Morales Williams Sets World Indoor Record To Highlight SEC Indoor Championship

Friday, February 23

Fayetteville, Ark.

TBA

University of Georgia

SEC Indoor Championships

Photo by: Wesley Hitt 501-258-0920 wesley@hittphotography.com

Morales Williams Sets World Indoor Record To Highlight SEC Indoor Championship

February 25, 2024 | Track & Field

2024 SEC Indoor Championships - Results

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. --- Bulldog sophomore Christopher Morales Williams set the world indoor record in the 400-meter dash to win Georgia's fifth men's title in the event to highlight the Southeastern Conference Indoor Track & Field Championship Saturday.

Morales Williams, a native of Vaughan, Ontario, set the school (44.75, Elija Godwin, 2023), meet (Godwin), facility (44.57, Kerron Clement, 2005), collegiate (44.52, Michael Norman, 2018) and world records (Norman) by flying to a 44.49 in the final, leaving Florida senior JeVaughn Powell (45.61) far behind.

The Lady Bulldogs had a champion of their own as senior Mikeisha Welcome opened with a mark that was long enough to clinch her team's seventh title of its kind since 2015 and first since 2021.  This marks Welcome's first SEC crown after transferring to UGA from Oklahoma prior to the 2023 season.

Arkansas (131 points), Florida (80) and LSU (68.5) made up the top three teams on the women's side.  The Lady Bulldogs tallied 47 points to finish sixth.  On the men's side, Arkansas (163), Florida (106) and Texas A&M (71) were the top three while the Bulldog men finished seventh with 38 points.

Other Bulldog scorers in addition to Morales Williams and Welcome on Saturday included: Elena Kuichenko (women's high jump – 3^rd), Kaila Jackson (women's 60m – 3^rd; women's 200m – 6^th), Kelsie Murrell-Ross (women's shot put – 4^th), Zavien Wolfe (men's triple jump – 4^th), Aaliyah Butler (women's 400m – 5^th), Brody Buffington (men's 60m – 5^th), Hossam Hatib, Morales Williams, Mekhi Gammons, Jordan McKenzie (men's 4x400m relay – 5^th), Haley Tate, Kimberly Harris, Sydney Harris and Butler (women's 4x400m relay – 6^th), Gavin Beverage (men's shot put – 7^th), Charlotte Augenstein (women's mile – 7^th), Leah Anderson (women's triple jump – 7^th), Jan Duhovnik (heptathlon – 8^th).

The Bulldogs had four scorers on day one.  Nikolai van Huyssteen (men's pole vault – 2^nd), Ella Rush (pentathlon – 4^th), Wolfe (men's long jump – 5^th), Augenstein, Zoe Pollock, Dominique Mustin, Sophia Baker (women's distance medley relay – 8^th).

Where To Catch The SEC Championships: The ESPN broadcast talent included Dwight Stones, Dan O'Brien, Larra Overton and John Anderson during the meet coverage.

Monday (9 p.m.) - SECN highlight show

Full Results: For results throughout the weekend, please visit: http://gado.gs/bev

The Lowdown: Morales Williams made the Randal Tyson Track Center's crowd erupt with his performance in the sixth running final.  Standing fifth in the 2024 national standings coming into the final after taking 27^th in the 2023 400m prelims, he pushed into the race's lead at the break and hit another gear in the final 60 meters.  Morales Williams was third in the school record books behind Godwin and the late great Torrin Lawrence coming into the weekend.

Welcome and Anderson gave the Lady Bulldogs a pair of scorers in the triple jump.  While Welcome soared 13.44 meters/44 feet, 1 ¼ inches on her opening try to hold off the field by more than a foot, Anderson worked up to a season-best mark of 40-6 to add two points with a seventh-place finish.

Kulichenko, who hails from Odintsovo, Russia, had only one miss leading up to her season best clearance of 1.91m/6-3.25 for third place.  A year removed from earning runner-up honors, Kulichenko went over her top bar on her first try to situated herself in the nation's top five.  She has been in the top four at the meet for three years in a row.

Jackson blasted a season best to reach the podium once again with a third-place finish in the women's 60m.  The Redford, Mich., native sped to a 7.18 after clocking a trio of 7.19s during the regular season.  Jackson returned to the track in the 200m and ran a 23.03 to take sixth in the final.  This marked the second year in a row that the sophomore scored in both events.

Murrell-Ross, a junior transfer from Grenada who re-set her country's national record on Saturday, exploded for a series of career bests to take fourth and surge on the school's all-time top-10 list in the women's shot put.  The 6-foot-8 thrower reached a career best of 16.92m/55-6.25 on her second attempt and then followed with two more throws in her series that also would have been personal bests.  Finally on her last try, Murrell-Ross launched the ball 17.10m/56-1.25 to clinch fourth, move to No. 2 on the school's all-time top-10 list and move into the nation's top 20 this year.

Wolfe, a true freshman from Memphis, Tenn., parlayed his personal record that scored in the long jump on Friday into another career best to add points in the triple jump on day two.  Opening with a foul, Wolfe hit the longest triple of his career (15.82m/51-11) on his second try before working up to a fifth mark of 15.98m/52-5.25.  This earned him fourth place and moved him to No. 5 in the UGA record books with the best mark for the program since 2004.

Butler missed the 400m final by six spots as a freshman in 2023 but cashed in during her first trip to the final this season.  The Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native bettered her personal record to 51.19 to finish fifth and improve her No. 3 in the school record books.

Buffington, who calls Thurmont, Md., home, came within .01 of his personal record in the 60m to take fifth in the final.  The true freshman ran a 6.67 on the track that runs down the middle of the infield in Fayetteville.

Beverage kept to the Bulldogs' trend on day two and locked down a season best in the shot put to take seventh.  He registered an effort of 18.36m/60-3 on his second attempt to put himself in the scoring column at the league indoor meet for the first time.

Augenstein, a native of Albany, Ga., missed the final by three spots in 2023 and slipped into Saturday's final as the 10^th qualifier.  She stuck in the middle of the pack for the first six laps in the final before the field went single file.  Augenstein managed a career-best performance of 4:42.75, which bettered her No. 7 spot in the school record books, to take seventh.

Georgia concluded the meet by taking fifth in the men's 4x400m relay and sixth in the women's relay.  Hatib, Morales Williams, Gammons and McKenzie finished second in their group and fifth overall with a 3:07.98, including Morales Williams' 44.68 split.  The Harris sisters plus Tate and Butler combined to run a 3:30.43 to take sixth.

In the heptathlon, Duhovnik scored 5,012 points through seven events and secured the eighth and final scoring position.  He began day two of the heptathlon with an 8.79 to take 10^th in the 60m hurdles and move to ninth overall.  He had a single clearance of 3.80m/12-5.50 on his first try to take ninth in the competition and situating himself in the final scoring spot going into the final event.  Duhovnik finished the 800m exactly where he finished the entire competition after taking eighth with a 2:53.10.

What's Next For The Bulldogs?: The Bulldogs will train through the first weekend of March before traveling to Boston, Mass., for the NCAA Indoor Championships (March 8-9).  The Boston Landing Track & Field Complex will be the site of Nationals for the first time this year.

The Bulldogs then immediately start their outdoor season at the Yellow Jacket Invitational in Atlanta on March 15-16.  The SEC Outdoor Championships arrives in Gainesville, Fla., on May 9-11.

Where To Find Bulldogs News: Results and recaps from the SEC 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 X/Instagram at @UGATrack.

Day 1 Scorers
Name                          Event                           Finish (Mark/Time)
Nikolai van Huyssteen   M. Pole Vault                2^nd (!5.35m/17-6.50)
Ella Rush                       Pentathlon                   4^th (^3,940 pts.)
Zavien Wolfe                M. Long Jump               5^th (!7.67m/25-2)
Women's DMR              8^th (11:29.18)
C. Augenstein, D. Mustin, Z. Pollock, S. Baker
Day 2 Scorers
Christopher Morales   M. 400m                     1^st ($44.49)
Williams
Mikeisha Welcome     W. Triple Jump            1^st (13.44m/44-1.25)
Elena Kulichenko        W. High Jump              3^rd (^1.91m/6-3.25)
Kaila Jackson               W. 60m                       3^rd (^7.18)
Kelsie Murrell-Ross     W. Shot Put                 4^th (17.10m/56-1.25)
Zavien Wolfe               M. Triple Jump            4^th (!15.98m/52-5.25)
Aaliyah Butler             W. 400m                     5^th (!51.19)
Brody Buffington        M. 60m                       5^th (6.67)
                                    M. 4x400m relay         5^th (3:07.98)
H. Hatib, C. Morales Williams, M. Gammons, J. McKenzie
Kaila Jackson               W. 200m                     6^th (23.03)
                                    W. 4x400m relay         6^th (3:30.43)
K. Harris, H. Tate, S. Harris, A. Butler
Charlotte Augenstein  W. Mile                       7^th (!4:42.75)
Leah Anderson            W. Triple Jump            7^th (12.34m/^40-6)
Gavin Beverage           M. Shot Put                 7^th (!18.36m/60-3)
Jan Duhovnik              Heptathlon                  8^th (5,012 pts.)
$world record; !personal record; ^season best