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T/F: Dawgs looking toward Paris later this summer

The Georgia track and field teams will be aiming to add a number of qualifiers for the 2024 Olympic Games as the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials start at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., today.

Five current Bulldogs and nine former Georgia standouts will compete in their home country’s Trials between June 21-30.  The meet is being held on the University of Oregon campus where the Bulldog men and women recently finished ninth and 10^th, respectively, at the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Championships (June 5-8).  The top three finishers in each event at the Trials will advance to the Olympic Games in Tokyo (August 1-11), barring the athletes have the standard mark/time necessary in their event.

Events begin with the opening competition of the decathlon (100-meter dash) at 1 p.m. ET.  Kyle Garland and Devon Williams will be aiming for each of their first spots on Team USA for the Games in the multi-events.  Four Lady Bulldogs – Aaliyah Butler, Kimberly Harris, Lynna Irby (former), Bailey Lear (current assistant) will begin the action on the women’s side in the first round of the 400m at 6:48 p.m. on day one. 

Schedule: http://gado.gs/byw

The meet will be shown on NBC, Peacock and USA.  Here is the complete television/webcast schedule: http://gado.gs/byx

The aforementioned group will join current student-athletes Marc Minichello (men’s javelin) and Erin McMeniman (women’s javelin) and former Bulldogs (Kendal Williams (men’s 100m), Matthew Boling (men’s 200m/400m), Elija Godwin (400m), Jamari Drake (women’s high jump), Keturah Orji (women’s triple jump) and Titiana Marsh (women’s triple jump).  Irby is also qualified to run in the 200m.

Orji competed at the 2016 Olympics as well as the 2021 Games, taking fourth in the triple jump eight years ago.

Results and recaps from the coming Trials 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.

MEN

Kendal Williams – 100m

Matthew Boling – 200m/400m

Elija Godwin – 400m

Marc Minichello – javelin

Kyle Garland – decathlon

Devon Williams – decathlon

WOMEN

Lynna Irby – 200m/400m

Aaliyah Butler – 400m

Bailey Lear – 400m

Kimberly Harris – 400m

Jamari Drake – high jump

Keturah Orji – triple jump

Titiana Marsh – triple jump

Erin McMeniman – javelin

T/F: Christopher Morales Williams is a semifinalist for The Bowerman

 For the fourth consecutive year, a Bulldog is a semifinalist for The Bowerman as sophomore Christopher Morales Williams was included as one of the 10 selected, according to an announcement from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Thursday.

The Bowerman, which is collegiate track and field’s Heisman Trophy given to the most outstanding male and female NCAA athletes in the nation, was first awarded in 2009.  The first official watch lists and semifinalists were announced in 2010.  This year’s finalists will be announced on June 24 (women) and June 25 (men).

Morales Williams, a native of Vaughn, Ontario, joins Kyle Garland (2022-23) and Karel Tilga (2021) as the last Bulldog semifinalists.  The only four-time Bowerman semifinalist on the women’s side in history is also the Bulldogs’ only Bowerman winner.  Keturah Orji was named a semifinalist from 2015-18, earned a spot as a finalist in 2016-17 and won the 2018 honor.  In addition, Garland is now a two-time semifinalist, Kendell Williams (2014, 2016-17) was a three-time semifinalist and the following Bulldogs were named a semifinalist once: Maicel Uibo (2015), Denzel Comenentia (2018), Tilga (2021).  The Georgia women had two semifinalists in 2016-17 (Orji, Williams) and 2018 (Orji, Lynna Irby).

Morales Williams has been named the USTFCCCA South Region Men’s Track Athlete of the Year indoors and outdoors.  During his second collegiate indoor campaign, he won the NCAA 400m title with No. 5 collegiate time in history (44.67).  Two weeks before Nationals, Morales Williams clocked the collegiate/Canadian record of 44.49 to win SEC 400m championship with world’s best indoor time in history.  He also registered a 32.47 in the 300m at the Clemson Invitational, making him the No. 6 all-time collegiate performer in the event.  Additionally, the USTFCCCA National Men’s Athlete of the Week won the 400m at the Tiger Paw Invitational and New Balance Collegiate Showdown during the regular season.

Outdoors, Morales Williams completed the sweep of being named the indoor-outdoor SEC Men’s Runner of the Year.  He won Georgia’s first NCAA 400m outdoor title with a 44.47 to help guide the Bulldogs to a ninth-place team finish.  Morales Williams set Canadian/school/meet/facility records with a 44.05 to win SEC 400m championship, becoming No. 6 all-time collegiate performer.  He is the current world leader in the 400m and also helped pace the 4x100m relay team that qualified out of the NCAA East Prelims (39.29) in May.

While the collegiate season is now complete, a number of Bulldogs are expected to compete at a variety of summer meets.  Morales Williams will represent Georgia at the Bell Track & Field Trials/Canadian Championships at the Centre Claude-Robillard in Montreal on June 26-30.  A number of current and former Bulldogs will also compete in the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore., on June 21-30.  Those who qualify out of their respective countries will compete in the Olympic Games in Paris on Aug. 1-11.

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