Ratcliffe Captures Hammer Title To Highlight Four Scorers At NCAA T&F

EUGENE, Ore. --- Georgia's Stephanie Ratcliffe won the second hammer throw title of her career and three other teammates posted top four finishes during the second day of the NCAA Outdoor Championships Thursday.

In addition to Ratcliffe, freshman Manuela Rotundo and senior Lianna Davidson collected second and fourth-place finishes, respectively, in the javelin and senior Kelsie Murrell-Ross lengthened her throws as her shot put series continued to take sixth.

Ratcliffe a fifth-year graduate transfer who is a native of Melbourne, Australia, lifted her fourth attempt a national leading distance of 71.37 meters/234 feet, 2 inches to edge the nearest competitor by just over a foot. This is Ratcliffe's second national championship in the event after she won the 2023 crown at Harvard.

In fact, Ratcliffe is the first competitor in NCAA history to win two national championships in the women's hammer at two separate schools and the first competitor to win the title in non-consecutive years. Her title is the first in the event for Georgia since 2010 (fourth overall) and she is the first scoring All-American in the event for the Bulldogs since 2017.

"It feels incredible to win," said Ratcliffe.  "It's so nice to be doing it for something other myself.  I am so, so excited for this women's team and I think we have such a great chance of doing something really special (in Oregon).  I am proud I have done my job to kickstart the team."

Team Scores: The Georgia women have the lead with 26 points while Illinois (16.5), Washington (16), Louisville (15), Colorado State (10), Missouri (10) and New Mexico (10) make up the rest of the top five.

Following the completion of the decathlon for the men on Thursday, Minnesota (23) has the lead over New Mexico (18), Florida (18), Kansas (13.5) and Ole Miss (12) in the top five.  The Bulldogs are in an eight-way tie for 15^th with six points.

Georgia also finished with four qualifiers during the first day of the women's competition.  Junior Aaliyah Butler was the first Bulldog to advance to Saturday's final in the 400m.  Training partner Dejanea Oakley joined her teammate in the 400m final two heats later.  A third leg of the 4x400m relay, freshman Michelle Smith, won her heat in the 400m hurdles and punched a ticket to the final.  Finally, Smith, Butler, sophomore Sydney Harris and Oakley combined to complete four laps in the 4x400m relay semifinal as the second-fastest qualifier,

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.

On Wednesday, senior transfer Moustafa Alsherif finished fourth in the javelin to give the Bulldog men a scorer in the event for the fourth straight year.  Also, freshman Jayden Keys complemented his Southeastern Conference long jump title with an eighth-place finish in the event to score for the men.

When Do The Bulldogs Start Day 3: A pair of Bulldog high jumpers – senior transfer Eddie Kurjak and 2025 SEC champion Riyon Rankin – start the action on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Where To Catch The NCAAs: ESPN has exclusive rights to broadcast the meet and will feature the Nationals on ESPN2 this week:
Friday: 5-8 p.m., ESPN2
Saturday: 6-9 p.m., ESPN2

Live Results: To check out live results throughout the four-day season finale, please check: https://gado.gs/da0

The Lowdown: Rotundo, a native of Paysandu, Uruguay, answered an opening foul in the javelin with a second attempt of 60.35m/198-0.  This mark gave the true freshman an early lead and then helped her hold on to the silver medal when all six rounds were complete.  Rotundo's finish was the best for Georgia since Marie-Therese Obst won the 2021 crown.

Davidson, a native of Sydney, Australia, also reached her top distance of 59.03m/193-8 on her second try and this performance secured her fourth place when the final throw was in the ground.  A Texas A&M transfer, Davidson has now scored at the last three NCAA meets after taking second in 2023 and 2024.  The Georgia pair earning scoring All-America honors marked the first time since 2005 when UGA teammates earned top eight finishes in the event in the same season.

In her first season with the Bulldogs last year, Murrell-Ross, a native of St. David's, Grenada, took 19^th.  This time around, the 6-foot-8 shot putter sent the ball 17.80m/58-4.75 on her fifth attempt to lock down sixth place after steadily improving throughout her series.  Murrell-Ross' scoring finish in the shot put is the first for the Georgia women since Rhonda Hackett took third in 2000.

Qualifiers: Butler, a native of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., took control of the 400m semifinal's first heat on the second to last turn and distanced herself in the final straightaway with a 50.16 out of lane six.  She was the top qualifier with her second-fastest time of the year.  Butler will race in the 400m final on Saturday at 10:02 p.m.

Oakley, a native of Clarendon, Jamaica, bettered her No. 3 time in the school record books with a 50.18 to win the third heat from lane seven.  Similar to Butler, Oakley was well in control of her group by the final 100 meters and shot to No. 18 on the collegiate all-time performer list.

Smith, a native of Frederiksted, St. Croix, and a third leg on the relay, shot out of the 400m hurdle blocks in the second heat and won her group and was third overall with a 55.65.  She will race in the final on Saturday at 10:27 p.m.

The aforementioned trio joined sophomore Sydney Harris in the 4x400m relay semis and cruised through to the next round with a 3:26.89.  Speeding to the second-fastest split of the competition (49.96), Butler put Georgia in the lead in the third heat and Harris and Oakley maintained the foursome's top placing.

Junior Kaila Jackson, who was slowed by a minor injury at the NCAA East Prelims, finished 12^th in the 100m semifinal.  She clocked an 11.15, which is her second best this season, to take fifth in the third group.

Redshirt freshman Reign Redmond ran out of the opening heat in the 100m semifinal and finished sixth in her group with an 11.30.  When the event was complete, Redmond took 19^th overall in her first NCAA meet appearance as an individual.

Graduate transfer Erin McMeniman, in her seventh year of collegiate after getting a combined three degrees from Brown and Georgia, completed her career by taking 18^th in the javelin.  She sandwiched a competition best mark of 50.11m/164-5 at her third straight NCAA meet for the Bulldogs.

The first group on the track was Karsen Phillips, Redmond, Sanaa Frederick and Oakley.  The quartet locked up an automatic qualifier after earning runner-up honors in the second heat.  However, Georgia was disqualified for an exchange zone error in the final handoff.

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.

Bulldog Day 1 Scorers
Name                                     Event                          Mark/Time - Place
Moustafa Alsherif M. Javelin                  76.69m/251-7 – 4^th
Jayden Keys                         M. Long Jump           7.80m/25-7.25 – 8^th
Bulldog Day 2 Scorers
Stephanie Ratcliffe              W. Hammer Throw  *71.37m/234-2 – 1^st
Manuela Rotundo                W. Javelin                  60.35m/198-0 – 2^nd
Lianna Davidson                  W. Javelin                  59.03m/193-8
Kelsie Murrell-Ross             W. Shot Put               17.80m/58-4.75
*national leading mark

Bulldog Day 2 Qualifiers
Name                                                 Event                          Mark/Time - Place
Aaliyah Butler                                   W. 400m                    50.16 – 1^st
Dejanea Oakely W. 400m                    ^50.18 – 2^nd
Smiith, Butler, Harris, Oakley    W. 4x400m Relay    3:26.89 – 2^nd
Michelle Smith                                 W. 400mH                 55.65 – 3^rd
^personal best mark

Ratcliffe Captures Hammer Title To Highlight Four Scorers At NCAA T&F

Players Mentioned

Moustafa Alsherif

Aaliyah Butler

Lianna Davidson

Sanaa Frederick

Sydney Harris

Kaila Jackson

Jayden Keys

Eddie Kurjak

Erin McMeniman

Kelsie Murrell-Ross

Dejanea Oakley

Karsen Phillips

Riyon Rankin

Stephanie Ratcliffe

Reign Redmond

Manuela Rotundo

Michelle Smith

Related Videos