Johannes Erm, reigning NCAA Division 1 decathlon champion, begins pursuit of indoor heptathlon crown, along with teammates Kyle Garland and Karel Tilga; Anna Hall and Nina Schultz take on pentathlon for first time in Bulldog careers

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Georgia already boasts six of the top 50 all-time collegiate performers in the women’s indoor pentathlon and five of the top 25 athletes in NCAA men’s indoor heptathlon history.

Those totals are expected to increase Friday and Saturday at the Razorback Invitational at the University of Arkansas’ Randal Tyson Indoor Track.

Reigning Division 1 outdoor decathlon champion Johannes Erm, along with sophomore Karel Tilga – last year’s Southeastern Conference decathlon runner-up – and redshirt freshman Kyle Garland are scheduled to compete in the indoor heptathlon for the Bulldogs.

National high school record holder Anna Hall will make her collegiate pentathlon debut in the third meet of her Georgia career, with redshirt junior Nina Schultz – the 2018 NCAA Division 1 pentathlon runner-up at Kansas State – taking on the challenging one-day schedule for the first time representing the Bulldogs.

Schultz is the No. 8 all-time indoor collegiate performer in the pentathlon with her 4,502 points at the 2018 Texas Tech Shootout.

Hall’s national prep record of 4,302 points during her senior year at Valor Christian in Colorado would place her among the top 40 performers in collegiate indoor history. She also ranks No. 17 among all-time U-20 indoor performers, with Schultz at No. 14 with 4,340 from her freshman season in 2017 at Kansas State.

Former Georgia star Kendell Williams, a four-time Division 1 indoor pentathlon champion, boasts the World U-20 record at 4,635 points. She also holds the collegiate record at 4,703 points.

Williams is the only Georgia athlete to accumulate more than 4,500 points. Hyleas Fountain, Aliyah Whisby, Louisa Grauvogel, Lucie Ondraschkova and Quintaya Chapman have all surpassed 4,200 points for the Bulldogs.

Erm is equal to the No. 21 performer in collegiate indoor heptathlon history with 5,996 points from his victory at last year’s SEC Championships at the same venue.

Devon Williams is Georgia’s program record holder and the No. 5 all-time collegiate performer with 6,177 points. Garrett Scantling, Karl Saluri and Maicel Uibo have all surpassed 6,000 points during their Bulldog careers.

Texas’ Donovan Kilmartin set the Division 1 freshman indoor heptathlon record with 6,136 points in 2004, a mark that Garland will look to challenge in his first attempt at the seven-event schedule in college after winning a pair of New Balance Nationals Indoor pentathlon titles at Germantown Academy in Pennsylvania.