Top-10 Bulldog T&F Teams Set To Start NCAA Championships

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. --- The eighth-ranked Georgia men and the eighth-ranked Lady Bulldogs made the trip to Albuquerque, N.M., on Wednesday before the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships begin on Friday and continue through Saturday in the city's Convention Center.

When Do The Dogs Start?: Seniors Kyle Garland and Johannes Erm will start the meet in the heptathlon on Friday at 12 p.m. ET and will complete four of seven events (60-meter dash, long jump, shot put, high jump) on day one.  Despite being on the roster together since 2019, this will mark the first collegiate postseason meet they have both competed in at the same time.

The Championships' open events begin for the Bulldogs on Friday at 6 p.m. with the women's long jump as senior Titiana Marsh is set to compete.  The first member of the Bulldog men in an open event is senior Elija Godwin in the 400m prelims at 9:25 p.m. on the opening day.

Saturday begins with Garland and Erm back in the heptathlon's final three events (60m hurdles, pole vault, 1000m) starting at 12:30 p.m.  Garland is the national leader with 6,415 points, which makes him the No. 2 all-time collegiate performer and only 84 points shy of the collegiate record.

Where To Catch The NCAA Championships: Live streaming of the NCAA meet will air on ESPN3 starting on Friday and runing through Saturday.  The broadcast talent includes Dwight Stones, Dan O'Brien, Larra Overton and John Anderson.

A tape delay special of the Championships will air on ESPNU on Sunday at 6 p.m.

Friday (11:30 a.m.): http://gado.gs/a6y
Friday (9 p.m.): http://gado.gs/a6z
Saturday (1:30.p.m.): http://gado.gs/a70
Saturday (9 p.m.): http://gado.gs/a71

Sunday on ESPNU (6 p.m.): http://gado.gs/a72

Live Results: For results throughout the weekend, please visit: http://gado.gs/a73

Success At Recent NCAA Indoor Championships: The Lady Bulldogs have finished in the top 10 at the NCAA Indoor Championships for seven out of the last nine completed seasons (2020 season was canceled prior to Nationals because of the pandemic), including their run to a national championship in 2018.  The Georgia men have been in the top 10 for five straight completed seasons, have been in the top three twice out of the last four NCAA meets (2018, 2021) and scored their most points in meet history in 2017 (35.5).

Coach Caryl's Comments: "We are excited to compete in Albuquerque with a mixture of experienced veterans and talented newcomers who have put in the work and are prepared to finish this indoor season at an elite level," said Bulldog head coach Caryl Smith Gilbert.  "Competing against the best in the country and some of the best in the world brings the best out of us, and I am confident that this group of Bulldogs is no different. I believe we will have a special meet and I can't wait to get started.  Go Dawgs!"

What Dogs Advanced To NCAAs?: Georgia has 12 student-athletes who are seeded in the top 16 in 10 different events, including the country's top-ranked 400m sprinter in Godwin and the nation's No. 1 heptathlete in Garland.

For the Lady Bulldogs, Marsh (triple/long jumps), junior Mikeisha Welcome (triple jump), freshman Kaila Jackson (60m, 200m), freshman Autumn Wilson (60m, 200m) and sophomore Elena Kulichenko (high jump) advanced to the final indoor meet.

On the men's side, Godwin (400m/4x400m relay), Garland (heptathlon), Erm (heptathlon), freshman Will Sumner (800m/4x400m relay), junior Caleb Cavanaugh (4x400m relay), senior Matthew Boling (200m/4x400m relay) and freshman Christopher Morales Williams (4x400m relay) will complete their indoor season at Nationals.  One of the Bulldog sprinters will serve as the 4x400m relay alternate.

SEC Accolades Arrive For Dogs: Earlier this week, three Bulldogs picked up hardware after earning Southeastern Conference indoor annual awards.  Godwin was named the Men's Co-Runner of the Year, Sumner garnered Men's Freshman Runner of the Year honors and Jackson was voted the Women's Freshman Runner of the Year.  This marks the third time in school history that Georgia has won three SEC indoor individual awards in the same season.

In addition, Boling was named the SEC Men's Scholar-Athlete of the Year for a record-tying third time.  While Boling was named the 2021 SEC Indoor Scholar-Athlete of the Year as well, the Houston, Texas, native garnered the 2022 outdoor honor to close last year.  He is now tied with Arkansas' Nathanael Franks (2013-15 outdoors) as the only male SEC athlete to win this award three times.

Boling holds a 3.40 GPA as he works on his Bachelor degree of Business Administration.  The 2021 CoSIDA Academic Third Team All-American and 2022 College Sports Communicators (CSC) All-District selection is also a U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic honoree who is a regular on the SEC Academic Honor Roll.

Last Two Times In Albuquerque: Georgia competed at this season's Dr. MLK Jr. Invitational at the Convention Center on Jan. 21.  The Bulldogs headed back east with a series of exceptional performances from the school's NCAA qualifiers:

Kulichenko cleared 1.83 meters/6 feet to grab top honors in the high jump
Marsh earned bronze medal honors in the long jump thanks to a mark of 6.13m/20-1.50
Sumner won the 600m with a school record 1:15.32 to become the No. 8 all-time collegiate performer
Godwin (46.09) and Boling (46.13) went 2-3 in the 400m

Before this season's regular season trip, the Bulldogs made the journey to New Mexico in anticipation for the 2020 NCAA Indoor Championships (March 13-14).  The Lady Bulldogs carried a No. 4 ranking into the meet. Marsh was the only current Georgia woman at the meet after arriving with the nation's 15^th-best triple jump. The Georgia men arrived for the meet ranked fifth nationally thanks in part to a 1-2-3 ranking in the heptathlon (Erm – 1^st, Garland – 3^rd), No.4 ranking in the 200m (Boling) and No. 7 ranking in the 400m (Godwin).  However, on the final practice day, the meet was canceled due to the rapid developments of the COVID-19 pandemic on March 12 and Georgia's teams returned to Athens.

A Glimpse At The 2022 NCAA Indoor Championships: The Georgia men tallied 23 points to finish eighth at last year's Nationals while the Lady Bulldogs managed 2.2 points for 46^th place.  On the men's side, Boling took third in the long jump (7.86m/25-9.50), was fifth in the 60m (6.63) and was disqualified in the 200m final after finishing with the top qualifying time.  Boling also teamed with Cavanaugh, Bryce McCray and Godwin to finish fourth in the 4x400m relay (3:05.89).  In addition, Garland finished second in the heptathlon with his second straight 6,200-point performance at the meet.

Kulichenko was one of five women to tie for eighth in the high jump (1.78m/5-10) and Ana da Silva finished seventh in the shot put to provide the points for the Georgia women.

Also of note, Godwin (14^th – 400m) and Marsh (9^th – triple jump; 10th – long jump) were 2022 qualifiers.

What's Next For The Bulldogs?: Following the NCAA Championships, the Bulldogs start their outdoor season a week later at the Yellow Jacket Invitational in Atlanta on March 17-18.  Georgia will play host to one home meet later in the outdoor season: Spec Towns & Torrin Lawrence Invitational – April 6-8.

Where To Find Bulldog News: 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.

Top-10 Bulldog T&F Teams Set To Start NCAA Championships

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Matthew Boling

Caleb Cavanaugh

Ana da Silva

Johannes Erm

Kyle Garland

Elija Godwin

Kaila Jackson

Elena Kulichenko

Titiana Marsh

Bryce McCray

Christopher Morales Williams

Will Sumner

Mikeisha Welcome

Autumn Wilson

University of Georgia Athletics