University of Georgia Athletics
Finally Healthy, Carter Flying Into NCAAs
June 08, 2026 | Track & Field, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Adaejah Hodge has put on a show in the sprints for the Georgia women's track and field team this spring. The redshirt freshman has gotten a lot of attention, and for good reason. Hodge, the NCAA Indoor champion in the 200 meters and runner-up in the 60, has the fastest outdoor 100 time in the world (10.77 seconds) this year, and the fourth-fastest in the 200 (21.92).
But Hodge, who on Monday was named the SEC Freshman Runner of the Year, isn't the top-ranked Bulldogs' only standout sprinter in the 100 and 200. Not even close. Kaila Jackson, a senior and nine-time All-American on the track, has the 12th-fastest time in the world in the 100 (10.93) and 17th-fastest in the 200 (22.36).
Another Bulldog with a lot of experience has also come on strong late in the outdoor season to join Hodge and Jackson in the 100 and 200, as well as the 4x100 relay, at this week's NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore.
After battling injuries for a while, a healthy Jassani Carter emphatically announced her presence in late May at the NCAA East Regional, where she tied with Florida State's Shenese Walker for the fastest time in the 100 at 10.88 — the sixth fastest time in the world this year. Carter also ran the 200 in 22.94 to qualify for the NCAA Championships.
"It felt like a relief because of a few of the trials and tribulations I've experienced through the regular season," Carter, a senior from Hollywood, Fla., said of her performances at the East Regional, held at Kentucky.
After what she described as a "great" period of training in the fall, Carter developed plantar fasciitis in one of her feet in November. That limited her training and performances in the indoor season, and soon after the outdoor season began, she suffered a pulled hamstring. She missed two meets because of that, and also missed a lot of workouts.
It was a long, slow grind to regain her form from the fall, but she eventually got there. After running the 100 in 11.20 and the 200 in 22.85 at the LSU Battle on the Bayou in early April, Carter ran the 100 in 11.33 at Georgia's Torrin Lawrence Memorial in early May.Â
After that was the SEC Outdoor Championships at Auburn from May 14-16, and what's most telling about Carter's performance at the NCAA East Regional is how much faster she was compared to the SEC meet. At the SECs, Carter didn't qualify for the final after running 11.34 in the 100 in the preliminary round. Her time was the 15th fastest among the competitors in the prelims. She also failed to make the final in the 200, running 23.07, the 13th fastest time in the prelims.
"I trained as hard as I could between the time of the Torrin Lawrence and the SECs; tried to get what I could out of every day. Went to SECs, still fell a little bit short, still ran 11.3, but I had my regional (qualifying) mark, so I was like, I'm still going to regionals, so let's take this with a grain of salt and try to get better these next two weeks," Carter said.
She really, really did. Carter's 10.88 was a career-best in the 100; she ran 22.57 in the 200 in the preliminary heat, just off her best time ever of 22.45, and she teamed up with Hodge, Jackson and freshman Lisa Raye in the 4x100 relay to run a school-record time of 42.40.
"I liked how I was feeling going into regionals. I didn't know I was going to majorly P.R. (in the 100), but I knew I was going to run well," she said.
Carter spent three years at USC before transferring to Georgia for her final indoor and outdoor seasons. At the NCAA Outdoor Championships last June, she was part of a national-title winning 4x100 relay squad, and a 4x400 quartet that placed third.
At Georgia, she's training with some of the best sprinters in the country. Carter said she loves that her teammates are pushing her to be better, and that she is pushing them.
"Some people fear being around a lot of people that are their competition, or better than them, or could be better than them. I don't. That's what I wanted," she said.
Carter and Jackson have been racing against each other since they were elite high school sprinters competing at national meets. Being at Georgia "with my old friend Kaila" has been special, she said.
"Every day, we're getting better next to each other. Stepping on the (starting) line with Kaila at regionals, I looked at her and said, 'I wouldn't have done this without you.' She said she used my energy and I used hers," Carter said.
Between Carter, Hodge and Jackson, Georgia had three of the top five finishers in the 100 at the East Regional, and Carter and Jackson ran personal-best times.
"Kaila has the best start in the NCAA, so I knew if I stick with Kaila, I'm going to get a P.R., and she knew I have a really good top end (speed), so she used my top end. We both had our best race," Carter said.
Carter said she loves the 200 while having a love-hate relationship with the 100. The 200 is sometimes long enough to recover from a poor start, but the 100 isn't as forgiving.
"I think I secretly have more love for the 100, but I do love the 200. The 100, I sometimes just toss and turn at night, like, I got to get my 100 right, I got to get my 100 right," she said.
She definitely got it right at the East Regional, and she's hoping to do the same at Hayward Field this week. The NCAA Championships begin with men's competitions on Wednesday; the women get started Thursday. The defending NCAA Outdoor champions and the 2026 NCAA Indoor champions, Georgia's women are going for a third straight national title.
Staff Writer
Adaejah Hodge has put on a show in the sprints for the Georgia women's track and field team this spring. The redshirt freshman has gotten a lot of attention, and for good reason. Hodge, the NCAA Indoor champion in the 200 meters and runner-up in the 60, has the fastest outdoor 100 time in the world (10.77 seconds) this year, and the fourth-fastest in the 200 (21.92).
But Hodge, who on Monday was named the SEC Freshman Runner of the Year, isn't the top-ranked Bulldogs' only standout sprinter in the 100 and 200. Not even close. Kaila Jackson, a senior and nine-time All-American on the track, has the 12th-fastest time in the world in the 100 (10.93) and 17th-fastest in the 200 (22.36).
Another Bulldog with a lot of experience has also come on strong late in the outdoor season to join Hodge and Jackson in the 100 and 200, as well as the 4x100 relay, at this week's NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore.
After battling injuries for a while, a healthy Jassani Carter emphatically announced her presence in late May at the NCAA East Regional, where she tied with Florida State's Shenese Walker for the fastest time in the 100 at 10.88 — the sixth fastest time in the world this year. Carter also ran the 200 in 22.94 to qualify for the NCAA Championships.
"It felt like a relief because of a few of the trials and tribulations I've experienced through the regular season," Carter, a senior from Hollywood, Fla., said of her performances at the East Regional, held at Kentucky.
After what she described as a "great" period of training in the fall, Carter developed plantar fasciitis in one of her feet in November. That limited her training and performances in the indoor season, and soon after the outdoor season began, she suffered a pulled hamstring. She missed two meets because of that, and also missed a lot of workouts.
It was a long, slow grind to regain her form from the fall, but she eventually got there. After running the 100 in 11.20 and the 200 in 22.85 at the LSU Battle on the Bayou in early April, Carter ran the 100 in 11.33 at Georgia's Torrin Lawrence Memorial in early May.Â
After that was the SEC Outdoor Championships at Auburn from May 14-16, and what's most telling about Carter's performance at the NCAA East Regional is how much faster she was compared to the SEC meet. At the SECs, Carter didn't qualify for the final after running 11.34 in the 100 in the preliminary round. Her time was the 15th fastest among the competitors in the prelims. She also failed to make the final in the 200, running 23.07, the 13th fastest time in the prelims.
"I trained as hard as I could between the time of the Torrin Lawrence and the SECs; tried to get what I could out of every day. Went to SECs, still fell a little bit short, still ran 11.3, but I had my regional (qualifying) mark, so I was like, I'm still going to regionals, so let's take this with a grain of salt and try to get better these next two weeks," Carter said.
She really, really did. Carter's 10.88 was a career-best in the 100; she ran 22.57 in the 200 in the preliminary heat, just off her best time ever of 22.45, and she teamed up with Hodge, Jackson and freshman Lisa Raye in the 4x100 relay to run a school-record time of 42.40.
"I liked how I was feeling going into regionals. I didn't know I was going to majorly P.R. (in the 100), but I knew I was going to run well," she said.
Carter spent three years at USC before transferring to Georgia for her final indoor and outdoor seasons. At the NCAA Outdoor Championships last June, she was part of a national-title winning 4x100 relay squad, and a 4x400 quartet that placed third.
At Georgia, she's training with some of the best sprinters in the country. Carter said she loves that her teammates are pushing her to be better, and that she is pushing them.
"Some people fear being around a lot of people that are their competition, or better than them, or could be better than them. I don't. That's what I wanted," she said.
Carter and Jackson have been racing against each other since they were elite high school sprinters competing at national meets. Being at Georgia "with my old friend Kaila" has been special, she said.
"Every day, we're getting better next to each other. Stepping on the (starting) line with Kaila at regionals, I looked at her and said, 'I wouldn't have done this without you.' She said she used my energy and I used hers," Carter said.
Between Carter, Hodge and Jackson, Georgia had three of the top five finishers in the 100 at the East Regional, and Carter and Jackson ran personal-best times.
"Kaila has the best start in the NCAA, so I knew if I stick with Kaila, I'm going to get a P.R., and she knew I have a really good top end (speed), so she used my top end. We both had our best race," Carter said.
Carter said she loves the 200 while having a love-hate relationship with the 100. The 200 is sometimes long enough to recover from a poor start, but the 100 isn't as forgiving.
"I think I secretly have more love for the 100, but I do love the 200. The 100, I sometimes just toss and turn at night, like, I got to get my 100 right, I got to get my 100 right," she said.
She definitely got it right at the East Regional, and she's hoping to do the same at Hayward Field this week. The NCAA Championships begin with men's competitions on Wednesday; the women get started Thursday. The defending NCAA Outdoor champions and the 2026 NCAA Indoor champions, Georgia's women are going for a third straight national title.
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.
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