Kurjak Earns High Jump All-America Honors At NCAAs
EUGENE, Ore. — Senior transfer Eddie Kurjak rode the wave of two opening attempt clearances to collect expected First Team All-American honors in the high jump on the third day of the NCAA Outdoor Championships Friday.
Kurjak came in with the rest of the field at 2.10 meters/6 foot, 10 ¾ inches and soared over the bar at that height and at 2.15m/7-0.50 on his first try to tie for eighth place. This performance gave the Bulldogs a scoring All-American in the event for the second year in a row after teammate Riyon Rankin was seventh in 2024.
Kurjak, a Longmont, Colo., native, transferred to Georgia from NCAA Division II Colorado Mesa University where he was the 2024 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference high jump champion. Kurjak hit the 7-foot mark for the first time this season with a 2.18m/7-1.75 clearance at the NCAA East Prelims, locking in his spot to Eugene.
Meet Schedule: 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.
Final Men’s Team Scores: Georgia finished 45th with 6.33 points. Texas A&M and USC tied for the national championship with 41 points apiece and Arkansas (40), Auburn (35) and New Mexico (31) rounded out the top five.
Current Women’s Team Scores: The Georgia women have the lead with 26 points while Illinois (16.5), Washington (16), Louisville (15), Colorado State (10), Missouri (10) and New Mexico (10) make up the rest of the top five.
Wednesday/Thursday Highlights: During the women’s first day of action on Thursday, graduate transfer Stephanie Ratcliffe won her second career hammer throw title and became the first NCAA representative to accomplish the feat at two separate schools and in non-consecutive years. Freshman Manuela Rotundo and senior Lianna Davidson finished second and fourth in the javelin to give Georgia its first pair of scorers in the event since two Bulldogs were in the top eight in 2005. Finally, senior Kelsie Murrell-Ross steadily improved during her series to finish sixth in the shot put, becoming the first to earn scoring All-America honors in the event for UGA since 2000.
On Wednesday, senior transfer Moustafa Alsherif finished fourth in the javelin to give the Bulldog men a scorer in the event for the fourth straight year. Also, freshman Jayden Keys complemented his Southeastern Conference long jump title with an eighth-place finish in the event to score for the men.
Qualifiers For Saturday: Georgia also had a quartet of qualifiers Thursday for the women’s finals arriving on Saturday. Juniors Aaliyah Butler and Dejanea Oakley (400m), Butler, Oakley, sophomore Sydney Harris and freshman Michelle Smith (4x400m relay) and Smith (400m hurdles) all punched their ticket on the meet’s second day.
When Do The Bulldogs Start Day 4: Senior Elena Kulichenko, who is the defending champion in the high jump, competes in her featured event on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. The two top qualifiers from the 400m semifinal round, Butler and Oakley, will race in the final at 10:02 p.m. to start the action on the track on the meet’s final day.
Where To Catch The NCAAs: ESPN has exclusive rights to broadcast the meet and will feature the Nationals on ESPN2 this week:
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: Rankin was the Bulldogs’ other high jumper in the field. Rankin, a sophomore from Brunswick, Ga., moved into the national lead with a 2.29m/7-6 clearance to win the SEC crown a month ago. However, he was slowed by an injury as the season progressed. Rankin battled through his injury and managed a first attempt clearance at 2.10m/6-10.75 to tie for 16th on Friday.
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
Bulldog Day 2 Scorers
Stephanie Ratcliffe W. Hammer Throw *71.37m/234-2 – 1st
Manuela Rotundo W. Javelin 60.35m/198-0 – 2nd
Lianna Davidson W. Javelin 59.03m/193-8
Kelsie Murrell-Ross W. Shot Put 17.80m/58-4.75
*national leading mark
Bulldog Day 3 Scorers
Eddie Kurjak M. High Jump 2.15m/7-0.50 – T-8th
Bulldog Day 2 Qualifiers
Name Event Mark/Time – Place
Aaliyah Butler W. 400m 50.16 – 1st
Dejanea Oakely W. 400m ^50.18 – 2nd
Smiith, Butler, Harris, Oakley W. 4x400m Relay 3:26.89 – 2nd
Michelle Smith W. 400mH 55.65 – 3rd
^personal best mark
Kurjak came in with the rest of the field at 2.10 meters/6 foot, 10 ¾ inches and soared over the bar at that height and at 2.15m/7-0.50 on his first try to tie for eighth place. This performance gave the Bulldogs a scoring All-American in the event for the second year in a row after teammate Riyon Rankin was seventh in 2024.
Kurjak, a Longmont, Colo., native, transferred to Georgia from NCAA Division II Colorado Mesa University where he was the 2024 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference high jump champion. Kurjak hit the 7-foot mark for the first time this season with a 2.18m/7-1.75 clearance at the NCAA East Prelims, locking in his spot to Eugene.
Meet Schedule: 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.
Final Men’s Team Scores: Georgia finished 45th with 6.33 points. Texas A&M and USC tied for the national championship with 41 points apiece and Arkansas (40), Auburn (35) and New Mexico (31) rounded out the top five.
Current Women’s Team Scores: The Georgia women have the lead with 26 points while Illinois (16.5), Washington (16), Louisville (15), Colorado State (10), Missouri (10) and New Mexico (10) make up the rest of the top five.
Wednesday/Thursday Highlights: During the women’s first day of action on Thursday, graduate transfer Stephanie Ratcliffe won her second career hammer throw title and became the first NCAA representative to accomplish the feat at two separate schools and in non-consecutive years. Freshman Manuela Rotundo and senior Lianna Davidson finished second and fourth in the javelin to give Georgia its first pair of scorers in the event since two Bulldogs were in the top eight in 2005. Finally, senior Kelsie Murrell-Ross steadily improved during her series to finish sixth in the shot put, becoming the first to earn scoring All-America honors in the event for UGA since 2000.
On Wednesday, senior transfer Moustafa Alsherif finished fourth in the javelin to give the Bulldog men a scorer in the event for the fourth straight year. Also, freshman Jayden Keys complemented his Southeastern Conference long jump title with an eighth-place finish in the event to score for the men.
Qualifiers For Saturday: Georgia also had a quartet of qualifiers Thursday for the women’s finals arriving on Saturday. Juniors Aaliyah Butler and Dejanea Oakley (400m), Butler, Oakley, sophomore Sydney Harris and freshman Michelle Smith (4x400m relay) and Smith (400m hurdles) all punched their ticket on the meet’s second day.
When Do The Bulldogs Start Day 4: Senior Elena Kulichenko, who is the defending champion in the high jump, competes in her featured event on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. The two top qualifiers from the 400m semifinal round, Butler and Oakley, will race in the final at 10:02 p.m. to start the action on the track on the meet’s final day.
Where To Catch The NCAAs: ESPN has exclusive rights to broadcast the meet and will feature the Nationals on ESPN2 this week:
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: Rankin was the Bulldogs’ other high jumper in the field. Rankin, a sophomore from Brunswick, Ga., moved into the national lead with a 2.29m/7-6 clearance to win the SEC crown a month ago. However, he was slowed by an injury as the season progressed. Rankin battled through his injury and managed a first attempt clearance at 2.10m/6-10.75 to tie for 16th on Friday.
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
Bulldog Day 2 Scorers
Stephanie Ratcliffe W. Hammer Throw *71.37m/234-2 – 1st
Manuela Rotundo W. Javelin 60.35m/198-0 – 2nd
Lianna Davidson W. Javelin 59.03m/193-8
Kelsie Murrell-Ross W. Shot Put 17.80m/58-4.75
*national leading mark
Bulldog Day 3 Scorers
Eddie Kurjak M. High Jump 2.15m/7-0.50 – T-8th
Bulldog Day 2 Qualifiers
Name Event Mark/Time – Place
Aaliyah Butler W. 400m 50.16 – 1st
Dejanea Oakely W. 400m ^50.18 – 2nd
Smiith, Butler, Harris, Oakley W. 4x400m Relay 3:26.89 – 2nd
Michelle Smith W. 400mH 55.65 – 3rd
^personal best mark
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