Welcome Home Mikeisha

By Hana Takamatsu, Georgia Sports Communications

Mikeisha Welcome was looking for a new home having spent the first part of her career at the University of Oklahoma, and being a Bulldog ended up being the perfect fit. The junior triple jumper will compete in red and black this week at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, N.M.

"I think UGA stood out because they completed the puzzle of everything a student-athlete needs," she said about her transfer from Oklahoma. "Coaching, wellness, everything…it's here, and academics as well."

Welcome, who finished an All-American career as a Sooner, was excited about the change in conference.

"I really liked competing in the (Southeastern Conference)," Welcome said after her first appearance at the SEC Indoors recently equaled a bronze medal finish. "I think my first SECs went pretty well, I jumped a personal best so that's always good."

Welcome finished the meet with a St. Vincent national record 13.74 meters/45 feet, 1 inch effort in the triple jump, a strong postseason showing and start to her career in the SEC.

Originally from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Welcome moved to Canada when she was 8 years old.

"It wasn't like being away from home because in Toronto everyone is from the Caribbean so I fit right in there," Welcome said about her move.

Her mother is Jamaican and Welcome's favorite Jamaican food is curried goat, which she promises, "it may not sound good, but it's really good!"

Welcome now has to adjust to another new place, after leaving Norman, Okla., for Athens, Ga.

"It's definitely different, I'm still trying to work my way around," she said. "Still trying to adjust to life in Athens and UGA in general."

Outside of track and field, Welcome is an avid movie fan, specifically of the film "American Psycho."

"It's my favorite movie, I watch it every time I have the chance to," Welcome said. "I love Christian Bale just in general, he just reminds me a lot of myself . . . but without everything he gets into in the movie."

Welcome will compete this week in the triple jump at the NCAA Indoor Championships at 5:45 p.m. ET. Last year she finished with a seventh place showing for First Team All-America honors and was 13^th at the 2021 meet when competing with Oklahoma.

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