Heptathletes Highlight Historic Day At NCAAs

Friday, March 12

Fayetteville, Ark.

All Day

University of Georgia

NCAA Indoor Championships

March 12, 2021 | Track & Field

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. --- Bulldog training partners Karel Tilga and Kyle Garland made history at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., on Friday as the Georgia duo went 1-2 in the heptathlon with record-breaking performances.

Sixth-year senior Kayla Smith led the scoring attack for the Lady Bulldogs with the team's second silver medal in as many days.  Smith reached a personal-best height of 14 feet, 5 ½ inches in the pole vault in her first time competing at indoor Nationals.

The sixth-ranked Bulldog men have scored 20 points and are tied with LSU for the lead after two of three days.  The fourth-ranked Georgia women have scored 23 points and are tied with LSU for second place.
Tilga, a native of Tartu, Estonia, scored the second-highest total in collegiate history with a school record 6,264 points to give the Bulldogs their second NCAA title in the event (Devon Williams, 2017) and their fifth NCAA individual crown for the men indoors.
Garland, a native of Philadelphia, Pa., tallied the fourth-highest total in collegiate history with 6,200 points and is the third Bulldog runner-up in the event since 2014.  The Bulldogs have had at least one All-American in the heptathlon for 10 consecutive years. Georgia has had two scoring All-Americans six of those times since 2012.
Garland and Tilga became the first teammates in NCAA history to win and earn runner-up honors in the event at the same meet.
Also of note, the country's seventh-ranked heptathlete in 2021, Bulldog senior and three-time heptathlete All-American Johannes Erm, remained in Athens after sustaining an injury at the Southeastern Conference Championships two weeks ago.
Where To Catch The NCAA Championships: Live streaming of the NCAA meet will air on ESPN3 through Saturday.  The broadcast talent includes Dwight Stones, Dan O'Brien and John Anderson.

A tape delay special of the Championships will air on ESPNU on Sunday at 9 p.m.

Saturday (1:30pm): http://gado.gs/6hh
Saturday (6pm): http://gado.gs/6hj
Saturday's trophy presentation (9pm): http://gado.gs/6hl

Action starts on Saturday with sophomore Matthew Boling in the 200-meter dash final at 3:50 p.m. ET.  The first Lady Bulldog competitor on the meet's final day will be sophomore Jasmine Moore and junior Titiana Marsh in the triple jump at 6 p.m.

For results throughout the weekend, please visit: gado.gs/6h7

"Today was an amazing day for some of our elite student-athletes!" said Bulldog head coach Petros Kyprianou. "Obviously the highlight has to be Karel and Kyle in the historic heptathlon with a 1-2 finish and massive scores!  They are proudly continuing and improving our tradition.  Also Anna (Hall) proving to be a solid competitor for the ladies in scoring 14 points after a bronze in the high jump and becoming one of the most productive NCAA competitors we have had here.  Kayla's silver medal proves that she's a warrior and a fantastic leader for our ladies.

"This is a tough league and given that there are more than 300 Division I schools that offer track and field, the points are so hard to come by.  Matthew and Jasmine also did a great job scoring in the very, very competitive long jump competition.  Looking forward to Saturday's events and hoping for a solid placing for both our teams!"

There were also three more scoring All-Americans and a single qualifier for the Bulldogs on Friday.  Sophomore Anna Hall continued her consistency over 6 feet in the high jump and added another six points for the Georgia women.  Overcoming a third attempt clearance at 6-0.50, Hall eclipsed the bar at 6-1.50 on her second try to be part of a 1-2-3 finish for the SEC.

Another sophomore, Matthew Boling, earned his first All-America certificate in the long jump after passing the 25-foot mark for the third time in his career.  The Houston, Texas, native is the first indoor All-American in the event for the Bulldogs since Lester Benjamin traveled 25-7.75 for silver in 1984.

Yet another second-year team member, Jasmine Moore, made her first of two appearances in the meet, this time in the long jump, and added a point to the Lady Bulldogs' total.  A collegiate record won the meet and the top four finishers were all over 21-10.

Georgia also had Boling qualify for a final on the track.  Boling shot out of the blocks in the second group of the 200m semifinal and left with the second overall fastest time (20.49).

On Friday, Hall scored 4,401 points in the pentathlon to give the Georgia women their first eight points with a second-place finish.  This marks the ninth consecutive year the Bulldogs have had an All-American in the event.

In the heptathlon, Garland, who held a 21-point overall lead after day one, left the facility on Friday with a total of five personal bests and two seasonal bests through his seven events.  While his showing was memorable, it was Tilga, who trailed the leader by 26 points after day one, who went seven-for-seven on personal records to lock down the first NCAA indoor title of any kind for the Bulldog men since 2017.

Garland began his day two by taking second in his 60m hurdles heat and third overall with a season-best time of 8.07.  Clocking his second-best time in the combined events, Garland led the rest of the competition by at least 68 points with five events down.  Tilga did just as he had during all four events on Thursday – he registered a personal best.  He was also second in his group and seventh overall with an 8.24 to move into second behind Garland.  Texas' Leo Neugebauer, who came into the event in second overall, fell on the second hurdle and did not finish the race.

The phenomenal performances from the Bulldog heptathletes continued in the pole vault.  Garland started the event smoothly with four first attempt clearances before finishing with an opening try clearance at a personal best 15-11.25.  Tilga, who had jumped as high as 15-5 in 2020, took the perilous route of having a pair of final attempt clearances, including his career best 16-3.25, before retiring to prepare for the 1000m.  Tilga's showing drew him 30 points closer to the overall leader in Garland and left the two separated by just 38 points before the finale.

Left to decide who the national champion would be by way of the 1000, Tilga and Garland both completed their competition with yet another duo of personal records.  Tilga kept his laps steady, posting four 31-second laps and one 30-second lap, and won the race and the overall competition thanks to his 2:36.32.  Garland, who started with a pair of 31-second laps and finished 33-34-34, bettered his career best to 2:45.53 to finish three spots behind his teammate in the race and 64 points behind him in the competition.

A native of Indianapolis, Ind., Smith completed an indoor career that started in 2016 with the top performance in the last six years on Friday.  She was clean through 13-11.75 and then cleared 14-3.50 on her second attempt.  On her next trip to the runway, Smith shot over the bar at a career-best mark of 14-5.50 on her first try to lock down second.  High Point's Sydney Horn matched that height, but reached it on two attempts rather than one.

Sophomore Julia Fixsen, who captured her first SEC title this year, went over the vault bar at 13-7.75 on her first attempt and that ended up being her top height to tie for 11^th.

Hall, entering into the competition again a day after earning eight points in the pentathlon, came into the high jump at 5-9.25 and cleared four heights to help pace the Lady Bulldogs' scoring.  Georgia last scored in the event with Mady Fagan and Tatiana Gusin earning gold and silver, respectively, in 2017.

Sophomore Shelby Tyler tied for 13^th in the high jump thanks to a second attempt clearance at 5-9.25.

Boling started his long jump series with a foul before having his second attempt measure at 25-4.75, which ended up being the mark for eight place.  Hovering again around 25-3 on his second try, Boling posted the best mark of his day at 25-5.25 on his fourth try to clinch seventh place for another two points.  Following the event, Boling quickly prepared for his 200m semifinal that would arrive minutes later.

On the women's side, Moore built to an effort of 21 feet in the long jump on her fifth attempt and she managed a point with her eighth-place finish.  Junior Titiana Marsh had a top distance of 20-6.25 and finished out in 12^th .  She will return with Moore in the triple jump on Saturday.

In the qualifying rounds, Boling ran the second-fastest 200m qualifying time with a 20.49.  His finish marked his second-fastest collegiate time and gives the Bulldogs the opportunity to earn an All-America certificate in the event for the first time since the late great Torrin Lawrence in 2009 (seventh, 20.90).  Boling takes the track at 3:50 p.m. on Saturday before he opens the relay at 4:20 p.m.

One of Boling's 4x400m relay mates, junior Elija Godwin, narrowly missed the 400m final.  He ran a 46.04 and was one spot and .07 seconds away from advancing.  Godwin will finish the year with the Bulldogs' second-fastest 400m time in school history at 45.37 from the SEC Championships.

Junior Imani Carothers completed her first NCAA Championships by taking fourth in her heat and 10^th overall after registering an 8.19.

Results and recaps from the NCAA Indoor 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.

Bulldog Day 1 Scorers
Name                          Event                           Finish (Mark/Time)
Anna Hall                    Pentathlon                  2^nd  (4,401 pts.)
Day 2 Scorers
Name                          Event                           Finish (Mark/Time)
Karel Tilga                  Heptathlon 1^st (!6,264 pts.)
Kyle Garland               Heptathlon                2^nd (%6,200 pts.)
Kayla Smith                W. Pole Vault 2^nd (*14-5.50)
Anna Hall                    W. High Jump 3^rd (6-1.50)
Matthew Boling          M. Long Jump 7^th (25-5.25)
Jasmine Moore           W. Long Jump 8^th (21-0)
BOLD-1^st Team All-American; !No. 2 all-time collegiate score; %No. 4 all-time collegiate score

Bulldog Day 1 Qualifiers
Name                          Event                           Finish (Mark/Time)
Matthew Boling 200m                           2^nd (20.49)

Bulldog Heptathlon Scores
Name                 60m              LJ                        SP                      HJ                     Day 1
Kyle Garland   ^7.06             *24-7.25 *50-6.75 *7-05.0              *3,555

                          60mH                        PV                    1000m                 TOTAL
                         ^8.07   *15-11.25 *2:45.53              %6,200

Karel Tilga     60m                LJ                        SP                      HJ                     Day 1
  *7.09 *25-0 *52-7.50 *6-9                   *3,529

                          60mH                        PV                    1000m                 TOTAL
                         *8.24 *16-3.25   *2:36.32   !6,264
*personal record; ^season best

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