outdoor Championships, please visit: https://gado.gs/bue
Coach Caryl’s Comments: “One of the most important months has arrived for our program as our teams make the best out of all their hard work at the SEC Championships, NCAA Championships and beyond,” said Georgia head coach Caryl Smith Gilbert. “I cannot think of a better conference to raise your level of competition against than the SEC. Several SEC competitors will definitely be competing in Paris! I am excited about where we are as a team and can’t wait to see Bulldogs on the podium. We have competed at high-level competitions all season, so I told our team to do what they have been doing all season. GO DAWGS!”
What Bulldogs Are Competing?: On the women’s side, Leah Anderson, Charlotte Augenstein, Sophia Baker, Aaliyah Butler, Gayle, Lorel Golden, Kimberly Harris, Sydney Harris, Kaila Jackson, Elena Kulichenko, Erin McMeniman, Kelsie Murrell-Ross, Dominique Mustin, Gracie O’Neal, Karsen Phillips, Zoe Pollock, Ratcliffe, Ella Rush, Haley Tate, and Mikeisha Welcome are scheduled to compete in Gainesville.
For the men, Gavin Beverage, Brody Buffington, Duhovnik, Ali Elashmawi, Mekhi Gammons, Jehlani Gordon, Hossam Hatib, Wesley John, Luke Kalarickal, Alexander Kolesnikoff, Micah Larry, Jordan McKenzie, Marc Minichello, Christopher Morales Williams, Ethan Nordman, Riyon Rankin, Alon Rogow, Zack Truitt, Nikolai van Huyssteen, and Zavien Wolfe will represent the Bulldogs in Florida.
LAST WEEK’S FLASHBACK – Music City Challenge, LSU Invitational (April 26-27): The Bulldogs closed the regular season by splitting time between the Music City Challenge on April 26-27 and the one-day LSU Invitational on April 27. The Bulldogs took home three wins and six improvements to the program’s all-time top-10 lists at the LSU Invitational, including national records from van Huyssteen in the pole vault (1st place – 5.41 meters/17 feet, 9 inches) and from the women’s 4x400-meter relay squad of Butler, Kimberly Harris, Sydney Harris and Tate (3rd – 3:27.02). The Distance Dawgs also added three improvements to the top-10 lists at the Music City Challenge, highlighted by John’s No. 3 time in Georgia history in the 3,000m steeplechase (3rd – 8:53.52).
Diploma Dawgs: A total of 16 Bulldogs will graduate from UGA with bachelor’s or master’s degrees this weekend. That number includes 10 student-athletes who will compete at the SEC Championships this weekend: Augenstein, Baker, John, Kolesnikoff, McMeniman, Minchello, Mustin, O’Neal, Pollock, and Welcome.
Outdoor SEC Honors: Minichello was named Southeastern Conference Men’s Co-Field Athlete of the Week following his javelin performance at the Hurricane Collegiate Invitational on March 23. The graduate student posted a mark of 82.32m/270-1 to win the javelin throw and move into the national lead by more than 10 feet. The 2022 NCAA javelin champion is the No. 11 all-time collegiate performer and No. 2 in Georgia history in the event.
The Bulldogs added two more weekly SEC honors following the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational on April 12-13. Kulichenko was named SEC Women’s Field Athlete of the Week after her win in the women’s high jump invite while Rankin’s runner-up performance in the men’s high jump invite earned him SEC Men’s Freshman of the Week honors. Kulichenko’s mark of 1.92m/6-3.50 ranks second in the NCAA this season while Rankin’s top jump of 2.21m/7-3 is tied for eighth nationally, including first among freshmen.
Rankin added a second SEC Freshman of the Week award for his performance at the LSU Invitational on April 27. The Brunswick, Ga., native cleared a height of 2.20m/7-2.50 to finish second in the high jump, marking his second-best performance of the season.
Dawgs In The Top 10: Heading into the SEC Championships, the Bulldogs have xx competitors ranked in the top 10 nationally in their respective events (SEC Rankings also listed).
For the women:
400m – 2nd – Butler (50.05) *2nd in SEC
High Jump – 2nd – Kulichenko (1.93m/6-4) *2nd in SEC
4x400m Relay – 4th – Butler, K. Harris, S. Harris Tate (3:27.02) *3rd in SEC
Shot Put – 5th – Murrell-Ross (18.33m/60-1.75) *2nd in SEC
100m – 6th – Jackson (10.97 W+2.8) *5th in SEC
4x100m relay – 7th – Jackson, Wilson, K. Harris, Butler (43.26) *5th in SEC
200m – T-10th – Jackson (22.77 W+2.2) *T-8th in SEC
Hammer – 10th – Ratcliffe (67.06m/220-0) *3rd in SEC
For the men:
400m – 1st – Morales Williams (44.91) *1st in SEC
Javelin – 1st – Minichello (82.32m/270-1) *1st in SEC
High Jump – T-8th – Rankin (2.21m/7-3) *4th in SEC
A Glimpse At The 2023 SEC Championships: Georgia brought home a fourth-place finish with 75 points on the men’s side while the women took sixth (57 points) at the 2023 SEC Outdoor Championships, which were held at the Bernie Moore Track Stadium on the campus of LSU. Matthew Boling (800m), Minichello (javelin), and Kyle Garland (decathlon) earned SEC titles in their respective events as the Bulldog men collected points in 10 disciplines. Jackson (100m) and Kulichenko (high jump) led the way for the women by earning silver medals as the Lady Bulldogs scored in 11 events. In total, 24 athletes scored for the Bulldogs, including 11 who are set to represent Georgia again this weekend at the 2024 meet (Baker, Butler, Jackson, John, Kulichenko, McMeniman, Minichello, Morales Williams, Mustin, Tate, and Welcome).
What’s Next For The Bulldogs?: Following the SEC Championships, the Bulldogs will have the next week off from competition before participating in the NCAA East Prelims, which are scheduled for May 22-25 in Lexington, Ky. The 2024 NCAA Championships return to the site of this year's U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore., on June 5-8. The Trials will run June 21-30 at the Hayward Field facility.
