Bulldogs To Conclude Indoor Regular Season At USC Invite

ATHENS, Ga. --- Nine members of the Georgia track & field team are set to compete at the USC Invite in Columbia, S.C. on Saturday. The one-day meet will serve as the final indoor regular season meet for the Bulldogs as the team makes its final preparations for next week's SEC Indoor Championships, which will be held at Texas A&M from Feb. 27-March 1.

Who's The Competition?: Georgia will compete against 17 other institutions at the USC Invite, joining South Carolina as the lone representatives from the Southeastern Conference. Other teams in attendance will include Catawba College, Charleston Southern, Charlotte, The Citadel, Claflin University, Coker University, the College of Charleston, Davidson, Furman, Johnson C. Smith, Limestone, Mercer, Newberry, UNC Asheville, Winston-Salem State, and Winthrop.

When Do The Bulldogs Start?: The Bulldogs will begin competition in the field events at 10 a.m. on Saturday as Jayden Keys opens up the day in the men's long jump. Keys will also kick off the running events for Georgia when he competes in the 60-meter hurdles at 11:45 a.m.

Live Results: For results throughout the weekend from the USC Invite, please visit: https://gado.gs/cnb.

What Bulldogs Are Competing?: The Bulldogs will send nine competitors to Columbia to compete on Saturday. Brody Buffington, Jehlani Gordon, Jayden Keys, and Micah Larry will represent the men's squad at South Carolina while Kaila Jackson, Karsen Phillips, Reign Redmond, Skylynn Townsend, and Jaci Wright will make the trip to Columbia on the women's side.

LAST WEEK'S FLASHBACK – Tiger Paw Invitational/Music City Challenge (Feb. 14-Feb. 15): Georgia split its student-athletes between Clemson, S.C., and Nashville, Tenn., last weekend, which served as most of the team's final tune-up for the SEC Indoor Championships. Junior sprinter Aaliyah Butler flew to the national lead and No. 2 in program history in the 400-meter dash at the Tiger Paw Invitational, clocking a 50.85 to win the event in Clemson, while Dejanea Oakley (52.12) and Michelle Smith (52.97) moved to fourth and sixth in the record books with their times. Micah Larry posted a personal-best 7.91 meters/25 feet, 11.50 inches to finish runner-up (top collegiate finisher) in the long jump while Stephanie Ratcliffe finished third in the weight throw (21.72m/71-3.25). Both of those marks were good for third in Georgia history.

On the second day of competition, Elena Kulichenko and Riyon Rankin both brought home victories in the long jump as Kulichenko matched her No. 2 mark in program history (1.92m/6-3.50) and Rankin cleared 2.22m/7-3.25 in his season debut. Both 4x400-meter relay teams also clocked top-five times in school history as the women's squad of Oakley, Smith, Sydney Harris, and Butler posted a 3:28.07 for third in Clemson and on Georgia's top-10 list and the men's quartet of Will Floyd, Xai Ricks, Shemar Chambers and Ervin Pearson posted the No. 5 time in school history with a 3:04.11 for runner-up honors.

Indoor SEC Honors: Kulichenko earned SEC Women's Co-Field Athlete of the Week honors following her high jump victory at the Ted Nelson Invitational. The senior cleared 1.90 meters/6 feet, 2.75 inches on her third attempt to defeat her nearest competition by eight inches. She moved to No. 4 on the national list with her best career effort in an indoor opener.

Freshman jumper Skylynn Townsend earned the first SEC honor of her career following her performance at the Razorback Invitational, where she finished second in the triple jump with a mark of 13.30m/43-7.75. The Prosper, Texas, native also competed in the long jump at the Arkansas-hosted meet, finishing eighth with a mark of 6.15m/20-2.25.

Where This Season Will Take The Dogs: Georgia will open postseason competition at the Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships on Feb. 27-March 1, returning to Bryan-College Station for the second time this season. The NCAA Indoor Championships will be held two weeks later as the indoor season wraps in Virginia Beach, Va., on March 14-15.

Where To Find Bulldogs News: Results and recaps from the Bulldogs' indoor season will be found at georgiadogs.com. News and updates from Georgia's track & field and cross country teams are always located on X/Instagram at @UGATrack.

Bulldogs To Conclude Indoor Regular Season At USC Invite

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Players Mentioned

Brody Buffington

Aaliyah Butler

Shemar Chambers

Will Floyd

Jehlani Gordon

Sydney Harris

Kaila Jackson

Jayden Keys

Elena Kulichenko

Micah Larry

Dejanea Oakley

Ervin Pearson

Karsen Phillips

Riyon Rankin

Stephanie Ratcliffe

Reign Redmond

Xai Ricks

Michelle Smith

Skylynn Townsend

Jaci Wright