For the first time in program history, the Georgia men’s track and field team captured a team national championship.
The men’s events at the NCAA Outdoor Championship finished in Eugene, Oregon on June 8, and the Bulldogs could not be caught as they led the event at the end of each day. Their championship comes after the women’s team won its first title at the indoor championship on March 10.
The men’s team took the early lead on the first day of the Outdoor Championships on June 6 with Denzel Comenentia’s wins in the hammer throw and shot put competitions, and they finished with 52 total points by Friday night.
While Comenentia bolstered Georgia’s start at the championship, juniors Kendal Williams and Keenon Laine and freshman Antonios Merlos gave the team the strong finish it needed.
Williams took third in the 200-meter with his time of 20.32, which gave Georgia another six points in the team rankings. At nearly the same time as he finished, both Laine and Merlos added scores from the high jump.
Merlos set a new personal-best with his score of 7-1.75, which was good enough to claim fifth place. Laine took third with his 7-3 mark.
In the 100-meter, senior Cejhae Greene took seventh place after finishing in 10.37 seconds. He missed the final last season after placing ninth, but became the first Georgia scorer in the event with his finish this on Friday since Manley Waller placed in 1987. His efforts gave Georgia two more points in its quest for the team win.
With the championship, the Bulldog track and field team is the first men’s team from Georgia to win a national championship since the men’s tennis team won in 2008. It is head coach Petros Kyprianou’s third full season at the helm after spending time as an assistant for Georgia.
