Georgia track and field sophomore Matthew Boling has been named the Southeastern Conference Indoor Men’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year, according to a league announcement on Wednesday.

This complements his 2020 SEC Indoor Men’s Freshman Runner of the Year honor.  Boling is the first SEC Indoor Men’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year for Georgia since Maicel Uibo’s honor in 2015.  The Lady Bulldogs have also won two of these league indoor academic accolades, most recently with Jessica Drop garnering the award in 2020.

Boling, a native of Houston, Texas, holds a 3.51 GPA as a Marketing major.  He earned 2020 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Academic Individual honors and was named to the 2019-20 SEC First Year Academic Honor Roll.  Earlier this year, Boling achieved the NCAA’s fifth-best 200-meter dash time (a personal best 20.37) and the country’s fifth-best long jump (a personal best 26 feet, 5 ¾ inches).  He will be competing in both events as well as in the 4x400m relay at this week’s NCAA Indoor Championships.

The NCAA Indoor Championships begin in Fayetteville, Ark., on Thursday and run through Saturday.  In addition to Boling in his three events, Georgia has 13 student-athletes who are seeded in the field’s top 16 in nine different events, including the country’s top-ranked heptathlete in redshirt sophomore Kyle Garland.

What’s Next For The Bulldogs?: Following the NCAA Championships, the Bulldogs start their outdoor season a week later at the Yellow Jacket Invitational in Atlanta on March 19-20.  Georgia will host two home meets outdoors: Spec Towns Invitational – April 9-10 and the Torrin Lawrence Memorial – April 30-May 1.