Garland Scores No. 3 All-Time Collegiate Dec Score To Highlight NCAA T&F Championships

Thursday, June 8

Austin, TX

University of Georgia

NCAA Outdoor Championship

Photo by: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Garland Scores No. 3 All-Time Collegiate Dec Score To Highlight NCAA T&F Championships

June 09, 2023 | Track & Field

Decathlon Full Results Day 2 Results

AUSTIN --- Kyle Garland scored the No. 3 all-time collegiate decathlon total to take second during the second day of the NCAA Outdoor Championships Thursday.

The Lady Bulldog relays also established a pair of school records to qualify for Saturday finals.

Garland, a fifth-year senior from Philadelphia, Pa., piled up 8,630 points to earn a silver medal in the decathlon to finish behind Texas' Leo Neugebauer, who topped Garland's previous collegiate record (8,720) with 8,836 to win a title on his home track.  Garland jumpstarted his second and final day of the dec by rocketing to a collegiate all-time best in the 110-meter hurdles with a personal best 13.54.  Last year's third-place finisher now has five combined top-three national finishes in the decathlon and heptathlon and owns three of the four all-time collegiate decathlon scores.

The first event on the track as the women began their competition was the 4x100m relay and the Georgia quartet did not disappoint with a school record, topping the unit's time from this season's LSU Invitational (42.94) by .01 to qualify for Saturday's final.

The last event of the night was the 4x400m relay and the Lady Bulldogs finished just as they had started.  The same foursome who had set a school record at the SEC Championships ran a faster time to help snatch the final qualifying spot for their final.

Other than the decathlon running Wednesday-Thursday and the heptathlon going Friday-Saturday, the meet is set up to be a men's competition on Wednesday and Friday and a women's competition on Thursday and Saturday.

On the men's side, Georgia has 13 points and is tied with Harvard for the fifth spot.  Arkansas (24), Stanford (18), Arizona (16) and LSU (15) currently make up the top four.

For the women, Nebraska (25), Texas A&M (14) and Oregon (12) make up the top three.

On Wednesday, graduate transfer Marc Minichello scored for the second consecutive year in the javelin, giving the Bulldogs' their first five points of the meet during day one action.

The Lady Bulldogs had three qualifiers on Thursday: the 4x100m relay (Kaila Jackson, Autumn Wilson, Brandee Presley, Aaliyah Butler), Jackson (100m) and the 4x400m relay (Butler, Haley Tate, Presley, Dominique Mustin).

Georgia had three individual final qualifiers and two relays come out of the semifinal rounds on Wednesday.  The 4x100m relay (Keshaun Black, Matthew Boling, Christopher Morales Williams, Elija Godwin), Godwin (400m), Sumner (400m), Caleb Cavanaugh (400m hurdles) and the 4x400m relay (Boling, Cavanaugh, Morales Williams, Sumner) each punched their ticket to finals on the track.

Unlike his teammates, Garland advanced to the NCAA Championships from his No. 1 national ranking and did not have to compete at the NCAA East Prelims two weeks ago.

When Do The Bulldogs Start Day 3: The Bulldog men's 4x100m relay team kicks off action on Friday in the final at 9:02 p.m. ET.  Georgia will have a total of five finals on the track during day three with no field events.

Where To Catch The NCAAs: ESPN has exclusive rights to broadcast the meet and will feature the Nationals on ESPN2 this week:
Friday: 3:35 p.m., ESPN+; 9 p.m., ESPN2
Saturday: 5 p.m., ESPN+; 9 p.m., ESPN2

Live Results: To check out live results throughout the four-day season finale, please check: http://gado.gs/ank

The Lowdown: In the decathlon, Garland wasted no time setting the tone for day two by blistering a career best in the 110m hurdles to win the event.  He came out of the second heat with a wind-legal 13.54, which is the all-time collegiate best for the event (Ashton Eaton, 13.68) and ranks second in school history behind Devon Williams' 13.37 to win the SEC open hurdles in 2017.  Garland took a 52-point lead over Neugebauer following the sixth of 10 events.

Following a weather delay that stalled action for over an hour, Garland got back to work in the discus and finished fifth with a second toss of 45.74 meters/150 feet, 1 inch.  Improving nearly 13 points from his showing at the 2022 meet, Garland hit his top distance for 782 more points and finished the seventh event trailing Neugebauer by 142 points.

Garland posted two consecutive third attempt clearances in the pole vault and finished with his second personal record of the day.  Coming in at 4.41/14-5.50, Garland had an opening miss before soaring over the bar at four straight first heights on his first try.  Then, he notched his second third attempt clearance at 5.01m/16-5.25 to finish third in the competition and stay second overall by 205 points.

Garland launched the javelin 55.46m/181-11 on his final attempt to put himself in second overall by 203 points.  In the finale, Garland pushed his 6-foot-5 frame around the four laps of the 1500m in 4:43.27 to take 11^th in the event and score his final 660 points.  The dec day two competition lasted approximately 10 hours.

Georgia totaled three women's final qualifiers on the second day of the meet.  Jackson, Wilson, Presley and Butler went to work in the 4x100m semifinal to finish second in their heat and sixth overall.  After Presley navigated through crowded lanes on the third leg, Butler took off on the final straightaway to lock down the second-place finish.  The Lady Bulldogs will race in the final at 9:02 p.m. Saturday.

Jackson stepped back on the Mike A. Myers Stadium track and secured her spot in the 100m final after taking second in the second heat.  Her time of 11.08 ranked sixth overall in the semifinal round after Jackson completed the race with a strong close.  The Redford, Mich., native will now ready for Saturday's final at 9:52 p.m.

Moments before the facility cleared out after nearly 12 hours of action, the Lady Bulldogs recorded a 3:29.90 to finish third in the final heat and eighth overall.  Georgia's time trimmed down what Butler, Tate, Presley and Mustin had run (3:30.20) to finish fifth at the conference meet a month ago.  The Lady Bulldogs will take part in the 4x400m final at 11:21 p.m.

Ana da Silva, who was ranked 24^th coming into the meet, took 10^th in the hammer throw with one of the most consistent series of her career throwing second in the opening flight.  After opening with a personal record of 64.54m/211-9, she improved to 64.60m/211-11 on her second try.  Despite not improving on his third attempt (64.48m/211-6), da Silva bettered her No. 6 spot in the school record books in her series.

Da Silva took a break and then returned to action in the shot put where the native of Brazil finished 14^th.  Her top mark, which came on her second try, measured 17.06m/55-11.75.

Another career best came from Dominique Mustin as she completed her lap in the 400m hurdles in 56.68. Mustin's time ranked 12^th in the semifinal and improved her No. 2 spot in the school record books.

Titiana Marsh completed her first of two events at the meet in 11^th (same as her 2022 finish) after her opening attempt in the long jump measured 6.12m/20-1.  Marsh, who has now advanced to a combined nine straight NCAA indoor and outdoor meets, will return to the track to compete in the triple jump on Saturday.

The Lady Bulldogs had a pair of competitors take 16^th in their individual sprint event semifinals.  Presley ran an 11.25 in the 100m while Butler crossed the line in 51.66.  Also in the sprints, Jackson was fourth in her heat and 12^th overall after registering a 22.78.

Georgia also had a duo qualify for the javelin and the two Ivy League graduate transfers finished 18^th and 24^th.  Julia Harisay, who was competing at her first Nationals, hit a season-best mark of 49.42m/162-2 on her first try and finished 18^th.  Erin McMeniman, who was in the field for the second consecutive year, wrapped up her three-throw series with an effort of 46.24m/151-8.

How To Keep Up With The Dogs: Results and recaps from the NCAA Outdoor 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.

Bulldog Day 1 Scorers
Name                          Event                           Mark/Time - Place
Marc Minichello          M. Javelin                    77.27m/253-6 – 4^th
Bulldog Day 2 Scorers
Kyle Garland               Decathlon                   !8,630 pts. – 2^nd
!No. 3 all-time collegiate score

Bulldog Day 1 Qualifiers
Name                          Event                           Mark/Time - Place
Will Sumner                M. 800m                     $1:46.00 – 1^st
Elija Godwin                M. 400m                     44.73 – 3^rd
Black, Boling               M. 4x100m relay         ^38.62 – 7^th
Morales Williams, Godwin
Caleb Cavanaugh        M. 400mH                   49.79 – 9^th
Boling, Cavanaugh      M. 4x400m relay         %3:01.51 – 9^th
Morales Williams, Sumner
Bulldog Day 2 Qualifiers
Jackson, Wilson          W. 4x100m relay         $42.93 – 6^th
Presley, Butler
Kaila Jackson               W. 100m                     11.08 – 6^th
Butler, Tate                 W. 4x400m relay         $3:29.90 – 8^th
Presley, Mustin
$school record; ^No. 2 UGA all-time; %No. 3 UGA all-time

Decathlon Day 1
Name                          100m     LJ                   SP                      HJ                 400m                 Day 1
Kyle Garland               10.63    7.72/25-4 16.39/53-9.25 2.04/6-8.25 *47.78 4,570 pts.
*personal best

                        110mH            Discus             PV                     Javelin                1500m        TOTAL
                        *13.54             45.74/150-1   *5.01/16-5.25 55.46/181-11 4:43.27 !8,630 pts.