Georgia High Jumpers earn SEC awards

ATHENS, Ga. — Bulldog high jumpers Elena Kulichenko and Riyon Rankin have earned Southeastern Conference weekly honors following the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational, according to a league announcement Tuesday.

Kulichenko has been named the Women’s Field Athlete of the Week while Rankin has garnered Men’s Freshman of the Week honors. Kulichenko was twice named the Women’s Freshman of the Week in 2022, however this is her first honor of this kind. This marks Rankin’s first outdoor accolade. The pair joins graduate transfer javelin thrower Marc Minichello (March 26) as Georgia’s outdoor SEC weekly award recipients this year.

Kulichenko, a native of Odintsovo, Russia, who is the nation’s No. 2 ranked high jumper, topped the national leader in Texas A&M’s Lamara Distin for Kulichenko’s third straight victory of the year. Kulichenko cleared 1.92 meters/6 feet, 3 ½ inches on her third and final attempt, reaching a mark that only she and Distin have achieved so far in the NCAA this season.

Rankin, a native of Brunswick, Ga., soared over a personal best height of 2.21m/7-3 to grab his second straight top-two finish in the high jump. His mark ranks fourth nationally and is the top mark by a freshman nationally by more than an inch.

Up next: Georgia returns to Atlanta for the second time this season for the Georgia Tech Invitational this weekend.