EUGENE, Ore. — Georgia track and field graduate transfer Marc Minichello collected the second javelin title of his career to highlight the opening day of action at the NCAA Outdoor Championships Wednesday.
Minichello, a native of West Pittston, Pa., earned his third expected First Team All-America certificate in the event and his second javelin crown after also placing first for Penn in 2022. Celebrating his 24th birthday on Tuesday, Minichello was fourth at the 2023 NCAA Championships and recorded his fourth victory of the season on Wednesday, including his second straight Southeastern Conference title in May.
Also in the throws, graduate transfer Alex Kolesnikoff recorded the first expected outdoor First Team All-America certificate in the shot put to three more points on the scoreboard for the Bulldogs.
Sophomore Christopher Morales Williams won the 400-meter dash semifinal with his fourth sub-45 second finish of 2024 to advance to Friday's final.
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.
Georgia has scored 13 points and is second place behind USC (19) after the first day of competition. California (12.5), Kansas (12) and Ole Miss (12) make up the rest of the top five.
Minichello set the tone in the javelin on his opening toss, going 78.33 meters/257 feet. This mark would have given him runner-up honors after six throws. Then, Minichello launched a second attempt of 80.70m/264-9 to distance himself from the field. His championship is the first for the Bulldogs in the event after school record holder Chris Hill went back-to-back in 2008-09. Minichello started his career by taking 17that the NCAA Championships for Penn in 2019.
Kolesnikoff, a native of Strathfield, Australia, opened his series in the shot put with a mark of 19.70m/64-7.75. This performance delivered the Harvard graduate sixth place a year after he finished ninth for the Crimson. Kolesnikoff completed the indoor-outdoor First Team All-America sweep with his showing Wednesday.
