Track Roars Into NCAA Championships

Wednesday, June 6

Eugene, Ore.

All Day

University of Georgia

NCAA Outdoor Championships

June 05, 2018 | Track & Field

Meet Schedule Men's Start Lists Women's Start Lists 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championships Notes

ATHENS, Ga. --- The Bulldog track and field program traveled to Eugene, Ore., on Sunday to acclimate before the NCAA Outdoor Championships arrive at historic Hayward Field on Wednesday through Saturday.

The top-ranked Georgia women and the third-ranked Bulldog men return to action two weeks after qualifying 14 individual competitors and the men's 4x100-meter relay team at the NCAA East Prelims in Tampa, Fla. Decathletes Karl Saluri and Johannes Erm and heptathlete Louisa Grauvogel had already qualified automatically for the final round because of their earlier scores.

This marks the Bulldogs' first NCAA Championships since the Lady Bulldogs collected the program's first national team championship indoors in March. The Georgia men also posted a team-best third-place finish at the 2018 NCAA Indoor Championships in College Station, Texas.

There are a combined 20 Southeastern Conference teams in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) top-25 polls, including 11 in the top 10. Last year, the Lady Bulldogs finished second at the NCAA Outdoor Championships by just 1.8 points and the men left the University of Oregon campus with a sixth-place finish.

When Do The Bulldogs Start Competition? Saluri, a senior, and Erm, a freshman, start the meet for the Bulldogs in the decathlon's first event (100m) at 3:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday. The decathletes will complete four more events (long jump, shot put, high jump, 400m) on the first day before wrapping up the final five on Thursday.

Junior Denzel Comenentia begins the open events for Georgia in the men's hammer throw at 5 p.m. on Wednesday. Freshman Tara Davis is the first Lady Bulldog to compete (100m hurdle semifinal) on Thursday at 8:02 p.m. 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 NCAA Championships: ESPN has exclusive rights to broadcast the meet and will feature the Nationals on a variety of platforms:
*Wednesday: 7:30 p.m. – 11 p.m., ESPN2; 3:20 p.m. – 11 p.m. – ESPN3
*Thursday: 7 p.m. – 10:30 p.m., ESPN2; 12:50 p.m. – 10:45 p.m., ESPN3
*Friday: 8:30 p.m. – 11 p.m., ESPN; 3:20 p.m. – 10:30 p.m., ESPN3
*Saturday: 6:30 p.m. – 9 p.m., ESPN; 2:20 p.m. – 8:15 p.m., ESPN3
*tentative schedule

Live Results: To check out live results throughout the four-day season finale, please check: gado.gs/969

Kyprianou's Comments: "We have arrived at what I think it will be the best NCAA Championship in history," said head coach Petros Kyprianou. "This marks the last year competing on Hayward Field before it is demolished and massively upgraded. There is track magic there and we have felt it every year. Our teams are excited and ready to give these Championships a great run as we are prepared and ready for action! We have been talking about this ever week since August. Every step of the way, every argument, every tough moment, none of it seemed that important as we were going through it but it was a part of the process of getting here in the best shape possible.

"I feel good about where we are and can't wait to watch our student-athletes go out and have fun. We sit in a very good spot but there are some serious teams that want the titles as bad as we do it, and it is seems closer than ever with the top five teams within three to five points of each other. We can control what we can control and I personally think that's a lot! We have to go in punching first and not waiting for a 'moment.' This is track and field and anything can happen.

"Last time we were here, we set records and made history. However, the meet had a bittersweet ending. We have been talking about that moment and how we controlled everything we could but came up short. It is time to duplicate that effort and make a serious push in both genders and see where that leads us. All I know is that both of our teams, coaches and staff will leave it all on the track. The outcome will be fun if we do stay focused and just accomplish simple things extraordinarily well, like we have been talking about the last three years. I just want our student-athletes to come out swinging first and have as much fun doing it as they can. Go Dawgs!"

What Bulldogs Are Competing: Seniors Cejhae Greene (100m, 4x100m relay), Saluri (decathlon), Tatiana Gusin (high jump), Keturah Orji (triple jump, long jump), juniors Comenentia (hammer throw, shot put), Kendal Williams (100m, 200m, 4x100m relay), Raytez Jenkins (4x100m relay), Keenon Laine (high jump), Michael Nicholls (4x100m relay), Jonathan Raines (4x100m relay), sophomores Jessica Drop (5000m), Samantha Drop (10,000m), Kate Hall (long jump), Grauvogel (heptathlon), Tairyn Montgomery (javelin), Marie-Therese Obst (javelin) and freshmen Erm (decathlon), Justes Nance (4x100m relay), Lynna Irby (200m, 400m), Davis (long jump, 100m hurdles) and Antonios Merlos (high jump) are slated to compete (or be relay alternates) over the weekend.

A Flashback From The 2017 NCAA Outdoor Championships: Georgia also traveled to Eugene for last year's meet and here are a couple of the memorable performances from the crew returning in 2018:

Hall broke through with a school record of 22 feet, 1 inch to win her first NCAA long jump title.
Orji traveled 46-10.75 to win her third straight NCAA outdoor triple jump crown and also finished just behind Hall with a runner-up performance in the long jump (22-0.25).
While senior Mady Fagan (redshirting this season) won last year's NCAA high jump tite, Gusin was second thanks to a 6-3.25 clearance. In fact, Gusin has been second three times at NCAAs.
Comenentia managed fifth-place finishes in both the shot put (64-5) and the hammer (235-4) to provide the Bulldogs with a combined eight points.

A Glimpse From The Dogs' Last Action: The Bulldogs continued their postseason at the NCAA East Prelims at the University of South Florida facility on May 24-26.

Here is a breakdown of Georgia's qualifying performances from the meet:

After clocking a scorching 22.06 (wind-aided) time in the first round of the 200m, Irby was third in the final round with a 22.56. The Indianapolis, Ind., native also set the school record in the 400m with a 50.44 to be the top qualifier.
Jessica Drop cruised to a third-place finish in the 5000m (16:12.58) to advance to her first NCAA outdoor meet.
Twin sister Samantha Drop was ninth in the 10,000m (34:14.66) to earn a spot at her first NCAA Championships outside of the cross country season.
Davis crossed the 100m hurdle finish line in 13.16 to punch her ticket. She also won the long jump in a rainy competition with a top effort of 21-0.75.
Gusin, who was runner-up at the 2017 NCAA indoor and outdoor meets, qualified in the high jump after going over the bar at 5-10.75.
Orji was second in the long jump (21-0) and won the triple jump (46-1.50) to qualify and will go into the NCAA Championships as the national leader in each of the events.
Hall, who is the defending NCAA indoor and outdoor champion in the long jump, soared 20-6.25 to be the fourth qualifier in her featured event.
The Lady Bulldogs had a pair of competitors break into the qualifying 12 in the javelin. Montgomery went 161-4 to earn the ninth spot while Obst grabbed the 12^th and final qualifying spot with a top mark of 156-8.
Williams and Greene went 2-3 in the 100m thanks to legal times of 10.08 and 10.15 to advance.
Williams also ran a 20.51 to include him in the national 200m field.
Greene and Williams joined Nicholls and Nance in the 4x100m relay and finished with a season-best time of 39.29 for the eighth qualifying spot.
While Laine is no stranger to qualifying for NCAAs with a 7-1 high jump clearance, Merlos advanced for the first time thanks to 6-11 clearance.
Comenentia won the hammer (241-1) and was second in the shot (66-8.75) at the NCAA East Prelims as he continues his pursuit for another pair of All-America certificates in the event – and his first NCAA title indoors or outdoors.

Honors Begin To Roll In: While the most important meet of the outdoor season is still to come, a number of SEC and regional honors have already begun to roll in. At the SEC level, Orji was named the Women's Field Athlete of the Year for the sixth time (three times indoors/outdoors) and the Women's Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the third time in her career. In 2015, Orji was also named the Women's Freshman Field Athlete of the Year indoors and outdoors, giving her a perfect 8-for-8 run. Comenentia was also named the Men's Field Athlete of the Year for the first time in his three years.

The USTFCCCA also announced their regional winners. Orji was named the South Region Women's Field Athlete of the Year for the fifth time (last three outdoors, last two indoors); Irby was named the Women's Track Runner of the Year during her first collegiate outdoor campaign; and Comenentia was named the Men's Field Athlete of the Year for the first time.

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.