Friday, March 14
Virginia Beach, Va.
University of Georgia
vs
NCAA Indoor Championships
Track & Field Men, Women Highlight NCAAs With Second-Place Finishes
March 15, 2025 | Track & Field
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. --- The Georgia women posted their third consecutive top-five finish and the Bulldog men registered their second runner-up finish in the last three years at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships at the Virginia Beach Sports Center in Virginia Beach, Va., Saturday.
The Oregon women tallied 55 points to grab top honors ahead of Georgia (39), USC (35), Oklahoma (31), Washington (31) and Arkansas (31).
On the men's side, USC won with 39 points while Georgia (33), Auburn (32), Arkansas (30) and Oklahoma State (26) rounded out the top five.
This marks the fifth combined top-five finish for the program. Other than 2018 when the women won and the men took third, this is the best combined finish for UGA.
The Lady Bulldogs capped the two-day meet by setting a school record (3:26.07) in the 4x400-meter relay for second place. Junior Dejanea Oakley, freshman Michelle Smith, junior Haley Tate and junior Aaliyah Butler became the No. 7 all-time collegiate performer to deliver the Georgia women its third second-place team indoor finish in history.
Georgia finished with a trio of individual event national championships. Earlier in the day, senior Elena Kulichenko continued to develop into one of the school's all-time greats by winning her second NCAA high jump title (first indoors) and scoring at the seventh NCAA Championships of her career. Near the end of Saturday, sophomore Will Floyd won Georgia's third consecutive men's 400m crown by edging his nearest competitor by .01 before returning in the 4x400m relay.
In the meet's finale, Floyd-Shemar Chambers-Xai Ricks-Ervin Pearson ("Flash") came out of the second heat and dropped a 3:03.44 on the field to finish in front of Texas Tech (3:03.77). This marks the first national championship in the relay for the Bulldog men.
Georgia had nine scorers on Saturday to complete the meet, including the aforementioned relays:
Full Results: For results throughout the weekend, please visit: https://gado.gs/cri
The Lowdown: Kulichenko, a native of Odintsovo, Russia, was one of two competitors to pass the opening height (1.75m/5-8.75) before recording a pair of first try clearances. After then going over the bar at 1.85m/6-0.75 on her second attempt, Kulichenko and Adeshina both safely passed over 1.94m/6-4.25 on their second tries to tie for the title.
Set with a 45.54 time to beat from the opening heat, Floyd took control in the opening lap and never relinquished the lead. He leaned at the line to hold off Ezekiel to secure Georgia's third straight national title in the event (2024, Christopher Morales Williams; 2023, Elija Godwin) and fourth overall (2010, Torrin Lawrence). Georgia is the third school to win three consecutive men's 400m championships indoors and the first since 1979.
The Georgia quartet in the men's 4x400m relay topped the previous No. 5 time in the school record books and was faster than the Bulldogs' sixth-place finish at the conference meet in late February. This relay team bettered Georgia's second-place squad, featuring Godwin and Matthew Boling, from 2023 that finished second.
The Georgia women's 14-point boost in the 400m came thanks to Butler and Oakley taking second and third. Butler, whose time ranked No. 7 on the all-time collegiate performance list, and Oakley came out of the second heat after Arkansas' Isabella Whittaker had a collegiate record 49.24 in the opening group. Butler won the second heat with a 49.97 (second fastest of her career) while Oakley also sped to the second-fastest finish of her career (51.14) to come across the line second in the heat and third overall.
Butler and Oakley returned to the track in the 17th and final event of the women's meet and helped lock down the squad's best finish since the national championship season in 2018. Oakley started the 4x400m relay and handed to Smith, a freshman from St. Croix. Smith passed the baton off to junior Haley Tate with a slight lead before Butler handled the anchor leg. After a trio of 52-second splits, Butler blazed to a 49.48 to put the Bulldogs second in their heat and overall. Butler's leg is No. 2 on the collegiate/US/world lists all-time.
After coming in with a first attempt clearance at 2.11m/6-11, Rankin was pushed to his third and final try in the men's high jump at 2.16m/7-1. Following a successful try, he moved to 2.19m/7-2.25 and became the only competitor to safely go over the bar on his first attempt. Nebraska's Tyus Wilson cleared the same height on his final attempt and went on to clear three more bars for the win.
Jackson took off out of lane four in the 60m final and was third after shooting past the line in 7.15. Following a pair of runner-up performances in 2023 and 2024, Jackson joined Oregon's Jadyn Mays as the only current competitors to score in the event in back-to-back-to-back seasons.
In the 200m final, Jackson came out of the second heat and took seventh with her second-fastest time of the year (22.96). Jackson and Mays were also the only sprinters in the 60m and 200m fields to collect expected First Team All-America honors in both events for every year since 2023.
On Friday, sophomore Micah 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 for expected First Team All-America honors. Larry also featured jumps of 25-10 and 25-9.25 in his series.
What's Next For The Bulldogs?: Following the NCAA Championships, the Bulldogs start their outdoor season a week later at the Yellow Jacket Invitational (Atlanta) and the Black and Gold Invitational (Orlando, Fla.) on March 21-22.
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.
Day 1 SCORERS
Name Event Mark/Time - Finish
Micah Larry M Long Jump 7.89m/25-10.75 - 4th
Day 2 SCORERS
W. Floyd, S. Chambers, X. Ricks, F. Pearson
M. 4x400m Relay 3:03.44 – 1st
Will Floyd M. 400m 45.43 – 1st
Elena Kulichenko W, High Jump 1.94m/6-4.25 – T-1st
Riyon Rankin M. High Jump 2.19m/7-2.25 – 2nd
Aaliyah Butler W. 400m ^49.97 – 2nd
D. Oakley, M. Smith, H. Tate, A. Butler
W. 4x400m Relay *3:26.07 – 2nd
Kaila Jackson W. 60m 7.15 – 3rd
Dejanea Oakley W. 400m 51.14 – 3rd
Kaila Jackson W. 200m 22.96 – 7th
*school record, No. 7 all-time collegiate performer, No. 9 all-time collegiate performance; ^No. 7 all-time collegiate performance
The Oregon women tallied 55 points to grab top honors ahead of Georgia (39), USC (35), Oklahoma (31), Washington (31) and Arkansas (31).
On the men's side, USC won with 39 points while Georgia (33), Auburn (32), Arkansas (30) and Oklahoma State (26) rounded out the top five.
This marks the fifth combined top-five finish for the program. Other than 2018 when the women won and the men took third, this is the best combined finish for UGA.
The Lady Bulldogs capped the two-day meet by setting a school record (3:26.07) in the 4x400-meter relay for second place. Junior Dejanea Oakley, freshman Michelle Smith, junior Haley Tate and junior Aaliyah Butler became the No. 7 all-time collegiate performer to deliver the Georgia women its third second-place team indoor finish in history.
Georgia finished with a trio of individual event national championships. Earlier in the day, senior Elena Kulichenko continued to develop into one of the school's all-time greats by winning her second NCAA high jump title (first indoors) and scoring at the seventh NCAA Championships of her career. Near the end of Saturday, sophomore Will Floyd won Georgia's third consecutive men's 400m crown by edging his nearest competitor by .01 before returning in the 4x400m relay.
In the meet's finale, Floyd-Shemar Chambers-Xai Ricks-Ervin Pearson ("Flash") came out of the second heat and dropped a 3:03.44 on the field to finish in front of Texas Tech (3:03.77). This marks the first national championship in the relay for the Bulldog men.
Georgia had nine scorers on Saturday to complete the meet, including the aforementioned relays:
- Kulichenko complemented her 2024 NCAA outdoor title by winning her first national indoor crown in the women's high jump. Scoring for the fourth time in her career indoors, Kulichenko's 1.94 meters/6 feet, 4 ½ inches mark gave her a tie for the NCAA championship with Texas Tech's Temitope Adeshina.
- Floyd, a Seattle, Wash., native and Stanford transfer, ran out of the second heat and finished in 45.43 to hold off Baylor's Nathaniel Ezekiel (45.44) for the victory.
- The Lady Bulldogs tallied a monstrous 14 points in the 400m final with a 2-3 finish. Junior Aaliyah Butler ran her second sub-50 in the last two weeks to secure a silver medal finish, which is the best of her career. Fellow junior Dejanea Oakley made a 13-spot improvement from her 2024 while suiting up for Texas and won bronze in the 400m for Georgia.
- Floyd teamed with a senior in Chambers and a freshmen duo in Ricks and Pearson to lock down the crown. After Chambers sped to a 45.62 on the second leg, Pearson held back a push by Texas Tech with his anchor split of 45.55. This final 10-point burst shot the Bulldogs into the second spot in the team rankings.
- Sophomore Riyon Rankin, a native of Brunswick, Ga., recovered from a third attempt clearance a round before in the men's high jump to soar over 2.19m/7-2.25 in the next round on his first try to lock down runner-up honors. This marked Georgia's third silver in the event but first since Dothel Edwards took second in 1986. Georgia had never gone 1-2 in the women and men's high jump in the same meet.
- Junior Kaila Jackson scored for the third consecutive time in the 60m at the NCAA Indoor Championships, this time earning bronze in the middle straightaway. She returned less than an hour after the 60m to score for the third time in a row in the 200m, taking seventh.
Full Results: For results throughout the weekend, please visit: https://gado.gs/cri
The Lowdown: Kulichenko, a native of Odintsovo, Russia, was one of two competitors to pass the opening height (1.75m/5-8.75) before recording a pair of first try clearances. After then going over the bar at 1.85m/6-0.75 on her second attempt, Kulichenko and Adeshina both safely passed over 1.94m/6-4.25 on their second tries to tie for the title.
Set with a 45.54 time to beat from the opening heat, Floyd took control in the opening lap and never relinquished the lead. He leaned at the line to hold off Ezekiel to secure Georgia's third straight national title in the event (2024, Christopher Morales Williams; 2023, Elija Godwin) and fourth overall (2010, Torrin Lawrence). Georgia is the third school to win three consecutive men's 400m championships indoors and the first since 1979.
The Georgia quartet in the men's 4x400m relay topped the previous No. 5 time in the school record books and was faster than the Bulldogs' sixth-place finish at the conference meet in late February. This relay team bettered Georgia's second-place squad, featuring Godwin and Matthew Boling, from 2023 that finished second.
The Georgia women's 14-point boost in the 400m came thanks to Butler and Oakley taking second and third. Butler, whose time ranked No. 7 on the all-time collegiate performance list, and Oakley came out of the second heat after Arkansas' Isabella Whittaker had a collegiate record 49.24 in the opening group. Butler won the second heat with a 49.97 (second fastest of her career) while Oakley also sped to the second-fastest finish of her career (51.14) to come across the line second in the heat and third overall.
Butler and Oakley returned to the track in the 17th and final event of the women's meet and helped lock down the squad's best finish since the national championship season in 2018. Oakley started the 4x400m relay and handed to Smith, a freshman from St. Croix. Smith passed the baton off to junior Haley Tate with a slight lead before Butler handled the anchor leg. After a trio of 52-second splits, Butler blazed to a 49.48 to put the Bulldogs second in their heat and overall. Butler's leg is No. 2 on the collegiate/US/world lists all-time.
After coming in with a first attempt clearance at 2.11m/6-11, Rankin was pushed to his third and final try in the men's high jump at 2.16m/7-1. Following a successful try, he moved to 2.19m/7-2.25 and became the only competitor to safely go over the bar on his first attempt. Nebraska's Tyus Wilson cleared the same height on his final attempt and went on to clear three more bars for the win.
Jackson took off out of lane four in the 60m final and was third after shooting past the line in 7.15. Following a pair of runner-up performances in 2023 and 2024, Jackson joined Oregon's Jadyn Mays as the only current competitors to score in the event in back-to-back-to-back seasons.
In the 200m final, Jackson came out of the second heat and took seventh with her second-fastest time of the year (22.96). Jackson and Mays were also the only sprinters in the 60m and 200m fields to collect expected First Team All-America honors in both events for every year since 2023.
On Friday, sophomore Micah 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 for expected First Team All-America honors. Larry also featured jumps of 25-10 and 25-9.25 in his series.
What's Next For The Bulldogs?: Following the NCAA Championships, the Bulldogs start their outdoor season a week later at the Yellow Jacket Invitational (Atlanta) and the Black and Gold Invitational (Orlando, Fla.) on March 21-22.
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.
Day 1 SCORERS
Name Event Mark/Time - Finish
Micah Larry M Long Jump 7.89m/25-10.75 - 4th
Day 2 SCORERS
W. Floyd, S. Chambers, X. Ricks, F. Pearson
M. 4x400m Relay 3:03.44 – 1st
Will Floyd M. 400m 45.43 – 1st
Elena Kulichenko W, High Jump 1.94m/6-4.25 – T-1st
Riyon Rankin M. High Jump 2.19m/7-2.25 – 2nd
Aaliyah Butler W. 400m ^49.97 – 2nd
D. Oakley, M. Smith, H. Tate, A. Butler
W. 4x400m Relay *3:26.07 – 2nd
Kaila Jackson W. 60m 7.15 – 3rd
Dejanea Oakley W. 400m 51.14 – 3rd
Kaila Jackson W. 200m 22.96 – 7th
*school record, No. 7 all-time collegiate performer, No. 9 all-time collegiate performance; ^No. 7 all-time collegiate performance
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