Track Set To Begin NCAA Postseason At East Prelims

Wednesday, May 24

Jacksonville, FL

University of Georgia

NCAA East Regional

Jun 9, 2022; Eugene, OR, USA; Ana Da Silva of Georgia places 10th in the women's shot put at 56-2 3/4 (17.14m) during the NCAA Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Photo by: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

May 23, 2023 | Track & Field

2023 NCAA East Prelims - Schedule Women's Start Lists Men's Start Lists

ATHENS, Ga. --- The Georgia track and field teams traveled to Jacksonville, Fla., on Monday in preparation for the NCAA East Prelims, which will run at North Florida's facility from Wednesday through Saturday.

The third-ranked Georgia men and the eighth-ranked Lady Bulldogs took a combined 26 team members and have a total of 36 entries for the meet.  There are 48 competitors from the East Region in every individual event and 24 in the relays.

The NCAA West Prelims will be running simultaneously in Sacramento with the same format.  The top 12 in each event from both regions will advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Austin, Texas, on June 7-10.

One of the Bulldogs traveling as a relay alternate is the national leader in the decathlon and has earned the right to skip the Prelims by automatically qualifying for the NCAA Championships in the combined events.  College record holder Kyle Garland most recently won the Southeastern Conference title with a meet record score of 8,589, which ranks second on the all-time collegiate decathlon list.

When Do The Bulldogs Start Competition? Similar to the NCAA Championships, this meet is set up where one gender competes one day and then the other gender competes the next, and that pattern is followed all four days.  Alencar Pereira will begin the meet for the Bulldogs in the hammer throw on Wednesday at 10 a.m. ET.  The first event on the track for the Georgia men will be Matthew Boling and Keshaun Black lining up in the opening round of the 100-meter dash at 7 p.m. on day one.

The women's first day will be on Thursday.  Ana da Silva, who is also competing in the shot put, will be in the hammer field at 10 a.m. while Bella Witt is slated to run in the first round of the 100m hurdles at 6 p.m. on day two.

Temperatures are expected to reach the upper 70s and there is a chance for thunderstorms the first three days.  The winds are predicted to hover around 15 miles an hour Wednesday through Friday.  Saturday is predicted to have morning showers and slightly calmer winds.

Live Results: For live results between Wednesday and Saturday, please click on: http://gado.gs/aly

Live Stream: The NCAA East Prelims will be live streamed by ESPN all four days.

Here are the link for each day:
Day 1 (Wednesday, 6 p.m.) - http://gado.gs/alz
Day 2 (Thursday, 6 p.m.) - http://gado.gs/am0
Day 3 (Friday, 5 p.m.) - http://gado.gs/am1
Day 4 (Saturday, 5 p.m.) – http://gado.gs/am2

Coach Caryl's Comments: "We cannot control the weather, what our competition does or any other outside factors, but our teams know that we do control our execution at this meet," said second-year Georgia head coach Caryl Smith Gilbert. "The setup is simple: finish in the top 12 and advance to Austin. I am confident we are prepared in every way to advance to the next final round, and now it's up to them to show off their hard work. This is truly the most exciting time of the year and I can't wait to watch these Bulldogs represent the 'G'. GO DAWGS!"

What Bulldogs Are Competing: The Georgia men have qualified 12 individuals in a total of 12 different events: Gavin Beverage (shot put), Keshaun Black (100m, 200m, 4x100m relay), Matthew Boling (200m, 4x100m relay, 4x400m relay), Caleb Cavanaugh (400m hurdles, 4x400m relay), Elija Godwin (400m, 4x100m relay, 4x400m relay), Marc Minichello (javelin), Christopher Morales Williams (400m, 4x100m relay), Clay Pender (800m), Alencar Pereira (hammer throw), Will Sumner (800m, 4x400m relay) and Nikolai van Huyssteen (pole vault) and Sam Bowers (5000m).

The Lady Bulldogs have qualified 13 individuals in a total of 14 events: Aaliyah Butler (400m, 4x400m relay), Ana da Silva (shot put, hammer throw), Julia Harisay (javelin, discus), Kaila Jackson (100m, 200m, 4x100m relay), Elena Kulichenko (high jump), Titiana Mash (triple jump, long jump), Erin McMeniman (javelin), Dominique Mustin (400m hurdles, 4x400m relay), Brandee Presley (100m, 200m, 4x100m relay, 4x400m relay), Haley Tate (4x400m relay), Mikeisha Welcome (triple jump), Autumn Wilson (100m, 200m, 4x100m relay) and Bella Witt (100m hurdles).
Graduates Aiming To Extend Season: Eight Bulldogs who will be competing at the NCAA East Prelims officially earned a degree from UGA during the second weekend of May, which happened to be when most of them were competing at the SEC Championships. Boling (Marketing), Bowers (Landscape Architecture), Cavanaugh (Environmental Health), Garland (Communication Studies), Godwin (Human Development & Family Sciences), Harisay (Master's of International Policy), Pender (Master's of Financial Planning) and Presley (Psychology) are slated to line up in Jacksonville.
FLASHBACK: 2022 NCAA East Prelims: With Garland and Johannes Erm already qualified for last year's NCAA Championships in the decathlon, Georgia left the 2022 NCAA East Prelims with 14 additional qualifiers.

Here were the qualifiers out of the 2022 NCAA East Prelims:

Cavanaugh ran a personal record 49.59 to win the 400m hurdle quarters to advance.
Marsh was the runner-up in the long jump (6.37 meters/20 feet, 10 ¾ inches) and fourth in the triple (13.22m/43-4.50) to put her name in a pair of events at Nationals.
Fresh off her SEC shot put title, da Silva took second with a best effort of 17.99m/59-0.25.
Boling took advantage of a +4.4 m/s wind and finished third in the 200m quarterfinal with a 20.24.
Godwin cruised to a qualification in the 400m quarterfinals thanks to his 45.35 for fourth.
Pereira launched the hammer throw 69.02m/226-5 to also finish fourth.
Ahmed Magour had the fourth-longest javelin toss as well to earn his spot at NCAAs.
Kulichenko was sixth (1.84m/6-0.50) and graduate transfer Jamari Drake was ninth (1.84m/6-0.50) to give the Lady Bulldogs a pair of high jump qualifiers.
The Bulldog men's 4x400m relay team completed their laps in 3:03.77 to qualify sixth.
Darius Carbin was ninth in the high jump qualifying (2.15m/7-0.50) before taking second at Nationals.
Pender punched the first ticket of his career in the 800m after crossing the line in 1:48.77 (10^th).
Boling had the 11^th-best 100m time (10.18) to make the semifinals.

A Glimpse From The Dogs' Last Action: The Bulldogs started the postseason at the 2023 SEC Championships in Baton Rouge, La., on May 11-13.

Here is a breakdown of how Georgia's NCAA Prelims qualifiers fared on the Tigers' campus:

Minichello surged from sixth into the javelin lead thanks to an effort of 79.50m/260-10 for gold.
Sumner won the prelims and then took the 800m final with a school record 1:46.20.
Jackson was the runner-up in the 100m (personal record 11.04) and earned a bronze in the 200m (PR 22.65).
Pereira had his top hammer throw on his fifth of six attempts (70.07m/229-11) to collect a silver.
Kulichenko soared over the high jump bar at 1.88m/6-2 to complete the silver sweep at SEC Indoors and Outdoors.
Godwin collected a second-place finish in the 400m after knocking out a lap in 44.55.
Cavanaugh put down a 49.07 to earn a bronze in the 400m hurdles.
The Bulldog 4x100m relay team also finished third with a season-best time of 38.87.
In the final event of the meet, the Georgia 4x400m relay team ran the second-fastest time in school history at 2:59.63 to earn a bronze.
Welcome left with a mark of 13.68m/44-10.75 to take third in the triple jump.
The women completed the 4x100m relay on the podium with a bronze medal thanks to their 43.20.
Butler took fifth in her first 400m final with a PR 51.32.
Boling managed a fifth-place finish in the 200m final with a 20.52 and Black was 14^th in the prelims (20.82).
Marsh took off in the triple jump and was fifth (13.47m/44-.250) and was sixth in the long jump (season best 6.35m/20-10).
The Lady Bulldogs' 4x400m relay ran a school record 3:30.20 for fifth.
Da Silva finished sixth in the shot put after her top try measured 16.78m/55-0.75 and took 10^th in the hammer (60.59m/198-9).
McMeniman got her first taste at SECs and scored with a seventh place showing (49.06m/160-11).
Harisay scored at her second straight conference meet with a mark of 48.45m/158-11 for eighth and was 17^th in the discus (45.15m/148-1).
Bowers completed the 5000m in 14:26.14 for 10^th.
Van Huyssteen wound up 10^th in the pole vault thanks to a clearance of 5.00m/16-4.75.
Beverage reached 17.79m/58-4.50 and was 10^th in the shot put.
Mustin sped to the fastest 400m hurdle time in her career with a 57.09 to take 11^th.
Morales Williams ran a PR 45.87 to take 11^th in the 400m prelims.
Witt equaled her PR in the 100m hurdles after finishing her race in 13.25 for 13^th.
Black was 15^th (10.31) and Boling was 18^th (10.36) in the 100m prelims.

Results and recaps from the NCAA East Prelims 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.