Georgia Men Finish Eighth At NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- Highlighted by four scorers, the Bulldogs finished in the top 10 for the fifth consecutive NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships with an eighth-place finish in Birmingham, Ala., on Saturday.

The Georgia men scored 23 points for their eighth-place finish. On the women's side, a pair of Lady Bulldogs scorers combined for 2.2 points to take 46th.

Junior Kyle Garland equaled his exact score of 6,200 points in the heptathlon to earn silver medal honors, which is where he placed in 2021 as well. This marked the fifth time the Philadelphia, Pa., native eclipsed 6,000 points in his career to add eight points to Georgia's total.

The Bulldogs were the defending champions in the heptathlon after former Bulldog Karel Tilga scored 6,264 (No. 3 all-time collegiate performer/performance) to edge Garland (6,200) for the 2021 NCAA title. While Devon Williams also captured the 2017 crown for the Bulldogs, UGA has have had 19 scoring First Team All-Americans in the event since 2012.

Georgia's 4x400-meter relay team concluded the day with its second straight fourth-place finish at Nationals thanks to the work of junior Matthew Boling, junior Caleb Cavanaugh, freshman Bryce McCray and senior Elija Godwin. While Boling was disqualified from the 200m final for a lane violation after initially taking second, he started his second day by crossing the 60m finish line in fifth place after coming into the meet ranked ninth nationally. This gave the Bulldogs their first All-American in the event since they had a pair in 2018 (Cejhae Greene, Kendal Williams).

For the women, Ana da Silva scored in the shot put with a seventh-place finish for the Lady Bulldogs for the program's first All-America certificate in the event since 2013. Also, true freshman Elena Kulichenko registered two first-attempt clearances in the high jump to finish eighth in her first trip to the NCAA Championships.

On Friday, Boling scored nationally for the second time in his career in the long jump with a bronze medal in the event. He finished with 11.25 points for the Bulldogs at his second indoor Nationals.

Where They Finished: Texas (47) captured the championship on the men's side. Florida (68) completed the meet with top honors on the women's side (top-10 finishers at bottom of page).

Georgia featured four different scorers on day two:
*Garland took second for the second year in a row in the heptathlon with yet another tally over 6,000 points.
*Boling, Cavanaugh, McCray and Godwin passed the baton to win their group and finish with the fourth-fastest time of the day.
*Boling followed up a career best in the prelims with a fifth-place showing in the 60m final.
*Da Silva answered an opening foul with improvements on her second and third tosses to score in the shot put for the Georgia women.
*Kulichenko stayed clean through her first two heights with first attempt clearances to claim a share of eight place in the high jump.

Full Results: For results, please visit: gado.gs/8ni

The Lowdown: Georgia finished with a flurry of scorers on the final day of action, highlighted by Garland's silver in the heptathlon.

Garland opened his second day in the heptathlon with the competition's second-best time in the 60m hurdles. He darted across the line at 7.95 to continue his hold on first place, expanding his overall lead to 122 points. Garland reached a season best in the pole vault, soaring over 15 feet for the fifth time in his career, to take 14^th and remain in the overall lead by 33 points. He was four-for-four on opening attempt clearances to start the vault before managing a third try clearance at 4.66 meters/15 feet, 3 ½ inches.

In the hep finale, Garland was the 11^th runner across the line in the 1000m with a 2:46.07, allowing national leader Ayden Owens of Arkansas to pass him by for the overall victory by 11 points. Owens ran a 2:31.55 to win the seventh and final event.

Boling led off in the 4x400m relay and handed to Cavanaugh, a former high school teammate, before first-year runner Bryce McCray and 2020 Olympic medalist Elija Godwin brought it home for Georgia. The foursome combined for a 3:05.46 to finish first in their heat and fourth overall. Godwin's anchor split of 45.44 helped propel the Bulldogs across the final meters in first.

Boling's first action of his busy day came in the shortest sprint of the meet. Lining up in lane five, Boling was one of seven sprinters who showed up to run in the 60m final. The field was brought back to the start line after the first fire of the starting gun for a restart. Boling then took off for his 6.63 to earn his first All-America certificate in the event. Greene (fourth) and Williams (seventh) were the last Bulldogs to score in the event four years ago.

Tied for ninth nationally coming into the meet, da Silva responded to an opening foul by launching a second throw of 17.00m/55-9.25. She then improved to 17.24m/56-6.75 on her third throw to clinch her eventual finish of seventh. Hilenn James was the last Lady Bulldog scorer in the shot put after setting the previous school record at the 2013 NCAA Championships.

Kulichenko, a native of Odintsovo, Russia, cleared 1.73m/5-8 on her opening attempt at her first Nationals and then went over the bar again at 1.78m/5-10 cleanly. This height put her in a five-way tie for eighth place to score 0.2 points for the Lady Bulldogs.

Marsh, a native of Chester, Va., used her final try in the opening three rounds to hold on to the ninth and final spot that qualified for the final. She traveled 13.40m/43-11.75 to edge the next competitor out by three inches and stayed there after the final three rounds. This marked Marsh's third time competing in the event at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Marsh had a career-best finish of 10^th in the long jump on day one.

Up Next: The Bulldogs immediately start their outdoor season at the Yellow Jacket Invitational in Atlanta on March 18-19. They will play host to one home meet outdoors: Torrin Lawrence Memorial – April 29-30.

Where To Find Bulldog News: Results and recaps from the NCAA Indoor Championships can 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.

Team Scores
MEN

Texas (47)

North Carolina A&T (36)

Tennessee (31)

Northern Arizona (29)

T5. Texas A&M (26)
T5. Princeton (26)
7. Arkansas (24)
8. GEORGIA (23)
      9. Oregon (22)
      T10. TCU (20)
      T10. Ole Miss (20)

WOMEN

Florida (68)

2. Texas (56)

3. Kentucky (44)

4. Arkansas (40)

5. LSU (29.5)

T6. Virginia Tech (29)

T6. Ole Miss (29)

8. BYU (26.2)

9. N.C. State (25)

10. Texas A&M (24)

Day 1 Scorers/First Team All-Americans
Name                          Event                           Finish (Mark/Time)
Matthew Boling          Long jump                   3^rd (7.86m/25-9.50)
Day 2 Scorers/First Team All-Americans
Kyle Garland                Heptathlon                  2^nd (6,200 pts.)
M. Boling                     4x400m relay              4^th (3:05.46)
C. Cavanaugh, B. McCray, E. Godwin
Boling                          60m                             5^th (6.63)
Ana da Silva                 Shot put                      7^th (17.24m/56-6.75)
Elena Kulichenko         High jump                   T-8^th (1.78m/5-10)

Heptathlon
Name                       60m                    LJ                                 SP                                HJ                      Day 1
Kyle Garland          6.97                    7.41m/24-3.75    15.38m/50-5.50   *2.18/7-1.75      3,592 pts.

                                   60mH PV                                 1000m                   TOTAL
                                   7.95                    ^4.66m/15-3.25 2:46.07                     6,200 pts.
*personal record in multi-events; ^season best in multi-events

###

University of Georgia Athletics

Georgia Men Finish Eighth At NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships

Players Mentioned

Matthew Boling

Caleb Cavanaugh

Kyle Garland

Elija Godwin

Elena Kulichenko

Bryce McCray

Karel Tilga

Related Videos