Kulichenko Locks Down First NCAA High Jump Title On Final Day Of Championships

Saturday, June 8

Eugene, Ore.

All Day

University of Georgia

NCAA Outdoor Championships

Jun 8, 2024; Eugene, OR, USA; Elena Kulichenko of Georgia ties for first in the women's high jump at 6-5 1/2 (1.97m) during the NCAA Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Photo by: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Kulichenko Locks Down First NCAA High Jump Title On Final Day Of Championships

June 08, 2024 | Track & Field

2024 NCAA Outdoors - Full Results

EUGENE, Ore. --- Georgia junior high jumper Elena Kulichenko won her first national high jump title as the NCAA Outdoor Championships wrapped up on Saturday.

The women's 4x400-meter relay team capped the meet by erasing the school record with a fourth-place finish, which improved the unit's 2023 finish by five spots.

The Lady Bulldogs concluded the meet with 25 points for 10^th place in a tie with USC and Texas A&M.  Arkansas (63), Florida (59), Oregon (40.5) and Ole Miss (38) were the top five on the women's side.  The Georgia women have now placed in the top 10 during eight of the last 10 seasons.

The Georgia men finished ninth on Friday with 25 points, marking the seventh straight top-10 performance for the Bulldogs at the meet.  Florida (41) edged Auburn (40) for the men's team title while USC (33), Alabama (32) and Texas A&M (31) rounded out the top five.

Georgia had three other scoring showings on day four as well.  Sophomore Kaila Jackson started her day by collecting her second consecutive First Team All-America certificate in the 100m after taking fifth.  She returned to the Hayward Field track in the 200m final and finished sixth to become the first scoring All-American in the 100m and 200m in the same meet for Georgia since Debbie Ferguson in 1996.

In her final collegiate action, senior Mikeisha Welcome started her series in the triple jump with a season best and then bettered that mark on her sixth and final attempt to take fifth.

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.

Friday's action saw two Bulldog scorers.  Sophomore Christopher Morales Williams became the first Bulldog to sweep the same event indoors and outdoors in the same year.  His 400m crown is the 20^th NCAA outdoor individual title for the Georgia men after graduate transfer Marc Minichello captured the javelin championship earlier this week.

True freshman Riyon Rankin left Hayward Field on day three with an expected First Team All-America certificate as well in the high jump.  The Brunswick, Ga., native posted three straight first attempt clearances to be the second-best Southeastern Conference finisher in the event.

On Wednesday, Minichello earned First Team All-American honors for the third time in his career as he collected his second NCAA javelin title (also was the 2022 champion at Penn).  In addition, Alex Kolesnikoff scored for the first time in his career outdoors with a sixth-place finish in the shot put.

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

The Lowdown: Kulichenko, a native of Odintsovo, Russia, drilled two third attempt high jump clearances in a row to finish at a height of 1.97 meters/6 feet, 5 ½ inches.  This tied Illinois' Rose Yeboah for this year's crown as Kulichenko erased her previous school record (6-4.75) set at this year's SEC Championship and tied Yeboah and Texas Tech's Temitope Adeshina, who finished third because of misses, for a new meet record.  Kulichenko moved to No. 4 on the all-time collegiate list with her performance.

Kulichenko came into the high jump competition at 1.82m/5-11.50 and promptly cleared her first three heights in a combined four attempts.  Battling Yeboah and Adeshina, Kulichenko came through with a third attempt clearance at 1.94m/6-4.25 to stay in contention after Yeboah cleared on her first try.  Then at 1.97m/6-5.50, Kulichenko, Yeboah and Adeshina all went over the bar cleanly on their third try.  Kulichenko and Yeboah tied for the title since their total misses in the competition equaled each other (five) and Adeshina earned the bronze with a six misses.

The meet record was 1.96m/6-5 set by UCLA's Amy Acuff in 1995 before Kulichenko and company bested that.

The Lady Bulldogs registered their final five points of the meet in the final event of the day.  Kimberly Harris, Aaliyah Butler, Sydney Harris and Haley Tate passed the baton to a 3:24.26, trimming nearly two seconds off the 3:26.06 the Lady Bulldogs clocked at this season's NCAA East Prelims.  Led by Butler's split of 49.18, Kimberly Harris (51.58), Sydney Harris (52.32) and Tate (51.19) combined for fourth after being ranked seventh coming into the meet.

Welcome took off for a mark of 13.44m/44-1.25 on her opening attempt to hold the No. 7 spot heading into the final three attempts in the final.  She rallied on her sixth and final try for another season best of 13.65m/44-9.50, which shot her from the non-scoring ninth place spot into fifth as the competition ended.  The eighth-place finisher at the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Championships overcame a hamstring injury sustained during her run to bronze at this year's indoor Nationals.

Jackson, a native of Redford, Mich., lined up in lane seven of the 100m and shot to the finish line in 11.00.  This marked her second top-five finish in the event through her first two years.  Jackson lined up in lane three in her second event of the day and came across the 200m line in sixth with a 22.68.  Her combined seven points in the 100m and 200m put her in the elite company of Ferguson and Gwen Torrence as the only Lady Bulldogs to ever score in both in the same meet in UGA history.

Sophomore Ella Rush qualified for her first NCAA Outdoor Championships this season and finished the two-day heptathlon competition in 23^rd place (4,677 points).

Rush began the second day of the heptathlon in the long jump.  The Repton, U.K., native opened with a top mark of 5.96m/19-6.75 and finished 11^th in the event and put herself in the 22^nd spot after five events.  Rush answered her opening toss in the javelin with a personal record of 35.20m/115-6.  This gave her a 15^th finish in the event and put her in 21^st overall headed into the 800m.  Rush was unable to finish the 800m.

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 X/Instagram at @UGATrack.

Bulldog Day 1 Scorers
Name                                                 Event                          Mark/Time - Place
Marc Minichello                                M. Javelin                 80.70m/264-9 – 1^st
Alex Kolesnikoff                               M. Shot Put               19.70m/64-7.75 – 6^th
Day 3 Scorers
Christopher Morales Williams M. 400m 44.47 – 1^st
Riyon Rankin                                    M. High Jump      2.17m/7-1.50 – 7^th
Day 4 Scorers
Elena Kulichenko                             High Jump ^1.97m/6-5.50 – T1st
K. Harris, H. Tate                             W. 4x400m Relay $3:24.26 – 4^th
S. Harris, Mustin
Mikeisha Welcome                          Triple Jump !13.65m/44.-9.50 – 5^th
Kaila Jackson                                   W. 100m                    11.00 – 5^th
Kaila Jackson                                   W. 200m                    22.68 – 6^th
*school, meet record, No. 4 all-time collegiate performer
!season best
$ - school record

Heptathlon
Name             100mH             HJ SP 200m Day 1 Total
Ella Rush       14.30 – 21^st     1.66m/5-5.25 – 15^th  11.62m/38-1.50 – 19^th   *24.93 – 14^th    3,271 pts.

LJ                               Javelin                                    800m                 TOTAL
5.94m/19-6 – 11^th *35.20m/115-6 – 15^th DNF                   4,677 pts.
*personal best

Final Team Standings (top 10)
MEN
1. Florida (41 pts.)
2. Auburn (40)
3. USC (33)
4. Alabama (32)
5. Texas A&M (31)
6. Houston (30.5)
7. Arkansas
8. Virginia (26)
9. Georgia (25)
10. Miami (22)

WOMEN
1. Arkansas (63)
2. Florida (59)
3. Texas (41)
4. Oregon (40.5)
5. Ole Miss (38)
6. LSU (31)
7. Texas Tech (26)
7. Alabama (26)
9. Nebraska (25.5)
10. GEORGIA (25)
10. Texas A&M (25)
10. USC (25)