Bulldog sophomore Matthew Boling blew past his school record and became the No. 5 all-time collegiate performer by winning the 200-meter dash final at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., on Saturday afternoon.
Boling, a native of Houston, Texas, took off in the second group of the 200m final to clock a 20.19 and edge LSU senior Terrance Laird (20.20) by .01. This tops Boling’s previous school record of 20.37, makes him the No. 5 all-time collegiate performer with the No. 6 all-time collegiate performance and gives him the fastest time in the world this year.
While this gives the Bulldogs’ two NCAA individual titles at the meet (Karel Tilga, heptathlon), Boling has already scored for the Bulldogs with a seventh-place First Team All-America finish in the long jump on Friday.
Boling returns to action alongside sophomore Caleb Cavanaugh, senior Delano Dunkley and junior Elija Godwin in the 4x400m relay on Saturday at 4:20 p.m. ET.
Georgia combined for top-five team finishes at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships for the third time in four national meets on Saturday in Fayetteville, Ark.
Highlighted by a pair of national individual champions, the sixth-ranked Bulldog men scored 35 points to take third, one point and one spot ahead of Florida, to tie the best finish in school history. Oregon (79) cruised to the title over second-place LSU (56).
The fourth-ranked Georgia women tallied 31 points to finish fifth, also one point and one spot ahead of Florida. Arkansas took advantage of 17 points in the 3000 meters late in the meet to clinch the win with 68 points. Texas A&M (57), LSU (39) and USC (35) made up second through fourth, respectively.
The Georgia men were fourth in 2017, third in 2018 and ninth in 2019 (there was no 2020 NCAA Indoor Championships because of the COVID-19 pandemic cancelation). After taking 10th in 2013, the Lady Bulldogs were third in 2014-16, second in 2017, national champions in 2018 and 20th in 2019.
“Both of our teams came out today with some amazing performances, historic scores, blazing-fast times and two top-five finishes that add to our tradition finishing in the elite of the country,” said Bulldog head coach Petros Kyprianou. “I’m extremely proud of everyone that’s in Arkansas from our student-athletes to our staff. It take a great deal of organization, timing and precision to be consistent in one of the most detailed sports on the planet.
“Georgia has become a powerhouse and we are proud of it, especially when our previous class graduated with a championship and these new hungry Dawgs started knocking on the door of a new title. I’m am excited to see what we can do outdoors as we have some major players who only have outdoor eligibility left, plus the ones from indoor that were baptized in fire and earned tier stars! Overall, Georgia track and field has shown once again that we are becoming a traditional power. Go Dawgs!”
Georgia’s highlight on Saturday came when sophomore Matthew Boling blew past his school record and became the No. 5 all-time collegiate performer by winning the 200m final. A native of Houston, Texas, Boling took off in the second group of the 200m final to clock a 20.19 and edge LSU senior Terrance Laird (20.20) by .01. This tops Boling’s previous school record of 20.37, gives him the No. 6 all-time collegiate performance and makes him the fastest 200m runner in the world this year.
The Bulldogs had another trio of scoring All-America finishes on Saturday to go a perfect 4-for-4 in scoring opportunities on the meet’s final day. Sophomore Jasmine Moore scored in the triple jump a day after finishing in the top eight in the long jump as well. Boling, sophomore Caleb Cavanaugh, senior Delano Dunkley and junior Elija Godwin became the first scoring All-Americans indoor in the 4x400m relay in school history by registering a time just off their UGA record clocked earlier this season.
In addition, senior Jessica Drop, once an indoor All-American in the 5000m and twice a cross country All-American, earned her first certificate in the 3000m with the second-best time of her career. Reminiscent of her fourth-place finish in the 5000m to help clinch Georgia’s 2018 NCAA team title, Drop scored her team’s final three points this year to help push the Lady Bulldogs from seventh to fifth.