University of Georgia Athletics
Photo by: Tony Walsh/UGAAA
T&F Three Scorers, Three Qualifiers On First Day Of NCAAs
June 11, 2026 | Track & Field
EUGENE, Ore. --- The Bulldog track and field team had a trio of scorers on the men's side to highlight the opening day of action at the NCAA Outdoor Championships Wednesday.
Senior Jordan Davis and sophomore Nick Reynolds paced the scoring with a 4-5 showing in the javelin.
Team Scores: The Bulldog men have scored 11 points and stand in seventh place. Nebraska (28), Oregon (18), Kansas State (16), Arkansas (14), Minnesota (14) and Tennessee (14) make up the top six teams after day one.
What Bulldogs Scored On Day One: Georgia had three scorers on Wednesday: Davis – javelin, 4th; Reynolds – javelin, 5th; Jayden Keys – long jump, 7th.
Georgia has now had a scorer in the men's long jump for two consecutive years for the first time in history after Keys also scored in 2025. This also marks the first time since 1998 that the Bulldogs had a pair score in the same NCAA javelin competition.
What Bulldogs Qualified On Day One: The Bulldogs completed the day one with three qualifiers: Sidi Njie – 400m, 2nd; men's 4x400m relay, 3rd; Jonathan Simms - 400m, 6th.
This marked the first time in school history that the Bulldogs have two finalists in the men's 400m.
Meet Breakdown: 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.
Day 1 In The Multis: At his first NCAA Outdoor Championships, sophomore Maximus Tucker started the day with a personal record and ended with another during the first five events of the decathlon. He scored 4,204 points to move from seventh to fifth in the 400m finale of the day.
When Do The Bulldogs Start Day 2: Tucker begins the final five events of the decathlon (110m hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin, 1500m) at 1:45 p.m. ET. The women's 4x100m relay team will start in the semifinal round at 8:05 p.m. while Nina Ndubuisi and Kelsie Murrell-Ross will begin in the shot put at 10:10 p.m.
Where To Catch The NCAAs: ESPN has exclusive rights to broadcast the meet and will feature the Nationals on ESPN and ESPN2 this week:
Thursday: 8 p.m., ESPN2
Friday: 8 p.m., ESPN2
Saturday: 8 p.m., ESPN2
Live Results: To check out live results throughout the four-day season finale, please check: https://gado.gs/evp
The Lowdown: Georgia competed in five events, a relay and the first five events of the decathlon during the opening day.
Davis, a senior transfer from Wallingford, Conn., opened with a javelin mark of 77.64 meters/254 feet, 9 inches, improved to 77.70m/254-11 and then topped his series with a mark of 77.83m/255-4 for fourth place. The former two-time NCAA Division II champion shut down his career by scoring five points for the Bulldogs with an expected First Team All-America finish.
Reynolds, a sophomore transfer from Concord, N.H., started his six-throw javelin series with his best mark of 77.43m/254-0 to take fifth at the first NCAA meet of his career. This anticipated First Team All-America showing gave the Bulldogs' two scorers in the event for the first time since taking sixth and seventh in 1998.
Keys, a sophomore from Houston, Texas, traveled three inches farther and bettered his 2025 NCAA finish by one spot in the long jump. Narrowly making it as the ninth and last qualifier into the final, the 27th-seeded competitor took off for a fifth attempt that measured a season best 7.88m/25-10.25 for seventh place. This gave him his second First Team All-America finish in as many years.
There were also three qualifiers for Friday finals. Njie, a freshman from College Park, Ga., shot out of the blocks in the semifinal round of the men's 400m to win his heat with a 44.82. In the middle of a three-man mix coming into the final straightaway, Njie pulled ahead to edge the nearest competitor by .03 and took second overall. He will race along with Simms in the 400m final on Friday at 9:02 p.m.
Njie returned to the track with Xai Ricks, London Costen and Simms in the 4x400m relay and the quartet punched their ticket to the final. Ricks completed the opening lap in second place and handed to Njie, who moved into the lead on the second to last curve. Njie handed to Costen who slipped to third before surging into second place. Simms took the baton for the anchor leg and brought UGA back into the lead on the backstretch. Georgia clocked a 3:00.88 to win its heat and take third overall.
One heat later in the 400m after Njie, Simms, another freshman from Allen, Texas, made up the stagger on his nearest competitor by the first turn and qualified automatically for the same final as Njie. Simms finished second in his heat with a 45.03 and sixth overall.
Tucker began the decathlon with a personal best in the 100m. Having set a career record of 10.96 earlier this season at the Spec Towns Track in Athens, the sophomore responded with a 10.93 on Wednesday. This put Tucker in 12th overall.
In the second event, Tucker saved his top long jump for his final attempt to take 15th. He soared 7.00m/22-11.75 on his third try and nestled into 10th place overall.
Tucker unleashed his best effort in the shot put on his opening attempt. His toss of 14.76m/48-5.25 put him in third place in the event and into scoring position in seventh overall after three events.
Starting with three first attempt clearances, Tucker went over the high jump bar at 2.01m/6-7 on his second attempt to take eighth. This finish kept his spot in seventh with the 400m to go on day one.
Tucker concluded his day with his second career best after taking third in the 400m (personal best 47.66). This concluding performance surged him into fifth place after he came into the competition ranked 10th.
Also of note, freshman Le'Ezra Brown finished 16th in the 110m hurdle semifinal for expected Second Team All-America honors with a 13.49.
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.
Senior Jordan Davis and sophomore Nick Reynolds paced the scoring with a 4-5 showing in the javelin.
Team Scores: The Bulldog men have scored 11 points and stand in seventh place. Nebraska (28), Oregon (18), Kansas State (16), Arkansas (14), Minnesota (14) and Tennessee (14) make up the top six teams after day one.
What Bulldogs Scored On Day One: Georgia had three scorers on Wednesday: Davis – javelin, 4th; Reynolds – javelin, 5th; Jayden Keys – long jump, 7th.
Georgia has now had a scorer in the men's long jump for two consecutive years for the first time in history after Keys also scored in 2025. This also marks the first time since 1998 that the Bulldogs had a pair score in the same NCAA javelin competition.
What Bulldogs Qualified On Day One: The Bulldogs completed the day one with three qualifiers: Sidi Njie – 400m, 2nd; men's 4x400m relay, 3rd; Jonathan Simms - 400m, 6th.
This marked the first time in school history that the Bulldogs have two finalists in the men's 400m.
Meet Breakdown: 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.
Day 1 In The Multis: At his first NCAA Outdoor Championships, sophomore Maximus Tucker started the day with a personal record and ended with another during the first five events of the decathlon. He scored 4,204 points to move from seventh to fifth in the 400m finale of the day.
When Do The Bulldogs Start Day 2: Tucker begins the final five events of the decathlon (110m hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin, 1500m) at 1:45 p.m. ET. The women's 4x100m relay team will start in the semifinal round at 8:05 p.m. while Nina Ndubuisi and Kelsie Murrell-Ross will begin in the shot put at 10:10 p.m.
Where To Catch The NCAAs: ESPN has exclusive rights to broadcast the meet and will feature the Nationals on ESPN and ESPN2 this week:
Thursday: 8 p.m., ESPN2
Friday: 8 p.m., ESPN2
Saturday: 8 p.m., ESPN2
Live Results: To check out live results throughout the four-day season finale, please check: https://gado.gs/evp
The Lowdown: Georgia competed in five events, a relay and the first five events of the decathlon during the opening day.
Davis, a senior transfer from Wallingford, Conn., opened with a javelin mark of 77.64 meters/254 feet, 9 inches, improved to 77.70m/254-11 and then topped his series with a mark of 77.83m/255-4 for fourth place. The former two-time NCAA Division II champion shut down his career by scoring five points for the Bulldogs with an expected First Team All-America finish.
Reynolds, a sophomore transfer from Concord, N.H., started his six-throw javelin series with his best mark of 77.43m/254-0 to take fifth at the first NCAA meet of his career. This anticipated First Team All-America showing gave the Bulldogs' two scorers in the event for the first time since taking sixth and seventh in 1998.
Keys, a sophomore from Houston, Texas, traveled three inches farther and bettered his 2025 NCAA finish by one spot in the long jump. Narrowly making it as the ninth and last qualifier into the final, the 27th-seeded competitor took off for a fifth attempt that measured a season best 7.88m/25-10.25 for seventh place. This gave him his second First Team All-America finish in as many years.
There were also three qualifiers for Friday finals. Njie, a freshman from College Park, Ga., shot out of the blocks in the semifinal round of the men's 400m to win his heat with a 44.82. In the middle of a three-man mix coming into the final straightaway, Njie pulled ahead to edge the nearest competitor by .03 and took second overall. He will race along with Simms in the 400m final on Friday at 9:02 p.m.
Njie returned to the track with Xai Ricks, London Costen and Simms in the 4x400m relay and the quartet punched their ticket to the final. Ricks completed the opening lap in second place and handed to Njie, who moved into the lead on the second to last curve. Njie handed to Costen who slipped to third before surging into second place. Simms took the baton for the anchor leg and brought UGA back into the lead on the backstretch. Georgia clocked a 3:00.88 to win its heat and take third overall.
One heat later in the 400m after Njie, Simms, another freshman from Allen, Texas, made up the stagger on his nearest competitor by the first turn and qualified automatically for the same final as Njie. Simms finished second in his heat with a 45.03 and sixth overall.
Tucker began the decathlon with a personal best in the 100m. Having set a career record of 10.96 earlier this season at the Spec Towns Track in Athens, the sophomore responded with a 10.93 on Wednesday. This put Tucker in 12th overall.
In the second event, Tucker saved his top long jump for his final attempt to take 15th. He soared 7.00m/22-11.75 on his third try and nestled into 10th place overall.
Tucker unleashed his best effort in the shot put on his opening attempt. His toss of 14.76m/48-5.25 put him in third place in the event and into scoring position in seventh overall after three events.
Starting with three first attempt clearances, Tucker went over the high jump bar at 2.01m/6-7 on his second attempt to take eighth. This finish kept his spot in seventh with the 400m to go on day one.
Tucker concluded his day with his second career best after taking third in the 400m (personal best 47.66). This concluding performance surged him into fifth place after he came into the competition ranked 10th.
Also of note, freshman Le'Ezra Brown finished 16th in the 110m hurdle semifinal for expected Second Team All-America honors with a 13.49.
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.
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