Seven Months Of Two Year Ban Were Suspended, Allowing Hodge To Make Her Mark On NCAA Season

By David Woods for DyeStat

Corbin Smith Photo

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Georgia won the women’s team title at the NCAA Indoor Championships largely because of Adaejah Hodge, who scored 18 of its 53 points.

Turns out she was coming off a doping suspension.

On Monday, the Athletics Integrity Unit announced she tested positive for metabolites of GW5051516 at the World U20 Championships in August 2024. AIU said she was notified in November 2024 and cooperated with investigators.

The ban was to run from Aug. 28, 2024, to Aug. 27, 2026, but seven months were suspended. So she was eligible Jan. 28, and she opened her collegiate season Jan. 30.

Hodge, 19, won the NCAA 200 meters and was second in the 60 meters. She represents the British Virgin Islands in international competition.

Georgia coach Caryl Smith-Gilbert said Hodge did not compete last year for personal reasons, and did not elaborate.

Hodge acknowledged she was “rusty” early and said she was happy to represent Georgia.

“They did so much for me behind the scenes,” she said.

International Flavor

Athletes from foreign countries dominated indoor NCAAs, according to data assembled by DyeStat.

Non-American athletes have long been conspicuous in the NCAA. In the inaugural outdoor NCAA Championships in 1921, Canadian hurdler Earl Thomson of Dartmouth tied his own world record.

But in this new era of NIL and roster limits, foreigners have rarely been so dominant.

Out of 30 individual events, foreigners won 16. If not for Jane Hedengren’s distance double and Habtom Samuels’ disqualification, that figure would be 19 of 30.

If top three  had been awarded medals, non-U.S. athletes had 25 of 45 women’s medals and 20 of 46 men’s medals (there was a tie for third in high jump). Athletes from 24 foreign countries medaled.

After the United States’ cumulative 46 medals, next-highest were Jamaica, eight; Kenya, seven; Nigeria, four.

Foreign athletes had medals in every women’s event except the long jump and every men’s except the 3,000 meters. The latter was apparently won by Samuels, of Eritrea, but he was subsequently disqualified.

There were 12 national records, according to Tilastopaja. Among them were African records in both 400 meters by Nigerians: 44.57 by Alabama’s Samuel Ogazi and 50.28 by LSU’s Ella Onojuvwevwo.

Indian national records were set by long jump winner Lokesh Sathyanathan of Tarleton State, 26-11.25 (8.21m), and triple jump runner-up Selva Prabhu of Kansas State, 55-11.25 (17.05m).

SEC Continues To Rule

After the Big Ten took both 2025 team championships – Oregon women, USC men – the SEC reasserted dominance.

Not only did Georgia women and Arkansas men win, their SEC colleagues combined to outscore the Big Ten easily. Moreover, 12 schools from the SEC scored points in the women’s meet and 13 in the men’s.

Women’s scoring by conference (10 or more)

223.5 SEC

158 Big Ten

124.5 Big 12

76 ACC

23 Mountain West

14 Summit League (all by South Dakota)

12 Ivy League

10 WAC (all by Tarleton State)

Men’s scoring by conference (10 or more)

245.5 SEC

124 Big Ten

107 Big 12

50 ACC

26 Ivy League

20 Big Sky

18 Big East

17 Mountain West

11 Sun Belt

10 WAC (all by Tarleton State)

Contact David Woods at dwoods1411@gmail.com.