University of Georgia Athletics
Cox Running With ‘Clean Slate’
June 10, 2026 | Track & Field, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Before she was a young gymnast who later became a very fast hurdler, Taylor Cox did some acting. Growing up in Rahway, N.J., about 25 miles from New York City, Cox went into the city regularly to audition or perform in a variety of shows.
According to the Georgia freshman, from the ages of around 2-10, she was in Marvel's "Jessica Jones," "I Married A Mobster," some PBS KIDS programming, as well as a few other projects and commercials. Some of it was fun, Cox said, but she was also glad when she quit to pursue gymnastics.
"I didn't like it. Well, I did, but I didn't," she said. "I liked being on set and stuff, and I liked that it made me look cool at school, especially when I was little. ... I really didn't like memorizing the script and having to read the script. I just wanted to focus on gymnastics, which I couldn't do while I was going to New York a lot."
Gymnastics was Cox's sport until she was about 14, when she got burned out on it and got tired of dealing with injuries. She thought about doing cheer, "my dream sport," she said, but she thought it would be too much like gymnastics, and she wasn't ready to go that route. Instead, she turned to track. Her mother, Chavon Peele, ran track at NYU, and her father, Jerrell Cox, is also a former track athlete.
"I was always fast. Like, in elementary school, I would race the boys, and I would always beat them," she said.
Cox said she got into a training program that focused on sprints, hurdles and jumps. "I just ended up liking hurdling, but I wasn't that good. I thought I was until I showed my mom the video, and she was like, 'You need to do some work," Cox said with a laugh.
She did, and she got good quickly. Cox holds New Jersey state high school hurdling records in the 55-meter, 60 and 100, and she was a three-time national champion in the 60 and 100. In high school, she was a four-time New Jersey "Meet of Champions" champion in the 60 and 100, meaning she beat all of the top hurdlers from all of the different prep classifications.
"In the beginning, I was just doing it for fun, just having fun with it, but then at some point, when you start understanding the hurdles and how to attack them, then it's like it really comes down to the milliseconds," she said. "I feel like after my sophomore year is when I really started focusing on the technical stuff."
Cox and the top-ranked Georgia women are in Eugene, Ore., this week for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, where the Bulldogs are looking to add another national championship after winning last year's NCAA Outdoor title and this year's NCAA Indoor crown. Cox will compete in the 100-meter hurdles semifinals on Thursday.
At the NCAA East Regional on May 30, Cox set a school record with a time of 12.75, breaking Kendell Williams' nine-year-old program record of 12.82. Cox's 12.75 is tied for the fifth fastest time in the country this year.
The trip to the NCAA Championships caps what has been a challenging year for the freshman. Cox took a long break, nearly two months, in the fall to focus on her mental health. which wasn't in a good place. She said she had been dealing with some depression ever since childhood, and that came with her to Georgia.
Time away from the team, as well as working with Dr. Dylan Firsick and Georgia's Mental Health and Performance staff, made a big difference, Cox said. "But it really came down to what I did on my own," she said. Things like cleaning and organizing her room, making sure she was eating and drinking enough — they all sound simple and basic, but when you're in a bad place mentally, doing much of anything can feel overwhelming.
"Once I started adding all those factors, I felt more awake. When you're in that little funk, it's like everything is just so minimized and just so sad and stuff," she said. "But once I got out of that, I was like, OK, I know what my story is, and I know my potential."
After Cox returned to the team and returned to training, she approached everything with "a clean slate," she said. Cox had a lot of work to do to get back to the shape she wanted to be in, to get back to the spirited, energetic person that she is, but she had the mental and physical tools and support to get there. And part of that was going easy on herself when results weren't what she wanted them to be.
"Once I came to the outdoor season, I just switched my mindset. Like, if I have a bad race, it's nothing to do with my ability, because I know my body, and my body knows what to do. I've proved to myself that I can run fast, that I can run 13.1 (seconds in the 100 hurdles). So, right off the bat, I shouldn't think that just because I run 13.3 that I would never touch 13.1 or better, because I have touched 13.1. It's just a matter of time when I know I can do it," she said.
"Once I switched my mindset, that's really when I started running fast. And once I got that drive back to want to win or want to beat people or want to be the best again, that's when it started reflecting in my races for real."
Cox's times have improved throughout the outdoor season, as she's gotten into peak condition and found peace within herself. She ran a 13.37 at the LSU Battle of the Bayou in early April. She ran 13.23 at the Spec Towns Invitational a week later; she hit 12.95 at the Tom Jones Memorial at Florida the week after that, 13.15 at the Torrin Lawrence Memorial, and she ran 12.81 to place second at the SEC Championships. And then came the East Regional, where she ran faster than ever.
As Cox heads into her first NCAA Championships, she does so with a new, healthy perspective on track and life, she said. She wants to do her best, and the rest will take care of itself.
"I feel like as a freshman, there is no pressure, especially because I'm the only freshman that made it (in her event)," she said. "I am excited, but I'm not putting any expectations on myself. ... I'm just going in with an open mind, open heart, and I'm just going in grateful that I made it."
Staff Writer
Before she was a young gymnast who later became a very fast hurdler, Taylor Cox did some acting. Growing up in Rahway, N.J., about 25 miles from New York City, Cox went into the city regularly to audition or perform in a variety of shows.
According to the Georgia freshman, from the ages of around 2-10, she was in Marvel's "Jessica Jones," "I Married A Mobster," some PBS KIDS programming, as well as a few other projects and commercials. Some of it was fun, Cox said, but she was also glad when she quit to pursue gymnastics.
"I didn't like it. Well, I did, but I didn't," she said. "I liked being on set and stuff, and I liked that it made me look cool at school, especially when I was little. ... I really didn't like memorizing the script and having to read the script. I just wanted to focus on gymnastics, which I couldn't do while I was going to New York a lot."
Gymnastics was Cox's sport until she was about 14, when she got burned out on it and got tired of dealing with injuries. She thought about doing cheer, "my dream sport," she said, but she thought it would be too much like gymnastics, and she wasn't ready to go that route. Instead, she turned to track. Her mother, Chavon Peele, ran track at NYU, and her father, Jerrell Cox, is also a former track athlete.
"I was always fast. Like, in elementary school, I would race the boys, and I would always beat them," she said.
Cox said she got into a training program that focused on sprints, hurdles and jumps. "I just ended up liking hurdling, but I wasn't that good. I thought I was until I showed my mom the video, and she was like, 'You need to do some work," Cox said with a laugh.
She did, and she got good quickly. Cox holds New Jersey state high school hurdling records in the 55-meter, 60 and 100, and she was a three-time national champion in the 60 and 100. In high school, she was a four-time New Jersey "Meet of Champions" champion in the 60 and 100, meaning she beat all of the top hurdlers from all of the different prep classifications.
"In the beginning, I was just doing it for fun, just having fun with it, but then at some point, when you start understanding the hurdles and how to attack them, then it's like it really comes down to the milliseconds," she said. "I feel like after my sophomore year is when I really started focusing on the technical stuff."
Cox and the top-ranked Georgia women are in Eugene, Ore., this week for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, where the Bulldogs are looking to add another national championship after winning last year's NCAA Outdoor title and this year's NCAA Indoor crown. Cox will compete in the 100-meter hurdles semifinals on Thursday.
At the NCAA East Regional on May 30, Cox set a school record with a time of 12.75, breaking Kendell Williams' nine-year-old program record of 12.82. Cox's 12.75 is tied for the fifth fastest time in the country this year.
The trip to the NCAA Championships caps what has been a challenging year for the freshman. Cox took a long break, nearly two months, in the fall to focus on her mental health. which wasn't in a good place. She said she had been dealing with some depression ever since childhood, and that came with her to Georgia.
Time away from the team, as well as working with Dr. Dylan Firsick and Georgia's Mental Health and Performance staff, made a big difference, Cox said. "But it really came down to what I did on my own," she said. Things like cleaning and organizing her room, making sure she was eating and drinking enough — they all sound simple and basic, but when you're in a bad place mentally, doing much of anything can feel overwhelming.
"Once I started adding all those factors, I felt more awake. When you're in that little funk, it's like everything is just so minimized and just so sad and stuff," she said. "But once I got out of that, I was like, OK, I know what my story is, and I know my potential."
After Cox returned to the team and returned to training, she approached everything with "a clean slate," she said. Cox had a lot of work to do to get back to the shape she wanted to be in, to get back to the spirited, energetic person that she is, but she had the mental and physical tools and support to get there. And part of that was going easy on herself when results weren't what she wanted them to be.
"Once I came to the outdoor season, I just switched my mindset. Like, if I have a bad race, it's nothing to do with my ability, because I know my body, and my body knows what to do. I've proved to myself that I can run fast, that I can run 13.1 (seconds in the 100 hurdles). So, right off the bat, I shouldn't think that just because I run 13.3 that I would never touch 13.1 or better, because I have touched 13.1. It's just a matter of time when I know I can do it," she said.
"Once I switched my mindset, that's really when I started running fast. And once I got that drive back to want to win or want to beat people or want to be the best again, that's when it started reflecting in my races for real."
Cox's times have improved throughout the outdoor season, as she's gotten into peak condition and found peace within herself. She ran a 13.37 at the LSU Battle of the Bayou in early April. She ran 13.23 at the Spec Towns Invitational a week later; she hit 12.95 at the Tom Jones Memorial at Florida the week after that, 13.15 at the Torrin Lawrence Memorial, and she ran 12.81 to place second at the SEC Championships. And then came the East Regional, where she ran faster than ever.
As Cox heads into her first NCAA Championships, she does so with a new, healthy perspective on track and life, she said. She wants to do her best, and the rest will take care of itself.
"I feel like as a freshman, there is no pressure, especially because I'm the only freshman that made it (in her event)," she said. "I am excited, but I'm not putting any expectations on myself. ... I'm just going in with an open mind, open heart, and I'm just going in grateful that I made it."
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.
Players Mentioned
Sprints/Hurdles
/ Track & FieldMonday, May 18
Monday, May 18
Monday, May 18
Monday, May 18