Track & Field Splits Squads To Tom Jones Memorial and Wake Forest Invitational

Thursday, April 17

Winston-Salem, N.C.

University of Georgia

Wake Forest Invitational (Distance)

Track & Field Splits Squads To Tom Jones Memorial and Wake Forest Invitational

April 16, 2025 | Track & Field

2025 Wake Forest Invitational - Schedule 2025 Wake Forest Invitational - Performance List 2025 Tom Jones Memorial Invitational - Schedule 2025 Tom Jones Memorial Invitational - Performance List

ATHENS, Ga. --- The Georgia track & field teams traveled to Gainesville, Fla., and Winston-Salem, N.C. to compete at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational and the Wake Forest Invitational this weekend.

The Distance Dawgs will open the weekend at the Wake Forest Invitational on Thursday, with the meet continuing through Friday at Kentner Stadium. The rest of the Bulldogs will head to Percy Beard Track on the campus of the University of Florida for the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational on Friday and Saturday.

Who's The Competition?: Georgia will join a large number of schools in competing at both meets this weekend. Between the two meets, the Bulldogs will face 12 Southeastern Conference opponents with four weeks remaining until the SEC Outdoor Championship meet. In Winston-Salem, those teams include Alabama, Auburn, and South Carolina. In Gainesville, Georgia will compete against Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.

When Do The Bulldogs Start?: Mark Trammell will open competition for the Bulldogs at the Wake Forest Invitational when he races in the open 5,000-meter run at 8:40 p.m. on Thursday. Nina Ouellette will open Friday's events in the fourth heat of the 1,500m at 12:55 p.m.

In Gainesville, Karsen Phillips will open Friday's action on the track in the 200m at 12 p.m. In the field events, Jacob Carruthers and Ian Hodge will compete in the high jump while Luther Mogelvang, Alon Rogow, and Nikolai van Huyssteen jump in the pole vault, with both events starting at 2 p.m.

Where To Catch The Action: There will be ESPN streaming coverage of the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational this weekend. The meet can be watched on SEC Network+ beginning at 12:05 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. There will be no live stream for the Wake Forest Invitational.

SEC Network+ Info:
Tom Jones Memorial Invitational – Day One – Friday, April 18
SECN+ – https://gado.gs/d1h

Tom Jones Memorial Invitational – Day Two – Saturday, April 19
SECN+ – https://gado.gs/d1i

Live Results: For results throughout the weekend from the Wake Forest Invitational, please visit:https://gado.gs/d0y.

For results throughout the weekend from the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational, please visit:https://gado.gs/d0z.

Coach Caryl's Comments: "This will mark the second time in two weeks that we have competed at Florida so our team continue to build on the progress we have made so far this outdoor season," Georgia head coach Caryl Smith Gilbert said. "Each week a different name or event group has breakthroughs, which is encouraging with the postseason a month away. I look forward to seeing everyone continue to elevate their performances. We also have a distance group going to Winston-Salem for the Wake Forest Invitational, so I am eager to see the development and some PRs come out of that trip. GO DAWGS!"

What Bulldogs Are Competing?: Nina Ouellette, Izzy Yonas, Joseph Minecci, Ryan Olree, Conner Rutherford, Mark Trammell, and Zack Truitt all made the trip to Winston-Salem to compete at the Wake Forest Invitational.

A total of 33 Bulldogs travelled to Gainesville for the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational, including 17 men and 16 women. Moustafa Alsherif, Brody Buffington, Jacob Carruthers, Shemar Chambers, London Costen, Will Floyd, Ian Hodge, Chance Jones, Jayden Keys, Alex Kolesnikoff, Eddie Kurjak, Luther Mogelvang, Riyon Rankin, Xai Ricks, Alon Rogow, Nikolai van Huyssteen, and Zavien Wolfe are all set to compete for the men's squad while T'oni Birden, Aaliyah Butler, Lianna Davidson, Kieley Gayle, Sydney Harris, Kaila Jackson, Elena Kulichenko, Erin McMeniman, Kelsie Murrell-Ross, Danah Nembhard, Dejanea Oakley, Karsen Phillips, Stephanie Ratcliffe, Reign Redmond, Haley Tate, and Skylynn Townsend will represent the women's team in Florida.

LAST WEEK'S FLASHBACK – 44 Farms Team Invitational (April 11-12): Georgia's multi-event athletes travelled to Bryan-College Station, Texas, for the 44 Farms Team Invitational last weekend. Jordan Fick earned a runner-up finish in the decathlon, posting a personal-best 7,598 points to come within 56 points of cracking the Georgia all-time top-10 performers list in the event. Ella Rush finished 10^th in the heptathlon with 5,217 points, highlighted by her fifth-place finish in the 800-meter dash. Maximus Tucker also appeared at the Texas A&M-hosted meet, running the decathlon's 100-meter dash but not competing in the other nine disciplines.

National and Conference Honors Stack Up: The Bulldogs came away from their first meet weekend of the season with three SEC weekly honors. Lianna Davidson was named SEC Women's Field Athlete of the week following her javelin performance at the Yellow Jacket Invitational, where she recorded a school-record mark of 62.59 meters/205 feet, 4 inches to win the event with the No. 2 mark in NCAA history. Additionally, Davidson was named U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Athlete of the Week for her performance in Atlanta.

Michelle Smith earned SEC Women's Freshman of the Week honors with her winning time of 55.98 in the 400-meter hurdles at the Black and Gold Invitational, making her the No. 3 performer in program history. Fellow freshman Ervin Pearson was named SEC Men's Co-Runner of the Week after clocking a nation-leading time of 45.42 to win the 400m at the Black and Gold Invitational. He moved into sixth in Georgia history outdoors with his performance.

The Bulldogs took home another three SEC honors after the Florida Relays on April 4-5. Rotundo was named USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week and SEC Women's Field Athlete of the Week after becoming the No. 2 all-time collegiate javelin thrower with her school-record mark of 64.17m/210-6. Combined with Davidson's National Athlete of the Week award two weeks prior, it was just the second time in NCAA Division I award history that a program had different student-athletes earn the award in consecutive weeks.

Fellow javelin thrower Moustafa Alsherif earned SEC Men's Field Athlete of the Week honors with his runner-up performance in Gainesville, Fla. He recorded a fifth-attempt mark of 79.72m/261-6 to record the top collegiate finish at Florida in his Bulldog debut. Alsherif ranks third in program history in the event.

Smith earned her second SEC Women's Freshman of the Week award with her school-record and nation-leading time of 54.56 in the 400-meter hurdles. Georgia's 29-year-old school record fell with her performance as the Frederiksted, St. Croix, native won the event by over a second.

Where This Season Will Take The Dogs: Following this weekend's action, Georgia will wrap up the outdoor regular season at the one-day Tiger Track Classic on April 26.

The SEC Outdoor Championships will kick off postseason competition for the Bulldogs on May 15-17 in Lexington, Ky. Georgia will then compete at the NCAA East Regionals in Jacksonville, Fla., on May 28-31 before wrapping up the outdoor season at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore., on June 11-14.

Where To Find Bulldogs News: Results and recaps from the Bulldogs' indoor season will be found at georgiadogs.com. News and updates from Georgia's track & field and cross country teams are always located on X/Instagram at @UGATrack.