Two Bulldogs Score To Pace Opening Day Of NCAA T&F Championships
EUGENE, Ore. — Both senior Moustafa Alsherif and freshman Jayden Keys scored for expected First Team All-America honors to highlight the opening day of action at the NCAA Outdoor Championships Wednesday.
Alsherif, a native of Cairo, Egypt, had his top effort in the javelin on his second try (76.69 meters/251 feet, 7 inches) to take fourth after transferring into UGA before the school year. This marks the fourth straight year that Georgia has had a scoring All-American in the men’s javelin after Marc Minichello captured the crown in 2024.
Keys, a native of Houston, Texas, complemented his Southeastern Conference title a month ago with an eighth-place finish (7.80m/25-7.25) after coming into the meet also seeded eighth nationally. Keys is the first Bulldog to be a First Team All-American in the outdoor long jump since Lester Benjamin (eighth place also) in 1985 and only the second in UGA history.
Meet Breakdown: 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.
Team Scores: Minnesota (23 points) jumped out to the early lead on the men’s side with New Mexico (18), Florida (18), Ole Miss (12) and Kansas (11.5) making up the rest of the top five. Georgia is currently in an eight-way tie for 11th with six points.
When Do The Bulldogs Start Day 2: Graduate transfer Stephanie Ratcliffe, who won the 2023 NCAA hammer throw title for Harvard, will attempt to win her second championship in the event on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. ET. Ratcliffe currently sits third on the national list.
On the track, a combination of junior Kaila Smith, redshirt freshman Reign Redmond, sophomore Karsen Phillips, freshman Sanaa Frederick and junior Dejanea Oakley are expected to run in the semifinal round of the 4x100m relay at 7:05 p.m.
Where To Catch The NCAAs: ESPN has exclusive rights to broadcast the meet and will feature the Nationals on ESPN2 this week:
Thursday: 4-7 p.m., ESPN
Friday: 5-8 p.m., ESPN2
Saturday: 6-9 p.m., ESPN2
Live Results: To check out live results throughout the four-day season finale, please check: https://gado.gs/da0
The Lowdown: Georgia competed in seven events and two relays during the opening day.
During the second heat of the 400m semifinal, teammates Will Floyd and Shemar Chambers raced side by side and took fourth and fifth in their group. Floyd’s time of 45.47 put him just ahead of Chambers’ 45.48 to take 11th and 12th overall, respectively. Freshman Ervin Pearson ran in the third and final heat and was sixth in his group and 19th overall thanks to his 46.20.
In the first event of the meet for Georgia, Micah Larry, Brody Buffington, Jehlani Gordon and Will Floyd ran out of the third heat in the 4x100m relay semifinal and took fifth in their group and 12th overall with a 39.15. The foursome was seeded 18th nationally coming into the meet.
Gordon lined up in the opening heat of the 100m semifinal and was third in his heat with a legal 10.19. Gordon’s time was 12th overall during his second trip to the NCAA outdoor meet.
Graduate transfer Alexander Kolesnikoff wrapped up his final collegiate meet by sending his opening attempt in the shot put 18.75m/61-6.25. This performance put him in 15th.
The final event of the day for the Bulldogs was the 4x400m relay. With Shemar Chambers leading off and handing to Will Floyd, Georgia finished 16th as freshmen Xai Ricks and London Costen completed the relay in the third and fourth spots. The foursome combined for a 3:04.71 to take fourth in the first heat.
Racing out of lane two, Buffington returned to the track in the 200m semifinal. He completed half a lap in 20.58 to take seventh in the third heat and 16th overall.
While his teammate and training partner managed to score in the long jump, Larry finished 18th. His opening legal mark measured 7.46m/24-5.75 at his first NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Senior Nikolai van Huyssteen was also making his second appearance at outdoor Nationals in the pole vault. He cleared a height of 5.18m/17-0 on his second try and finished the competition in 21st.
How To Keep Up With The Dogs: Results and recaps from the NCAA Outdoor Championships will be found at georgiadogs.com. News and updates from Georgia’s track and field and cross country teams are always located on X/Instagram at @UGATrack.
Bulldog Day 1 Scorers
Name Event Mark/Time – Place
Moustafa Alsherif M. Javelin 76.69m/251-7 – 4th
Jayden Keys M. Long Jump 7.80m/25-7.25 – 8th
Alsherif, a native of Cairo, Egypt, had his top effort in the javelin on his second try (76.69 meters/251 feet, 7 inches) to take fourth after transferring into UGA before the school year. This marks the fourth straight year that Georgia has had a scoring All-American in the men’s javelin after Marc Minichello captured the crown in 2024.
Keys, a native of Houston, Texas, complemented his Southeastern Conference title a month ago with an eighth-place finish (7.80m/25-7.25) after coming into the meet also seeded eighth nationally. Keys is the first Bulldog to be a First Team All-American in the outdoor long jump since Lester Benjamin (eighth place also) in 1985 and only the second in UGA history.
Meet Breakdown: 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.
Team Scores: Minnesota (23 points) jumped out to the early lead on the men’s side with New Mexico (18), Florida (18), Ole Miss (12) and Kansas (11.5) making up the rest of the top five. Georgia is currently in an eight-way tie for 11th with six points.
When Do The Bulldogs Start Day 2: Graduate transfer Stephanie Ratcliffe, who won the 2023 NCAA hammer throw title for Harvard, will attempt to win her second championship in the event on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. ET. Ratcliffe currently sits third on the national list.
On the track, a combination of junior Kaila Smith, redshirt freshman Reign Redmond, sophomore Karsen Phillips, freshman Sanaa Frederick and junior Dejanea Oakley are expected to run in the semifinal round of the 4x100m relay at 7:05 p.m.
Where To Catch The NCAAs: ESPN has exclusive rights to broadcast the meet and will feature the Nationals on ESPN2 this week:
Thursday: 4-7 p.m., ESPN
Friday: 5-8 p.m., ESPN2
Saturday: 6-9 p.m., ESPN2
Live Results: To check out live results throughout the four-day season finale, please check: https://gado.gs/da0
The Lowdown: Georgia competed in seven events and two relays during the opening day.
During the second heat of the 400m semifinal, teammates Will Floyd and Shemar Chambers raced side by side and took fourth and fifth in their group. Floyd’s time of 45.47 put him just ahead of Chambers’ 45.48 to take 11th and 12th overall, respectively. Freshman Ervin Pearson ran in the third and final heat and was sixth in his group and 19th overall thanks to his 46.20.
In the first event of the meet for Georgia, Micah Larry, Brody Buffington, Jehlani Gordon and Will Floyd ran out of the third heat in the 4x100m relay semifinal and took fifth in their group and 12th overall with a 39.15. The foursome was seeded 18th nationally coming into the meet.
Gordon lined up in the opening heat of the 100m semifinal and was third in his heat with a legal 10.19. Gordon’s time was 12th overall during his second trip to the NCAA outdoor meet.
Graduate transfer Alexander Kolesnikoff wrapped up his final collegiate meet by sending his opening attempt in the shot put 18.75m/61-6.25. This performance put him in 15th.
The final event of the day for the Bulldogs was the 4x400m relay. With Shemar Chambers leading off and handing to Will Floyd, Georgia finished 16th as freshmen Xai Ricks and London Costen completed the relay in the third and fourth spots. The foursome combined for a 3:04.71 to take fourth in the first heat.
Racing out of lane two, Buffington returned to the track in the 200m semifinal. He completed half a lap in 20.58 to take seventh in the third heat and 16th overall.
While his teammate and training partner managed to score in the long jump, Larry finished 18th. His opening legal mark measured 7.46m/24-5.75 at his first NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Senior Nikolai van Huyssteen was also making his second appearance at outdoor Nationals in the pole vault. He cleared a height of 5.18m/17-0 on his second try and finished the competition in 21st.
How To Keep Up With The Dogs: Results and recaps from the NCAA Outdoor Championships will be found at georgiadogs.com. News and updates from Georgia’s track and field and cross country teams are always located on X/Instagram at @UGATrack.
Bulldog Day 1 Scorers
Name Event Mark/Time – Place
Moustafa Alsherif M. Javelin 76.69m/251-7 – 4th
Jayden Keys M. Long Jump 7.80m/25-7.25 – 8th
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