Georgia sophomore sprinter Matthew Boling scored in three separate events, including running the anchor leg on the second-place 4×100-meter relay team, to help deliver yet another top-10 finish for the Bulldogs the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore., on Friday.
With the men’s portion of the meet done, Georgia scored 25 points to take eighth with their fifth top-10 finish since 2014. LSU (84 points) captured the men’s team title while Oregon (53), North Carolina A&T (35), Florida (34.5) and USC (33) completed the top-five finishers.
The fourth-ranked Georgia women are leading through six of 21 scored events with 20 points. Oregon (14), Arkansas (13), North Dakota State (13) and Ohio State (13) round out the top five. Other than the decathlon running Wednesday-Thursday and the heptathlon going Friday-Saturday, the meet is set up to be a men’s competition on Wednesday and Friday and a women’s competition on Thursday and Saturday.
The Bulldog men had three scorers in their final day of competition. Leading off with freshman Arian Smith, who also is a receiver for the Bulldog football team, Georgia featured junior Elija Godwin, senior Delano Dunkley and Boling on its 4x100m relay team that scooted past their former school record for runner-up honors. This marks the best finish for a Georgia 4x100m relay team since UGA won the 1984 title.
Boling had a three-race break after the relay and returned to take sixth in the 100m for yet another First Team All-America finish. This marked the first scoring effort in the event since Cejhae Green finished in the top eight in back-to-back seasons in 2017-18.
Near the end of the meet’s third day, Boling added the Bulldogs final four points by jetting to a fifth-place finish in the 200m final.
In the only women’s action, graduate transfer Asya Reynolds knocked out four of her seven events in the heptathlon and is in scoring position (seventh) with 3,439 points. This marks just her third heptathlon for the Lady Bulldogs after rocketing to fifth on the national list while taking third at this year’s SEC Championships.
On Thursday, Georgia had a pair of NCAA champions in Olympic hopefuls senior Marie-Therese Obst (javelin) and junior Karel Tilga (decathlon) to go along with another pair of scorers in sophomore Jasmine Moore (third – long jump) and senior Kayla Smith (fifth – pole vault). In addition, senior Amber Tanner was the top qualifier in the 800m and will race in the final on Saturday.
Unlike their teammates, Tilga and Reynolds advanced to the NCAA Championships from their national rankings and did not have to compete at the NCAA East Prelims two weeks ago.
When Do The Bulldogs Start Day 4: Reynolds will begin her final three events (long jump, javelin, 800m) in the heptathlon on Saturday starting at 2 p.m. ET.
Sophomores Anna Hall and Shelby Tyler will be the first open event competitors on the final day in the high jump at 5:30 p.m.
Where To Catch The NCAAs: ESPN has exclusive rights to broadcast the meet and will feature the Nationals on a variety of platforms:
Saturday: 2-8:30 p.m., ESPN3; 6-8:30 p.m., ESPNU
Live Results:To check out live results throughout the four-day season finale, please check: http://gado.gs/75t
The Lowdown: In only their third time running together, the Bulldog foursome of Smith, Godwin, Dunkley and Boling bettered their time for the second straight race with a school record of 38.54. This edged their 38.57 from the NCAA East Prelims and gave them a silver medal in the event. After Smith put Georgia in position during the first quarter of a lap, Godwin and Dunkley combined to keep the Bulldogs in striking distance with their middle legs. Boling then took off on the final straightaway and surged all the way through the line, finishing just .06 behind LSU’s winning squad. Of note, Georgia’s winning time in 1984 was 39.39.
Boling lined up in the 100m final during his second race of the day and clocked a 10.19 for sixth place. The Houston, Texas, native was behind the field getting out of the blocks but made up ground with his final surge towards the finish line to finish .07 ahead of the seventh-place finisher.
During his third race of the day, Boling held off four other finalists and crossed the finish line in 20.48 for fifth place in the 200m. Only Mel Lattany, who passed the baton with Bulldog great Herschel Walker on the 4x100m relay, has earned three All-America certificates in the outdoor sprints at the same meet in school history (1981).
Reynolds wasted no time picking up a personal record to start the heptathlon. She sped to a 13.68 finish in the 100m hurdles for 1,024 points and was 10th after the first of seven events. Reynolds returned in the high jump and cleared 5-3 on her third and final try at the height. This performance scored her 736 points and dropped her to 17th.
Starting with a toss of 40-6.25 in the shot put, Reynolds fouled on her second attempt. However, she returned on her third try and went 43-1 to score 736 points headed into the day’s finale. This showing put Reynolds in 11th overall and sixth in the event. Reynolds finale for the day came in the 200m as she ran a 24.40 to score 943 and ease into the field’s top eight.