Rankin Reaching New Heights In High Jump

May 26, 2025 | Track & Field, The Frierson Files

By John Frierson
Staff Writer

Riyon Rankin is soaring these days.

Earlier this month, at the SEC Outdoor Championships, the Georgia high jumper cleared a personal-best 7 feet, 6 inches to win his first conference title. It was the best jump in the country so far this year — a distinction he already held — topping the 7-5.25 he cleared in April at the Auburn Tiger Track Classic.

"I saw most of the team out there cheering for me, and that really pushed me," said the 6-foot-3 sophomore from Brunswick, Ga.

Rankin is one of several Bulldogs setting the standard nationally this outdoor season. Junior sprinter Aaliyah Butler, a 2024 Olympian, has the fastest 400-meter time at 49.44 seconds — she's the only one to run sub-50 — and javelin thrower Manuela Rotundo, a freshman, has the longest throw at 210 feet, 7 inches. Senior Lianna Davidson has the second-longest throw at 209-4.

"We all push each other to be the best that we can be, to have the best outcomes as a team," he said.

The top-ranked Georgia women, who won the SEC Indoor title, and fifth-ranked men, who finished second, begin competing at the NCAA East Regionals on Wednesday.

"Everything's been working, so just keep it the same," Rankin said of his prep for this week's competition.

In high school, Rankin cleared 7 feet, 3.75 inches at the Georgia Class 6A state track meet to set a new state record and win the title for the second year in a row. He made an immediate impact as a Georgia freshman, as well.

Rankin was an NCAA Indoor and Outdoor All-American last season. He won the high jump in his collegiate debut, clearing 7-3 at the Clemson Invite and jumping into the Georgia record books for the first time with the seventh-best jump in program history.

At his first NCAA Indoor Championships, Rankin cleared 7-1.75 to place seventh. Last spring, he cleared as high as 7-3 during the outdoor season. He shared the East Regional title with a jump of 7-1.50 and later hit that same mark at the NCAA Outdoor Championships to again tie for seventh.

Rankin's sophomore season has had a few twists and turns. During the indoor season, he struggled to a 10th-place finish at the SEC Championships and then followed that with a second-place finish at the NCAA Indoors with a clearance of 7-2.25. The outdoor season began with a 7-2.5 at the Florida Relays in early April, good enough for third. Two weeks later, he jumped 7-1.75 at the Tom Jones Invitational, also at Florida, to win the meet.

The last two meets stand out from the rest — from every competitive jump he's ever done. At the Tiger Track Classic on April 26, Rankin set a new personal best with a jump of 7-5.25. It was the third-best jump in program history, behind the 7-6.50 that Dothan Edwards cleared in 1985 and Darius Carbin matched in 2022. At SECs, Rankin raised his best to 7-6.

"For me, if I jump 7-5, if you do it one time, it's luck, you know," he said. "If you do it again, then it's valid."

Now approaching the end of his second year at Georgia, Rankin sees his greatest improvement not in a dramatic increase in heights that he's clearing, but in his form that has allowed him to reach those heights.

"I've made a good bit of progress with my form," Rankin said. "I remember the last time we talked (during a Quick Chat in April 2024), I was telling you that I'm working on my form. I've made some big adjustments that are helping me to get the heights that I'm getting now."

The key adjustment he has worked on with jumps coach Ryan Baily, he said, has been rotating as he passes over the bar.

"I worked on it a lot freshman year, and this year it's really starting to kick in and help me," Rankin said.

Georgia has won numerous women's high jump NCAA titles, including three by Leontia Kallenou in 2014-15, two by Mady Fagan in 2017, and the past two (one outdoor, one indoor) by current Bulldog Elena Kulichenko, but the men have never claimed a high jump national title. Riley has as good a shot as any Bulldog ever to be the first.

Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files.