University of Georgia Athletics
Larry Earns Long Jump All-America Honors At NCAAs
March 14, 2025 | Track & Field
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. --- Georgia sophomore Micah Larry put the Bulldogs on the scoreboard and UGA was five-for-five in race qualifiers during day one of the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships at the Virginia Beach Sports Center in Virginia Beach, Va., on Friday.
Larry, a native of Harvest, Ala., put together a series featuring three attempts of 7.85 meters/25 feet, 9 ¼ inches or longer and became the Bulldogs' first scoring All-American in the long jump since Matthew Boling in 2022.
Georgia was four-for-four in its women's qualifying races on the meet's first day:
Where To Catch The NCAA Championships: Live streaming of the NCAA meet will air on ESPN+ starting on Friday and continuing through Saturday. The broadcast talent includes Dwight Stones, Dan O'Brien, Larra Overton and John Anderson.
A tape delay special of the Championships will air on ESPNU on Sunday at 7 p.m.
Saturday - Field Events: https://gado.gs/cqv
Saturday - Women's Track Events: https://gado.gs/cqw
Saturday - Men's Track Events: https://gado.gs/cqx
Live Results: For results throughout the weekend, please visit: https://gado.gs/cri
The Lowdown: Larry built in his first three long jump attempts, topping out at 7.89m/25-10.75 on his third try. This showing initially put him as the runner-up and eventually situated him fourth at his first trip to Nationals. Larry also featured jumps of 25-10 and 25-9.25 in his series.
Georgia did not disappoint in their semifinal races. Jackson, a native of Redford, Mich., came out of the second 60m heat and finished with a season best 7.11 for the fastest qualifying time. She and Oregon's Jadyn Mays are the only competitors in the event seeking their third straight First Team All-America certificate (Mays is going for her fourth straight). Jackson will race in the 60m final on Saturday at 3:10 p.m.
Butler, who hails from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Oakley, a first-year transfer from Clarendon, Jamaica, raced in back-to-back heats of the 400m semifinal and both advanced to Saturday's final at 3:20 p.m. Butler bolted to the day's second-fastest time (51.61) to win her heat while Oakley was seventh overall after winning the third heat with the second-fastest time of her career (51.85). The pair matched each other with 23.95 200m splits.
Following the women's 5000m, Jackson lined up in the 200m semifinal and blazed to a 22.94 finish to be seventh and move on to the final. Already a four-time First Team All-American in the 60m-200m indoors, Jackson will have the opportunity to make that six-time within an hour on day two.
Floyd, a native of Seattle, Wash., and Stanford transfer, complemented his runner-up performance at the Southeastern Conference Championships two weeks ago to advance to his first Nationals final. He rocketed out of the blocks and left his field behind with a 45.60 to cruise into Saturday's race at 6:20 p.m. Floyd will also race on Georgia's 4x400m relay on day two at 7:20 p.m.
Junior Ella Rush advanced and competed at her first NCAA meet, taking 13th overall (4,051 points) in the pentathlon. To open, Rush began her day by taking second in her 60m hurdle heat and 10th overall with an 8.71 (971 points). A second attempt clearance at 1.66m/5-5.25 earned her another 806 points in the high jump and put her in 12th place after two events. Rush launched her longest shot put toss since 2023 and second longest of her collegiate pentathlon career with a third throw of 11.80m/38-8.75. This put her in 14thplace with the long jump up next.
Rush opened with a mark of 5.94m/19-6 in the long jump and followed with a pair of fouls to take ninth. This added 831 points to her total and put her in 13th overall headed into the combined event finale. Rush hung between 10th and 12th in the 800m, eventually crossing the line in 12th (2:22.10) for clinch 13th overall.
Also of note, freshman Jayden Keys opened with a long jump mark of 7.41m/24-3.75 and would make no improvements on his final two tries to take 13th.
Where To Find Bulldog News: Results and recaps from the NCAA 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.
SCORERS
Name Event Mark/Time - Finish
Micah Larry Long Jump 7.89m/25-10.75 - 4th
ADVANCING
Name Event Mark/Time - Finish
Kaila Jackson W. 60m ^7.11 – 1st
Aaliyah Butler W. 400m 51.61 – 2nd
Will Floyd M. 400m 45.60 – 2nd
Dejanea Butler W. 400m 51.85 – 7th
Kaila Jackson W. 60m 22.94 – 7th
^season best
Larry, a native of Harvest, Ala., put together a series featuring three attempts of 7.85 meters/25 feet, 9 ¼ inches or longer and became the Bulldogs' first scoring All-American in the long jump since Matthew Boling in 2022.
Georgia was four-for-four in its women's qualifying races on the meet's first day:
- Junior Kaila Jackson started the run of Bulldog qualifiers in the women's 60-meter dash. She punched her ticket to her third straight NCAA 60m final with the fastest time in the field (7.11).
- Georgia had a pair of 400m qualifiers with juniors Aaliyah Butler and Dejanea Oakley both finishing in the top seven with matching 200m splits. This marks the first time in history that the UGA women have had two qualifiers for the 400m final.
- Jackson returned to the track just over an hour later and earned a spot in the 200m final, giving her six qualifiers for individual indoor event finals over the last three years.
- Floyd let the first two heats clear the track before he laid down a 45.60 to win his heat and take second overall at his first Nationals.
The Bulldogs stand 18th with five points after the first day. Oklahoma State (17), Virginia (15) and seven teams have 10 points currently for the men. On the women's side, Illinois (21), Oklahoma (19), Washington (19), BYU (18) and Wisconsin (13) make up the top five.
When Do The Dogs Start Saturday?: Saturday will begin with senior Elena Kulichenko in the women's high jump and sophomore Riyon Rankin in the men's high jump at 12 p.m. Jackson will be first on the track on day two at 3:10 p.m. in the 60m final.Where To Catch The NCAA Championships: Live streaming of the NCAA meet will air on ESPN+ starting on Friday and continuing through Saturday. The broadcast talent includes Dwight Stones, Dan O'Brien, Larra Overton and John Anderson.
A tape delay special of the Championships will air on ESPNU on Sunday at 7 p.m.
Saturday - Field Events: https://gado.gs/cqv
Saturday - Women's Track Events: https://gado.gs/cqw
Saturday - Men's Track Events: https://gado.gs/cqx
Live Results: For results throughout the weekend, please visit: https://gado.gs/cri
The Lowdown: Larry built in his first three long jump attempts, topping out at 7.89m/25-10.75 on his third try. This showing initially put him as the runner-up and eventually situated him fourth at his first trip to Nationals. Larry also featured jumps of 25-10 and 25-9.25 in his series.
Georgia did not disappoint in their semifinal races. Jackson, a native of Redford, Mich., came out of the second 60m heat and finished with a season best 7.11 for the fastest qualifying time. She and Oregon's Jadyn Mays are the only competitors in the event seeking their third straight First Team All-America certificate (Mays is going for her fourth straight). Jackson will race in the 60m final on Saturday at 3:10 p.m.
Butler, who hails from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Oakley, a first-year transfer from Clarendon, Jamaica, raced in back-to-back heats of the 400m semifinal and both advanced to Saturday's final at 3:20 p.m. Butler bolted to the day's second-fastest time (51.61) to win her heat while Oakley was seventh overall after winning the third heat with the second-fastest time of her career (51.85). The pair matched each other with 23.95 200m splits.
Following the women's 5000m, Jackson lined up in the 200m semifinal and blazed to a 22.94 finish to be seventh and move on to the final. Already a four-time First Team All-American in the 60m-200m indoors, Jackson will have the opportunity to make that six-time within an hour on day two.
Floyd, a native of Seattle, Wash., and Stanford transfer, complemented his runner-up performance at the Southeastern Conference Championships two weeks ago to advance to his first Nationals final. He rocketed out of the blocks and left his field behind with a 45.60 to cruise into Saturday's race at 6:20 p.m. Floyd will also race on Georgia's 4x400m relay on day two at 7:20 p.m.
Junior Ella Rush advanced and competed at her first NCAA meet, taking 13th overall (4,051 points) in the pentathlon. To open, Rush began her day by taking second in her 60m hurdle heat and 10th overall with an 8.71 (971 points). A second attempt clearance at 1.66m/5-5.25 earned her another 806 points in the high jump and put her in 12th place after two events. Rush launched her longest shot put toss since 2023 and second longest of her collegiate pentathlon career with a third throw of 11.80m/38-8.75. This put her in 14thplace with the long jump up next.
Rush opened with a mark of 5.94m/19-6 in the long jump and followed with a pair of fouls to take ninth. This added 831 points to her total and put her in 13th overall headed into the combined event finale. Rush hung between 10th and 12th in the 800m, eventually crossing the line in 12th (2:22.10) for clinch 13th overall.
Also of note, freshman Jayden Keys opened with a long jump mark of 7.41m/24-3.75 and would make no improvements on his final two tries to take 13th.
Where To Find Bulldog News: Results and recaps from the NCAA 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.
SCORERS
Name Event Mark/Time - Finish
Micah Larry Long Jump 7.89m/25-10.75 - 4th
ADVANCING
Name Event Mark/Time - Finish
Kaila Jackson W. 60m ^7.11 – 1st
Aaliyah Butler W. 400m 51.61 – 2nd
Will Floyd M. 400m 45.60 – 2nd
Dejanea Butler W. 400m 51.85 – 7th
Kaila Jackson W. 60m 22.94 – 7th
^season best
Players Mentioned
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High Jump
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