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T/F: Georgia Women Win Indoor National Title
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Senior Dejanea Oakley upgraded her bronze in 2025 to gold in the 400-meter dash with a national record and redshirt freshman Adaejah Oakley debuted with a national title in the 200m to lead Georgia to its second indoor national team title in history during the final day of the NCAA Indoor Championships Saturday.
The Lady Bulldogs scored 53 points to top Oregon (44), Illinois (42), Arkansas (37) and BYU (27), among many others, at the Randal Tyson Track Center.
The Georgia men finished with 11.5 points, taking 25th. Arkansas (73.5), Oregon (40) and Florida (26) made up the top three as the meet concluded.
Oakley assumed the lead in the 400m final at the break and then held the rail through the final two turns to run a Jamaican national record 50.47 in the first heat that finished as the competition’s top time. This moved her to No. 2 in the school record books and made her the No. 10 all-time collegiate performer in the event. Two-time Olympic gold medalist Shaunae Miller (now Miller-Uibo) is the last Lady Bulldog to win the NCAA 400m in 2013.
Hodge came out of the blocks in the 200m final and left the field behind to lock down her first individual national title. This marked the first championship in the event for UGA since five-time Olympian and three-time Olympic medalist Debbie Ferguson won in 1996. Hodge scored a total of 18 points for Georgia after also taking second in the 60m on Saturday.
On Friday, sophomore Jayden Keys worked up to match his season best (7.89 meters/25 feet, 10 ¾ inches) in the long jump to finish eighth after coming into the meet seeded 13th, and scored a point at the Randal Tyson Track Center. This scored the men their first point and earned him a First Team All-America certificate for the first time in his career.
Here is a look at Saturday’s highlights:
- Junior Kimani Jack posted a pair of three attempt clearances in the high jump to tie for the bronze medal.
- Junior Nina Ndubuisi entered the NCAA Championships with the eighth-best shot put mark and left with a bronze medal.
- Sophomore Skylynn Townsend turned her first chance at Nationals into her first All-America certificate in the triple jump with an eighth-place finish.
- Georgia’s first action on the track for day two was Hodge and senior Kaila Jackson in the women’s 60m final. Hodge leaned at the line to pick up a silver by .004 while Jackson scored in the event for the fourth consecutive year with a sixth-place showing.
- In the heat after Oakley set the tone in the women’s 400m, graduate transfer Shaquena Foote improved from 14th at the 2025 meet while with San Diego State to fifth at this year’s Nationals with a personal record of her own.
- Freshman Jonathan Simms managed a second-place finish in his heat and was fourth overall when the second heat was complete in his first 400m final.
- Yet another freshman, Maddi Cooper, matched Tara Davis’ sixth-place finish in the 60m hurdles from the 2018 NCAA Indoor Championships to bump Georgia’s total up another three points. Georgia won its first national indoor championship in 2018.
- The women’s 4x400m relay put the finishing touches on the competition with a school record that led them to a silver medal.
Where to Catch the NCAA Championships: Live streaming of the NCAA meet aired on ESPN+ on Friday and Saturday. The broadcast talent included Dwight Stones, Dan O’Brien, Larra Overton and John Anderson.
A tape delay special of the Championships will air on ESPNU on Sunday at 7 p.m.
The Lowdown: Jack, a native of London in his first year with the Bulldogs, went over his first two high jump bars on his opening attempt before grinding out his final two heights. He went to his third try at 2.18 meters/7 feet, 1 ¾ inches and cleared before soaring over the bar at 2.21m/7-3 on his final attempt. Jack made a pair of unsuccessful attempts at 2.24m/7-4.25 before passing for one final try at 2.27m/7-5.25, which came up short. This marks the third consecutive year that Georgia has scored in the event.
Ndubuisi, a native of Stuttgart, Germany, made a 3.5-foot improvement from her first to her second attempt before elevating her performance another notch in the third and fourth rounds. She reached a school record 18.04m/59-2.25 on her third try, topping her 58-10 school record set earlier this season in the same facility. Then on her fourth attempt, Ndubuisi’s ball traveled 18.16m/59-7 to further strengthen her third-place finish and establish a fresh No. 1 mark atop UGA’s top 10 list.
Townsend, who hails from Prosper, Texas, bounced back from an opening foul to collect her best mark of the competition on her second try. Her triple jump measured 13.36m/43-10 and that put her in the final and kept her in the eighth and final scoring spot.
Hodge, who only had six events between the 60m final and the 200m final, came into the 60m final with the fourth-best time during the regular season. On Saturday, she shot across the line in 7.15 (7.142) to edge Tarleton State’s Victoria Cameron by .004 for the coveted second place. Jackson had placed herself in the top three in 2023-25 at the meet and came across in sixth this year with a 7.22. She was 14th on the national list coming into the meet.
Foote, who, like Oakley, is from Jamaica, ran in the second heat of the 400m final, and her third-place finish in her group was strong enough for fifth overall. Foote ran a personal best 51.13, which improved her No. 5 spot on Georgia’s all-time top 10 list. This gave the Georgia women two scorers in the event for the second year in a row.
Simms battled for second in the opening heat and was then dropped down to fourth overall following the second heat with his 45.11. The Bulldogs have now had four top-four finishes in a row at the 2023-26 NCAA Indoor Championship in the men’s 400m after going back-to-back-to-back.
After 22.55 had been set as the time to beat in the 200m after the first heat, Hodge registered a blistering 22.22 out of the second group to collect her title. This improved her standing as the No. 4 all-time collegiate performer at the school, facility, and British Virgin Islands records.
Cooper, who is racing in her first collegiate season out of Atlanta, came out of lane six to finish sixth with a matching 8.04 from the prelims. She entered the meet with the nation’s ninth-best time.
The Lady Bulldogs smashed the school record with a 3:24.48 for second in the meet’s final event for the women, and left with the fourth-fastest time in the event in collegiate history. Foote, Skylar Brazzell, Vimbayi Maisvorewa and Oakley combined to leave the school’s previous record set at the 2025 NCAA indoor meet far behind. Maisvorewa’s 50.50 split on the third leg was complemented by Oakley’s 50.31 on the final handoff to clinch the spot.
Up Next: The Bulldogs start the outdoor season next weekend at the Yellow Jacket Invitational on March 20-21.
| Medalists | ||
| Name | Event | Mark/Time – Finish |
|---|---|---|
| SATURDAY | ||
| Dejanea Oakley | W. 400m | $50.47 – 1st |
| Adaejah Hodge | W. 200m | ~22.22 – 1st |
| Adaejah Hodge | W. 60m | 7.15 – 2nd |
| W. 4x400m Relay | &3:24.48 | |
| Nina Ndubuisi | W. Shot Put | ^18.16m/59-7 – 3rd |
| Kimani Jack | M. High Jump | 2.21m/7-3 – T-3rd |
| Additional Scorers | ||
| FRIDAY | ||
| Jayden Keys | M. Long Jump | 7.89m/25-10.75 – 8th |
| SATURDAY | ||
| Jonathan Simms | M. 400m | 45.11 – 4th |
| Shaquena Foote | W. 400m | *51.13 – 5th |
| Kaila Jackson | W. 60m | 7.22 – 6th |
| Maddi Cooper | W. 60mH | 8.04 – 6th |
| Skylynn Townsend | W. Triple Jump | 13.36m/43-10 – 8th |
$No. 10 all-time collegiate performer, personal best; ^school record; *personal best; ~school record, school/facility/British Virgin Islands record, No. 4 all-time collegiate performer with No. 6 all-time all-time collegiate performance; &school record, No. 4 all-time collegiate performance
Men’s Standings (Top 10)
1st – Arkansas (73.5 points)
2nd – Oregon (40)
3rd – Florida (26)
4th – Auburn (24)
4th – Kansas State (24)
6th – Texas A&M (21)
7th – BYU (20)
7th – Northern Arizona (20)
7th – South Carolina (20)
10th – Iowa (19)
Women’s standings (Top 10)
1st – GEORGIA (53)
2nd – Oregon (44)
3rd – Illinois (42)
4th – Arkansas (37)
5th – BYU (27)
5th – Florida (27)
7th – Kansas State (25)
8th – South Carolina (24)
9th – Texas Tech (21)
10th – Clemson (20)
10th – New Mexico (20)
WTEN: Dawgs Fall To Longhorns in Austin
AUSTIN, Texas. — No. 1 Georgia women’s tennis (10-3, 5-2 SEC) fell on the road to No. 9 Texas (11-3, 6-1 SEC), 4-1, on Saturday at the Texas Tennis Center, marking the Bulldogs’ third loss of the season.
Fast Facts
- Georgia still leads the all-time series against Texas, 14-6, but has lost the last two meetings between the programs.
- Anastasiia Lopata and Patricija Paukstyte opened doubles with a dominant 6-0 win over Texas’ No. 50 Elizabeth Ionescu and Christasha McNeil on court two.
- Texas answered on court three as Carmen Herea and Mathilde Ngijol-Carré defeated Emma Dong and Anastasiia Gureva, 6-3.
- Anastasia Abbagnato and Salma Drugdova secured the doubles point for Texas with a 6-3 win over No. 8 Deniz Dilek and Aysegul Mert on court one.
- The Bulldogs struggled to gain momentum in singles, with Emma Dong providing Georgia’s lone point in a 7-6, 6-1 win over Ionescu. Dong’s win marked her fifth straight singles victory.
Results
Doubles:
1. Anastasia Abbagnato/Salma Drugdova (TEX) def. #8 Deniz Dilek/Aysegul Mert (UGA): 6-3
2. Anastasiia Lopata/Patricija Paukstyte (UGA) def. #50 Elizabeth Ionescu/Christasha McNeil (TEX): 6-0
3. Carmen Herea/Mathilde Ngijol-Carré (TEX) def. Emma Dong/Anastasiia Gureva (UGA): 6-3
Singles:
1. #1 Carmen Herea (TEX) def. #6 Aysegul Mert (UGA): 7-6(5), 6-2
2. #16 Anastasia Abbagnato (TEX) def. #37 Anastasiia Lopata (UGA): 2-6, 6-3, 6-1
3. #48 Deniz Dilek (UGA) vs. #81 Eszter Meri (TEX): 4-6, 6-2, 2-1, unfinished
4. #36 Anastasiia Gureva (UGA) vs. Christasha McNeil (TEX): 3-2, 6-2, 5-3, unfinished
5. Emma Dong (UGA) def. Elizabeth Ionescu (TEX): 7-6(9), 6-1
6. Mathilde Ngijol-Carré (TEX) def. #61 Sofia Rojas (UGA): 6-0, 6-2
Order of finish: Doubles (2, 3, 1); Singles (6, 1, 5, 2)
Up Next
The No. 1 Bulldogs return to Athens to face No. 23 Florida on Friday, March 19 at 5 p.m. ET before a top-five matchup against No. 3 Auburn on Saturday, March 21 at 3 p.m. ET at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
BSB: Dawgs Even Series with Vols
The sixth-ranked Georgia Bulldogs defeated No. 21 Tennessee, 4-2, on Saturday at Foley Field, to earn Georgia’s first Southeastern Conference win of the season.
Fast Facts
- Junior Dylan Vigue (3-1) made the start for Georgia, dishing 4.2 innings of two-hit baseball while striking out five.
- Senior Michael O’Shaughnessy (2-for-3, RBI) put the Bulldogs on the board in the second inning with a solo shot to left field to extend his hitting streak to 11 games.
- Senior Ryan Black (2-for-4, 2 RBI) followed up O’Shaughnessy’s home run with a two-run blast in the third inning for his fifth homer of the year and 12th consecutive game with a hit.
- With singles in the third and fifth innings, junior Daniel Jackson (2-for-4) extended his hitting streak to 17 games.
- Redshirt sophomore Paul Farley (2-0) earned the win after coming in to relieve Vigue the fifth frame with Georgia leading by one and a runner on second, securing the third out to maintain the Bulldogs’ lead.
- The Bulldogs added another run in the sixth frame when junior Jack Arcamone (1-for-2, RBI) drove in sophomore Henry Allen on a single to right field.
- Graduate Caden Aoki (2-0) fired 4.0 scoreless innings in relief and struck out six to earn his second save of the year and secure the win for Georgia.
Key Quotes
Ike Cousins Head Baseball Coach Wes Johnson
On Caden Aoki’s performance in the eighth inning…
“He’s a guy who’s been in the fire, and those moments aren’t too big for him. He was really calm out there. He didn’t get sped up and kept executing pitches. That’s what it takes in those moments. Tennessee’s a very good baseball team, and when you’re in those situations, you have to execute your pitch. They’re trying to execute their plan, and Caden did what he needed to do. He can do so many things. He can start, come in in relief, close. He can do whatever we need him to do.”
#4 Michael O’Shaughnessy | INF | Sr.
On the anticipation playing in the SEC…
“This atmosphere tonight was awesome. There is nothing like it. Today and yesterday, I know we saw some in non-conference play, but there were goosebumps today. There were goosebumps yesterday. It was an awesome feeling.”
#12 Caden Aoki | Sr. | RHP
On his performance in the eighth inning…
“I just look at it as fun. You want to pitch in those big moments, so I just had to attack the strike zone and keep playing loose and keep going.”
Up Next
Georgia (16-4, 1-1 SEC) will close out the three-game series against the Volunteers (14-5, 1-1 SEC) on Sunday afternoon with first pitch set for 1 p.m. The game will be available to stream on SEC Network+ and the Georgia Bulldogs Sports Network.
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