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Keturah Orji secures her Olympic triple jump spot

 

Six years removed from leading the Georgia women to the 2018 NCAA indoor championship, Keturah Orji won her seventh U.S. outdoor triple jump title to lock down her spot at the Olympics during day two of the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials in Eugene, Ore., Saturday.

Fast Facts

• Orji, a native of Mount Olive, N.J., traveled the second-longest distance of the meet on her sixth try (14.22 meters/46 feet, 8 inches) to earn a spot on Team USA for the coming Olympics.  Fourth in the triple jump at the 2016 Games, Orji was seventh at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo.
• Georgia also had three qualifiers for event finals.  Jamari Drake posted three clearances in the high jump, including at a season-best height, to punch her ticket to Monday’s final.  Current Lady Bulldog Aaliyah Butler was second in the opening heat of the women’s 400-meter dash to automatically qualify for Sunday’s final thanks to her 50.01.  Former Georgia standout Lynna Irby-Jackson will join Butler in the 400m after winning the third heat with a season best 50.17 for fifth overall. 
• Yet another former Georgia sprinter got an invitation to the 100m semifinal.  Kendal Williams was third in his heat and eighth overall in the opening round of the men’s 100m to move on to the next round on Sunday.
• Georgia also had a pair of representatives in the multi-events.  Former Bulldog NCAA champion Kyle Garland started day two of the decathlon in third.  However, the Philadelphia, Pa., native sustained a leg injury prior to the ninth event (pole vault) and had to pull out of the competition.  Fellow former Georgia NCAA champion Devon Williams stood in sixth place after the first five events before surging into fourth with 8,211 points. 

Up Next:

Kendal Williams will race in the 100m semifinal at 8:48 p.m. before Marc Minichello aims for an invite to the Games in the javelin at 9:40 p.m. on Sunday.

Charlie Condon wins the Golden Spikes Award

Georgia’s Charlie Condon capped an amazing season here Saturday when he became the 46^th winner of the Golden Spikes Award, it was announced during a live presentation on ESPN before game one of the College World Series Finals.

Created in 1978, the Golden Spikes Award honors the top amateur baseball player in the United States based on their athletic ability, sportsmanship, character, and overall contribution to the sport. Condon was the fifth finalist in Georgia program history and the first to win the award bestowed by USA Baseball and sponsor Chinook Seedery. The other finalists this year were infielder Travis Bazzana (Oregon State) and pitcher Hagen Smith (Arkansas).

“In a season that featured outstanding individual efforts from a wide range of players, Charlie Condon stood above the rest,” said Paul Seiler, USA Baseball’s Executive Director/CEO. “Charlie’s 2024 season was nothing short of incredible to watch, and he is greatly deserving of this honor. We are excited for Charlie to join our brotherhood of Golden Spikes Award winners and look forward to celebrating his special season.”

“It’s a tribute to the organization as a whole and everybody that’s involved with UGA” said Condon, who could become just the third player in NCAA history to lead the nation in batting average and home runs in the same season. “I share this with everybody that was part of this historic season. It’s a start of something new for Georgia Baseball. I’m real excited to bring this back to Athens for the first time.”

A 6-6, 216-pound redshirt sophomore from Marietta, Ga., Condon currently ranks number one in the NCAA in multiple categories including batting (.433), home runs (a BBCOR-era record 37), slugging percentage (1.009), total bases (233) and OPS (1.565). The 2024 SEC Player of the Year, he ranks third nationally in on-base percentage (.566) while posting a team-high 57 walks, including 28 intentional free passes. He had seven multi-home run games and homered in eight consecutive contests from April 26-May 9, one shy of the NCAA record. He made starts at third base, first base and all three outfield positions. Condon helped lead eighth-ranked Georgia to a 43-17 mark and one win shy of advancing to the CWS in Wes Johnson’s first year at the helm.

“It’s hard to put into words, what a great person Charlie is, he’s got great parents, and he’s a tremendously hard worker,” said Georgia’s Ike Cousins head baseball coach Wes Johnson. “What he did for our program this year, he elevated our program and elevated the game that he plays. He moved around positions in the fall and that ultimately helped him as a baseball player. And now to see the result, it’s impressive. For him to win the Golden Spikes Award, he will have that for the rest of his life, and it’s something for Georgia that we can talk about and recruit with that no other team can this year. It’s like winning the national title. There’s only one national champion, there’s only one Golden Spikes winner, and I’m proud it’s Charlie Condon.”

The 46th winner of the Golden Spikes Award👏#GoDawgs | @CharlieCondon14 pic.twitter.com/i8ytBOiMb0

— Georgia Baseball (@BaseballUGA) June 22, 2024

A consensus All-America selection, Condon was awarded the Dick Howser Trophy, widely considered the Heisman Trophy of college baseball, last week in Omaha during the opening round of the CWS. Earlier this month, he was named the recipient of the Bobby Bragan National Collegiate Slugger Award and the Player of the Year by Baseball America and Perfect Game.

A member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll, he is a finance major. Pitcher Cris Carpenter (1987), pitcher/designated hitter Derek Lilliquist (1987), pitcher Dave Fleming (1990) and shortstop Gordon Beckham (2008) were finalists for the Golden Spikes during their Bulldog career. Condon is the 11^th winner from the Southeastern Conference.

The Golden Spikes Award voting body consists of national baseball media, select professional baseball personnel, USA Baseball staff, and the previous winners of the award, totaling a group of more than 100 voters. Fan voting continued to be a part of the Golden Spikes Award in 2024 and contributed to the total.

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