University of Georgia Athletics
Track & Field
Janek Oiglane
- Title:
- Assistant Coach - Jumps/Multis
Janek Õiglane was included as a full-time staff member working alongside Ryan Baily during the 2026 summer after serving as a volunteer assistant with the program’s jumps and multi-events for more than five years.
A native of Estonia, Õiglane has played a pivotal part in Georgia’s three recent women’s national team championships (2025 outdoor, 2026 indoor/outdoor) by guiding a host of Bulldogs to individual SEC and NCAA titles. Most recently, he and Baily’s training group made 11 improvements to the school’s all-time top 10 lists, including establishing school records in both the men’s indoor and outdoor high jump and outdoor pole vault. Thanks to senior transfer Kimani Jack sweeping the conference high jump crowns and capping his career with the 2026 NCAA outdoor high jump title, the jumpers and combined event athletes tallied six First Team All-America certificates and 13 top eight scoring spots at the SEC indoor and outdoor meets last year.
In addition to Jack, third-year jumper Riyon Rankin earned outdoor All-America honors with a season best high jump effort and newcomer transfer Brion Stephens combined for a pair of top four finishes at the 2026 SEC indoor and outdoor meets. The Bulldogs also saw success in the long jump, decathlon and pole vault on the men’s side. Sophomore Jayden Keys displayed his consistency by scoring in the long jump at both the indoor and outdoor SEC and NCAA Championships and with convincing seasons bests indoors and outdoors. Fellow second-year competitor Maximus Tucker followed up his silver medal in the heptathlon at the 2026 SEC Indoor Championships with the 10th-best decathlon score (7,786) in school history to win the Spec Towns Invite outdoors. Tucker advanced to the NCAA Championships and registered the No. 3 all-time Canadian decathlon 1500m time (4:07.25) to highlight the performance. Finally for the men, senior Nikolai van Huyssteen finished second at his final SEC indoor meet with a school record pole vault mark of 5.60m/18-4.50.
For the women, a group of youthful jumpers thrived in their first or second year training with Baily and Õiglane. Sophomore Skylynn Townsend won the 2026 SEC indoor triple jump title with the No. 6 mark in school history (13.50m/44-3.50) and then scored a point with an eighth-place finish at Nationals during Georgia’s run to the title. Her training partner, sophomore Danah Nembhard, advanced to her first NCAA Outdoor Championsihps on a triple jump PB of 13.48m/44-2.75 after building steam during the indoor campaign with a runner-up SEC finish (13.30m/43-7.75). First-year long jumper Chelsi Williams recorded a team best outdoor mark of 6.43m/21-1.25 to win the Hurricane Invite. Indoors, another freshman, Ava Kitchings, took sixth at SECs thanks to matching long jump marks of 6.43m/21-1.25.
In addition, senior Ella Rush continued her development under her tutelage at Georgia to win the heptathlon at the Spec Town Invite with a PR (5,797) and advance to the NCAA Championships after taking eighth in the pentathlon at the SEC indoor meet.
In 2025, Georgia’s jumpers and combined events group played a key role in clinching the program’s first NCAA women’s outdoor title. Elena Kulichenko posted a season best of 1.96m/6-5 to win her first outright high jump crown in her final collegiate competition. Townsend surprised the field by taking sixth with the seventh-best mark in school history (13.52m/44-4.25) to help the Bulldogs leave the competition behind by 26 points at the meet’s conclusion.
Kulichenko tied for the 2025 NCAA indoor title thanks to a clearance of 1.94m/6-4.25. This performance came two weeks after Kulichenko became the No. 12 all-time collegiate performer with a school record mark of 1.95m/6-4.75 that earned her runner-up honors at the SEC Championships. While Townsend locked down the eighth-best indoor triple jump in UGA history (13.36m/43-10), Rush was an NCAA indoor qualifier after scoring 4,217 points in the pentathlon and was third in the heptathlon at the SEC Outdoor Championships.
The men also generated three SEC crowns and four First Team All-America certificates in 2025. Rankin built on his runner-up performance at the NCAA Indoor Championships to win the SEC outdoor championship with a personal best showing of 2.29m/7-6, which ranked tops in the nation and No. 3 in UGA history . His training partner, transfer Eddie Kurjak, stormed on to the scene at outdoor Nationals and scored with a tie for eighth in the high jump (2.15m/7-0.50).
A pair of underclassmen also began to show the benefits of training under Baily and Õiglane. Keys scored at his first NCAA indoor meet after winning both the SEC Outdoor Championships (personal best 7.95m/26-1, No. 8 in NCAA 2025) and the league’s indoor meet (personal best 7.92/26-0, No. 5 in NCAA 2025). Micah Larry also traveled the nation’s seventh-best long jump distance (7.89m/25-10.75) to finish fourth at the 2025 NCAA Indoor Championships.
Also of note, Van Huyssteen set the outdoor school record in the pole vault with a fourth-place finish at SECs (5.50m/18-0.50). UGA’s combined event athletes continued to improve as Jordan Fick narrowly missed the NCAA Championships after scoring 7,598 points in the decathlon. He was third at the SEC meet while Tucker earned silver medal honors. Fick was also a bronze medal winner at the SEC Indoor Championships with 5,660 heptathlon points.
During the 2024 season, Õiglane’s event areas established 10 fresh marks to Georgia’s all-time top 10 lists, including two school records, had six scoring First Team All-Americans, including a national champion, and left with a pair of SEC individual title winners.
The high jump particularly benefitted from the guidance of Bailey and Õiglane. Kulichenko posted matching bronze medal performances and 1.91m/6-3.25 clearances at the 2024 SEC and NCAA Championships indoors before elevating her performances to an even greater level outdoors. Kulichenko soared over the bar at a Cypriot, school and meet record mark of 1.97m/6-5.50 to tie for the NCAA outdoor crown and move to No. 4 on the all-time collegiate performer’s list. The 2024 SEC outdoor champion won nine competitions in 2024, clearing at least 1.84m/6-0.50 in all of her meets. The coaching staff went on to help Kulichenko take seventh at the Paris Olympics (1.95m/6-4.75).
On the men’s side, Rankin earned a pair of First Team All-America certificates in the high jump during his freshman year. Rankin had indoor and outdoor seasons bests of 2.21m/7-3 during his first year in the program. Also in jumps, newcomer Zavien Wolfe posted fourth and fifth place finishes in the triple and long, respectively, at the 2024 SEC Indoors while Larry soared 7.80m/25-7.25 to command the silver medal at the league’s outdoor meet in his first season.
Õiglane was instrumental in a breakout season for Van Huyssteen in the pole vault as well as a stellar finale for triple jumper Mikeisha Welcome. Van Huyssteen shattered the school record with a mark of 5.42m/17-9.25 at the NCAA East Prelims to punch his ticket to Nationals and was the SEC runner-up indoors and outdoors. Welcome was in the top eight at both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships, topping out with a bronze media finish indoors, and won the SEC indoor title in her final year.
Also of note, Rush won the long jump in both SEC combined event competitions and moved into UGA’s all-time top 10 list in the hep with her third place showing (5,606 points) at SECs.
Complementing Kulichenko’s success at the Olympic Games, Bailey and Õiglane coached former Lady Bulldog SEC and NCAA champion and current UGA Athletic Association employee Chanice Porter to a spot on Team Jamaica in the long jump.
Õiglane’s contributions include helping to lead former Bulldog champion Kyle Garland to a bronze medal in the decathlon at the 2025 World Championships after Garland set a collegiate record in the heptathlon (8,720 points) for the 2023 NCAA crown and a runner-up finish in the decathlon at NCAA Outdoors that year.
Completed his Estonian military service in 2017, Õiglane is a six-time World Championships competitor with three top six finishes. He was fifth in the decathlon at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games while simultaneously working as a volunteer assistant for UGA.
Õiglane is married to Kendra Õiglane and they have one son, Theo Õiglane.
A native of Estonia, Õiglane has played a pivotal part in Georgia’s three recent women’s national team championships (2025 outdoor, 2026 indoor/outdoor) by guiding a host of Bulldogs to individual SEC and NCAA titles. Most recently, he and Baily’s training group made 11 improvements to the school’s all-time top 10 lists, including establishing school records in both the men’s indoor and outdoor high jump and outdoor pole vault. Thanks to senior transfer Kimani Jack sweeping the conference high jump crowns and capping his career with the 2026 NCAA outdoor high jump title, the jumpers and combined event athletes tallied six First Team All-America certificates and 13 top eight scoring spots at the SEC indoor and outdoor meets last year.
In addition to Jack, third-year jumper Riyon Rankin earned outdoor All-America honors with a season best high jump effort and newcomer transfer Brion Stephens combined for a pair of top four finishes at the 2026 SEC indoor and outdoor meets. The Bulldogs also saw success in the long jump, decathlon and pole vault on the men’s side. Sophomore Jayden Keys displayed his consistency by scoring in the long jump at both the indoor and outdoor SEC and NCAA Championships and with convincing seasons bests indoors and outdoors. Fellow second-year competitor Maximus Tucker followed up his silver medal in the heptathlon at the 2026 SEC Indoor Championships with the 10th-best decathlon score (7,786) in school history to win the Spec Towns Invite outdoors. Tucker advanced to the NCAA Championships and registered the No. 3 all-time Canadian decathlon 1500m time (4:07.25) to highlight the performance. Finally for the men, senior Nikolai van Huyssteen finished second at his final SEC indoor meet with a school record pole vault mark of 5.60m/18-4.50.
For the women, a group of youthful jumpers thrived in their first or second year training with Baily and Õiglane. Sophomore Skylynn Townsend won the 2026 SEC indoor triple jump title with the No. 6 mark in school history (13.50m/44-3.50) and then scored a point with an eighth-place finish at Nationals during Georgia’s run to the title. Her training partner, sophomore Danah Nembhard, advanced to her first NCAA Outdoor Championsihps on a triple jump PB of 13.48m/44-2.75 after building steam during the indoor campaign with a runner-up SEC finish (13.30m/43-7.75). First-year long jumper Chelsi Williams recorded a team best outdoor mark of 6.43m/21-1.25 to win the Hurricane Invite. Indoors, another freshman, Ava Kitchings, took sixth at SECs thanks to matching long jump marks of 6.43m/21-1.25.
In addition, senior Ella Rush continued her development under her tutelage at Georgia to win the heptathlon at the Spec Town Invite with a PR (5,797) and advance to the NCAA Championships after taking eighth in the pentathlon at the SEC indoor meet.
In 2025, Georgia’s jumpers and combined events group played a key role in clinching the program’s first NCAA women’s outdoor title. Elena Kulichenko posted a season best of 1.96m/6-5 to win her first outright high jump crown in her final collegiate competition. Townsend surprised the field by taking sixth with the seventh-best mark in school history (13.52m/44-4.25) to help the Bulldogs leave the competition behind by 26 points at the meet’s conclusion.
Kulichenko tied for the 2025 NCAA indoor title thanks to a clearance of 1.94m/6-4.25. This performance came two weeks after Kulichenko became the No. 12 all-time collegiate performer with a school record mark of 1.95m/6-4.75 that earned her runner-up honors at the SEC Championships. While Townsend locked down the eighth-best indoor triple jump in UGA history (13.36m/43-10), Rush was an NCAA indoor qualifier after scoring 4,217 points in the pentathlon and was third in the heptathlon at the SEC Outdoor Championships.
The men also generated three SEC crowns and four First Team All-America certificates in 2025. Rankin built on his runner-up performance at the NCAA Indoor Championships to win the SEC outdoor championship with a personal best showing of 2.29m/7-6, which ranked tops in the nation and No. 3 in UGA history . His training partner, transfer Eddie Kurjak, stormed on to the scene at outdoor Nationals and scored with a tie for eighth in the high jump (2.15m/7-0.50).
A pair of underclassmen also began to show the benefits of training under Baily and Õiglane. Keys scored at his first NCAA indoor meet after winning both the SEC Outdoor Championships (personal best 7.95m/26-1, No. 8 in NCAA 2025) and the league’s indoor meet (personal best 7.92/26-0, No. 5 in NCAA 2025). Micah Larry also traveled the nation’s seventh-best long jump distance (7.89m/25-10.75) to finish fourth at the 2025 NCAA Indoor Championships.
Also of note, Van Huyssteen set the outdoor school record in the pole vault with a fourth-place finish at SECs (5.50m/18-0.50). UGA’s combined event athletes continued to improve as Jordan Fick narrowly missed the NCAA Championships after scoring 7,598 points in the decathlon. He was third at the SEC meet while Tucker earned silver medal honors. Fick was also a bronze medal winner at the SEC Indoor Championships with 5,660 heptathlon points.
During the 2024 season, Õiglane’s event areas established 10 fresh marks to Georgia’s all-time top 10 lists, including two school records, had six scoring First Team All-Americans, including a national champion, and left with a pair of SEC individual title winners.
The high jump particularly benefitted from the guidance of Bailey and Õiglane. Kulichenko posted matching bronze medal performances and 1.91m/6-3.25 clearances at the 2024 SEC and NCAA Championships indoors before elevating her performances to an even greater level outdoors. Kulichenko soared over the bar at a Cypriot, school and meet record mark of 1.97m/6-5.50 to tie for the NCAA outdoor crown and move to No. 4 on the all-time collegiate performer’s list. The 2024 SEC outdoor champion won nine competitions in 2024, clearing at least 1.84m/6-0.50 in all of her meets. The coaching staff went on to help Kulichenko take seventh at the Paris Olympics (1.95m/6-4.75).
On the men’s side, Rankin earned a pair of First Team All-America certificates in the high jump during his freshman year. Rankin had indoor and outdoor seasons bests of 2.21m/7-3 during his first year in the program. Also in jumps, newcomer Zavien Wolfe posted fourth and fifth place finishes in the triple and long, respectively, at the 2024 SEC Indoors while Larry soared 7.80m/25-7.25 to command the silver medal at the league’s outdoor meet in his first season.
Õiglane was instrumental in a breakout season for Van Huyssteen in the pole vault as well as a stellar finale for triple jumper Mikeisha Welcome. Van Huyssteen shattered the school record with a mark of 5.42m/17-9.25 at the NCAA East Prelims to punch his ticket to Nationals and was the SEC runner-up indoors and outdoors. Welcome was in the top eight at both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships, topping out with a bronze media finish indoors, and won the SEC indoor title in her final year.
Also of note, Rush won the long jump in both SEC combined event competitions and moved into UGA’s all-time top 10 list in the hep with her third place showing (5,606 points) at SECs.
Complementing Kulichenko’s success at the Olympic Games, Bailey and Õiglane coached former Lady Bulldog SEC and NCAA champion and current UGA Athletic Association employee Chanice Porter to a spot on Team Jamaica in the long jump.
Õiglane’s contributions include helping to lead former Bulldog champion Kyle Garland to a bronze medal in the decathlon at the 2025 World Championships after Garland set a collegiate record in the heptathlon (8,720 points) for the 2023 NCAA crown and a runner-up finish in the decathlon at NCAA Outdoors that year.
Completed his Estonian military service in 2017, Õiglane is a six-time World Championships competitor with three top six finishes. He was fifth in the decathlon at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games while simultaneously working as a volunteer assistant for UGA.
Õiglane is married to Kendra Õiglane and they have one son, Theo Õiglane.
Sunday, June 14
Sunday, June 14
Sunday, June 14
Saturday, June 13
