Hall, Orji and Davis first trio from same school to sweep any indoor event since Nebraska sprinters in 1984

By Kira Moreland for DyeStat

Georgia made history Friday at the NCAA Division 1 Indoor Championships, with junior Kate Hall, senior Keturah Orji and freshman Tara Davis sweeping the top three spots in the women’s long jump at Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium in College Station, Texas.

Hall had a third-round jump of 22 feet, 1 inch (6.73m), Orji produced a second-round leap of 21-4.75 (6.52m) and Davis closed out her series by soaring to 21-4 (6.50m).

“To be honest, I dreamed about this moment, the day after we signed Tara,” Georgia coach Petros Kyprianou said. “It’s easy to say you can do it. You put the numbers down and you look at the potential, but those girls really showed up (Friday).”

Hall and Orji took the top two long jump spots in June at the Division 1 outdoor final. The addition of Davis, the national high school indoor record holder at 21-11 (6.68m), gave the Bulldogs added depth and the trio showcased it by contributing 24 points to Georgia’s first-day lead of 33.

It marked the first time since Merlene Ottey, Angela Thacker and Janet Burke swept for Nebraska in the women’s 55-meter dash final in 1984 that any women’s program took the top three spots in any event at the Division 1 Indoor Championship.

“They believed when I broke down the numbers (Thursday) night and they bought in,” Kyprianou said. “They know how hard they worked all year. This is not a fluke. This is a well-deserved 1-2-3.”

Hall became the 13th female athlete in NCAA history to surpass 22 feet indoors, eclipsing Orji’s program record of 22-0.75 (6.72m).

“She’s a great athlete who keeps her head down and works very hard,” Kyprianou said. “She’s very humble and there’s not enough compliments to give her when it comes to the way she works, the way she thinks, the way she battles through adversity. I just can’t imagine anyone more deserving of this honor.”

In addition to her second career long jump title, Hall also set a program record by running 7.17 in the 60-meter dash prelims to advance to Saturday’s final.

“Going 1-2-3 with my teammates at NCAAs has been our goal all season and to be able to accomplish that and make history means everything,” Hall said. “I couldn’t ask for a better day with two school records and personal bests and I’m so thankful I could contribute to my team’s finish.”

Orji has an opportunity to capture her third indoor triple jump title Saturday, with Davis returning to compete in the 60 hurdles final after clocking a World U20 record 7.98 seconds to win her prelim heat.

Davis lowered the standard of 8.00 set last year by Poland’s Klaudia Siciarz.

“It’s amazing because I personally coach her in both events and it’s gratifying to see how ambitious she is and how much of a perfectionist she is,” Kyprianou said. “She wants to get everything right. When you’re 5-3 and you’re not the strongest athlete in the weight room, you’ve got to be perfect and I think (Friday) she had the perfect race. I’m really proud of her. She deserves it and she’s worked really hard for it.”

Although Davis won the New Balance Nationals Indoor long jump title, in addition to the California outdoor championship, she was proud of being the only freshman in the field to earn All-America honors.

“Even though I don’t like my mark, I can’t complain coming in third against my teammates,” said Davis, who was coached by her father Ty for 14 years, before deciding to attend Georgia and train with Kyprianou.