University of Georgia Athletics
Thursday, May 25
Jacksonville, FL
University of Georgia
vs
NCAA East Regional
Photo by: Jack Harmon
Track Qualifies All Five, Advances All Nine During Day Two Of NCAA Prelims
May 25, 2023 | Track & Field
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. --- The Bulldog track and field program finished a perfect 14-for-14 with five entries advancing to the NCAA Championships and nine qualifying for Saturday's quarterfinals to highlight day two of the NCAA East Prelims Thursday.
Fifth-year senior Titiana Marsh led the way from the qualifiers as she punched her ticket in the jumps to the ninth NCAA indoor or outdoor meet of her career. Kaila Jackson, Autumn Wilson and Brandee Presley set the tone on the track by qualifying in both the 100-meter dash and 200m.
Thursday brought another five automatic qualifiers for Georgia who punched their tickets to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
On Wednesday, the Bulldogs qualified their first two competitors for the final rounds as Marc Minichello (javelin) and Alencar Pereira (hammer throw) finished in the qualifying top 12.
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. Day two featured the women and Georgia managed to get nine competitors through in five events to the women's quarterfinal round on Saturday.
Wednesday's competition belonged to the men and the Bulldogs put seven competitors through in five events to the men's quarterfinal round on Friday: Keshaun Black (100m), Elija Godwin, Christopher Morales Williams (400m), Will Sumner, Clay Pender (800m), Caleb Cavanaugh (400m hurdles), Matthew Boling (200m).
There are 48 competitors from the East Region in every individual event and 24 in the relays. The NCAA West Prelims is 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. 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 list.
When Do The Bulldogs Start On Friday? The men's 4x100m relay team will take the track at 5 p.m. on day three to start the action. Between the aforementioned relay and the 4x400m relay at 8:45 p.m., eight Bulldogs will be competing in six events.
Live Results: For 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 3 (Friday) - http://gado.gs/am1
Day 4 (Saturday) – http://gado.gs/am2
The Lowdown: Da Silva, a native of Ribeirao das Neves, Brazil, made a nine-inch improvement to her opening toss in the hammer to reach 62.27 meters/204 feet, 3 inches and hold on for 11th place. Her third-best performance of the year helped bump her from 14th in 2022 to the Nationals field in 2023.
Later in the afternoon, the 2022 SEC outdoor shot put champion came through on her last attempt in the shot to squeeze into the field in Austin. Her mark of 16.60m/54-5.50 was a quarter inch ahead of the 13th-place finisher to secure da Silva's spot.
The Lady Bulldog duo who are both Ivy League graduate transfers lengthened their seasons by finish in the top 12 of the javelin. Harisay, whose stepfather is Georgia throws coach Don Babbitt, went 48.38m/158-9 out of the second group to take ninth and qualify for her first Nationals after graduating from Princeton.
McMeniman, a Brown University graduate, managed only a single fair throw on her first attempt (48.15m/157-11) for 11th. This will mark her second trip to the NCAA Championships after finishing 24th last year for the Bear.
Marsh did what she has done every single indoor or outdoor season since she arrived in Athens during the fall of 2018: qualified for the NCAA Championships. This time, Marsh opened with a mark of 6.24m/20-5.75 for 10th, sliding in the top 12 by two inches.
There were also six Georgia women who qualified for the quarterfinals on Thursday. Witt, who is from Calabasas, Calif., was fourth in the sixth heat and 17th overall in the 100m hurdles. Her time would have been seventh in the Lady Bulldog record books had the race not have registered windy.
Three started the 100m first round and three secured a spot in the event's quarterfinals. Jackson came out of the fifth heat and topped all of the 47 other competitors with a blazing 10.95 thanks to a +2.6 wind working behind her. Had her time been legal, it would have unseated Debbie Ferugson's 26-year-old school record of 10.97.
Jackson's freshman teammate Autumn Wilson was the next Georgia runner to punch her ticket to the quarters in the 100m. Her legal wind finish of 11.17 ranked ninth in the opening round and put her one spot behind Jackson in the school record books and one spot ahead of the legendary Gwen Torrence (11.20) in third. The Lady Bulldogs completed the 3-for-3 sweep with recent graduate Brandee Presley going 11.21 for 11th in the same windy heat that Jackson ran.
Not long after the 100m, the three Lady Bulldog training partners returned to the track and all ran times fast enough to earn another 200m race on Saturday. As she was in the 100m, Jackson led the way with a windy (+3.7) 22.68 while Presley ran a windy (+2.4) personal record of 23.14 to take 20th. Wilson was the final qualifier of the night with a 23.17 to take 23rd.
Butler posted back-to-back career bests at the SEC meet to shoot to No. 3 in the school record books and followed that up with her first 400m quarterfinals qualification. She is also slated to run in the relays on Saturday.
Mustin bolted out of the blocks in the sixth heat and ran a 57.35 to finish sixth overall. The Texas A&M transfer is expected to line up in the 4x400m relay as well on the meet's final day.
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.
Day 1 NCAA Championships Final Qualifiers (MEN)
Name Event Place / Mark
Marc Minichello Javelin 3rd / 74.74m/245-2
Alencar Pereira Hammer Throw 3rd / 70.98m/232-10
Day 2 (WOMEN)
Julia Harisay Javelin 9th / 48.38m/158-9
Titiana Marsh Long Jump 10th / 6.24m/20-5.75
Ana da Silva Hammer Throw 11th / 62.27m/204-3
Erin McMeniman Javelin 11th / 48.15m/157-11
Ana da Silva Shot Put 12th / 16.60m/54-5.50
Day 1 NCAA East Prelims Quarterfinal Qualifiers (MEN)
Name Event Place / Mark
Matthew Boling 200m 4th / 20.17
Elija Godwin 400m 4th / 45.90
Caleb Cavanaugh 400mH 4th / 49.86
Christopher M. Williams 400m 13th / 46.31
Will Sumner 800m 16th / 1:49.35
Keshaun Black 100m 17th / *10.17
Clay Pender 800m 22nd / 1:49.82
Day 2 (WOMEN)
Kaila Jackson 100m 1st / *10.95
Aaliyah Butler 400m 6th / 52.49
Dominique Mustin 400mH 6th / 57.35
Kaila Jackson 200m 7th / 22.68
Autumn Wilson 100m 9th / *11.17
Brandee Presley 100m 11th / *11.21
Bella Witt 100mH 17th / *13.15
Brandee Presley 200m 20th / *23.14
Autumn Wilson 200m 23rd / 23.17
*personal record
Fifth-year senior Titiana Marsh led the way from the qualifiers as she punched her ticket in the jumps to the ninth NCAA indoor or outdoor meet of her career. Kaila Jackson, Autumn Wilson and Brandee Presley set the tone on the track by qualifying in both the 100-meter dash and 200m.
Thursday brought another five automatic qualifiers for Georgia who punched their tickets to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
- Ana da Silva made a three-spot improvement from her 2022 Prelims finish to take 11th and punch her ticket in the hammer throw.
- Da Silva returned hours later in the shot put and qualified for her second straight trip to Nationals by grabbing the 12th and final spot.
- The Lady Bulldogs picked up a pair of qualifiers in the javelin, one a repeat visitor and one a first timer. Julia Harisay had her best effort of the day on her second try while Erin McMeniman's only fair toss of the competition gave her an 11th-place finish.
- Marsh started her series with her best long jump mark and finished 10th to qualify. A fifth-year senior for the Lady Bulldogs, Marsh has now qualified for Nationals an extraordinary nine times (the 20202 outdoor season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
On Wednesday, the Bulldogs qualified their first two competitors for the final rounds as Marc Minichello (javelin) and Alencar Pereira (hammer throw) finished in the qualifying top 12.
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. Day two featured the women and Georgia managed to get nine competitors through in five events to the women's quarterfinal round on Saturday.
- Bella Witt was the 17th qualifier in the 100m hurdles with an all-conditions best of 13.15 (+4.9 meters/second). Witt will be racing in the final at 6:15 p.m. on Saturday.
- Jackson, Wilson and Presley made it 3-for-3 for the Lady Bulldogs in the 100m opening round with three personal records (two of those being windy readings). The trio will race in the 100m quarterfinal at 6:35 p.m. on day four.
- Yet another freshman, Aaliyah Butler, made certain there was no question of her qualification in the 400m first round, winning the opening heat in 52.49 and finishing sixth overall. Her quarters will be at 6:50 p.m. on Saturday.
- Dominique Mustin followed up her personal record at SECs with a quarterfinal qualifier in the 400m hurdles at the Prelims. She will race at 7:25 p.m. on Saturday.
- The trio from the 100m returned in the 200m and all made it into the top 24 to advance, including Jackson who had the seventh-fastest time of the day (22.68). Their quarterfinal will be at 7:30 p.m. on day four.
Wednesday's competition belonged to the men and the Bulldogs put seven competitors through in five events to the men's quarterfinal round on Friday: Keshaun Black (100m), Elija Godwin, Christopher Morales Williams (400m), Will Sumner, Clay Pender (800m), Caleb Cavanaugh (400m hurdles), Matthew Boling (200m).
There are 48 competitors from the East Region in every individual event and 24 in the relays. The NCAA West Prelims is 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. 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 list.
When Do The Bulldogs Start On Friday? The men's 4x100m relay team will take the track at 5 p.m. on day three to start the action. Between the aforementioned relay and the 4x400m relay at 8:45 p.m., eight Bulldogs will be competing in six events.
Live Results: For 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 3 (Friday) - http://gado.gs/am1
Day 4 (Saturday) – http://gado.gs/am2
The Lowdown: Da Silva, a native of Ribeirao das Neves, Brazil, made a nine-inch improvement to her opening toss in the hammer to reach 62.27 meters/204 feet, 3 inches and hold on for 11th place. Her third-best performance of the year helped bump her from 14th in 2022 to the Nationals field in 2023.
Later in the afternoon, the 2022 SEC outdoor shot put champion came through on her last attempt in the shot to squeeze into the field in Austin. Her mark of 16.60m/54-5.50 was a quarter inch ahead of the 13th-place finisher to secure da Silva's spot.
The Lady Bulldog duo who are both Ivy League graduate transfers lengthened their seasons by finish in the top 12 of the javelin. Harisay, whose stepfather is Georgia throws coach Don Babbitt, went 48.38m/158-9 out of the second group to take ninth and qualify for her first Nationals after graduating from Princeton.
McMeniman, a Brown University graduate, managed only a single fair throw on her first attempt (48.15m/157-11) for 11th. This will mark her second trip to the NCAA Championships after finishing 24th last year for the Bear.
Marsh did what she has done every single indoor or outdoor season since she arrived in Athens during the fall of 2018: qualified for the NCAA Championships. This time, Marsh opened with a mark of 6.24m/20-5.75 for 10th, sliding in the top 12 by two inches.
There were also six Georgia women who qualified for the quarterfinals on Thursday. Witt, who is from Calabasas, Calif., was fourth in the sixth heat and 17th overall in the 100m hurdles. Her time would have been seventh in the Lady Bulldog record books had the race not have registered windy.
Three started the 100m first round and three secured a spot in the event's quarterfinals. Jackson came out of the fifth heat and topped all of the 47 other competitors with a blazing 10.95 thanks to a +2.6 wind working behind her. Had her time been legal, it would have unseated Debbie Ferugson's 26-year-old school record of 10.97.
Jackson's freshman teammate Autumn Wilson was the next Georgia runner to punch her ticket to the quarters in the 100m. Her legal wind finish of 11.17 ranked ninth in the opening round and put her one spot behind Jackson in the school record books and one spot ahead of the legendary Gwen Torrence (11.20) in third. The Lady Bulldogs completed the 3-for-3 sweep with recent graduate Brandee Presley going 11.21 for 11th in the same windy heat that Jackson ran.
Not long after the 100m, the three Lady Bulldog training partners returned to the track and all ran times fast enough to earn another 200m race on Saturday. As she was in the 100m, Jackson led the way with a windy (+3.7) 22.68 while Presley ran a windy (+2.4) personal record of 23.14 to take 20th. Wilson was the final qualifier of the night with a 23.17 to take 23rd.
Butler posted back-to-back career bests at the SEC meet to shoot to No. 3 in the school record books and followed that up with her first 400m quarterfinals qualification. She is also slated to run in the relays on Saturday.
Mustin bolted out of the blocks in the sixth heat and ran a 57.35 to finish sixth overall. The Texas A&M transfer is expected to line up in the 4x400m relay as well on the meet's final day.
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.
Day 1 NCAA Championships Final Qualifiers (MEN)
Name Event Place / Mark
Marc Minichello Javelin 3rd / 74.74m/245-2
Alencar Pereira Hammer Throw 3rd / 70.98m/232-10
Day 2 (WOMEN)
Julia Harisay Javelin 9th / 48.38m/158-9
Titiana Marsh Long Jump 10th / 6.24m/20-5.75
Ana da Silva Hammer Throw 11th / 62.27m/204-3
Erin McMeniman Javelin 11th / 48.15m/157-11
Ana da Silva Shot Put 12th / 16.60m/54-5.50
Day 1 NCAA East Prelims Quarterfinal Qualifiers (MEN)
Name Event Place / Mark
Matthew Boling 200m 4th / 20.17
Elija Godwin 400m 4th / 45.90
Caleb Cavanaugh 400mH 4th / 49.86
Christopher M. Williams 400m 13th / 46.31
Will Sumner 800m 16th / 1:49.35
Keshaun Black 100m 17th / *10.17
Clay Pender 800m 22nd / 1:49.82
Day 2 (WOMEN)
Kaila Jackson 100m 1st / *10.95
Aaliyah Butler 400m 6th / 52.49
Dominique Mustin 400mH 6th / 57.35
Kaila Jackson 200m 7th / 22.68
Autumn Wilson 100m 9th / *11.17
Brandee Presley 100m 11th / *11.21
Bella Witt 100mH 17th / *13.15
Brandee Presley 200m 20th / *23.14
Autumn Wilson 200m 23rd / 23.17
*personal record
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