Gurley vaults to NCAA national title

University of North Georgia (UNG) pole vaulter Journey Gurley became the school's second national champion across all sports May 27 when she won the pole vault competition at the 2021 NCAA Division II outdoor track and field championship. 

"It was so much fun to get to jump with vaulters from all across the country that I wouldn't normally get to see in competition," Gurley said. "I had been stressed out about the meet for a couple of weeks leading up to it, so I honestly felt like all that pressure had been lifted. I couldn't have done it without assistant coach Justice Ricketts, head coach Chris England and my teammates. I give all the glory to God."

Her teammates Abigail Kirkland and Bree Hammond also scored top-12 national finishes in their events, with Kirkland seventh in the 400-meter dash and Hammond 12th in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. As a team, UNG finished tied for 19th.

Gurley started her event by clearing 3.80 meters, but committed her first strike at 3.95 meters before clearing on her second attempt. After clearing 4.05 meters, Gurley needed all three attempts to pass over 4.15 meters.

"Her confidence and perseverance on competition day set the tone for a successful weekend for each NCAA qualifying team member. Journey's championship shows that UNG can succeed at the national level."

Kirkland ran a lap time of 55.30 in the 400 meters, good for second in the UNG record book.

Hammond crossed the finish line at a time of 10:52.84 in the steeplechase, breaking the program record she held.

Softball finishes among final four teams

Additionally, the UNG softball team (43-8) fought back from an opening loss to win a pair of games and finish as one of the final four teams playing at the eight-team NCAA Division II championship.

The team opened the championship tournament on May 27 with a 4-0 loss to eventual national finalist Biola University. UNG then recovered from a 3-0 deficit to beat Valdosta State University 8-4 in a May 28 elimination game. The Nighthawks beat Saint Anselm College 1-0 on May 29 before falling 5-2 to Biola later that day.

"I am extremely proud of this team and how they persevered through one of the most challenging seasons in UNG softball history. It speaks a lot to their character to take this program back to the NCAA Division II national championship while facing the amount of adversity they did all season," softball head coach Mike Davenport said.

Junior pitcher Laken Chambers earned the Elite 90 Award, which is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA's championships. She is the first UNG student-athlete to receive the honor in any sport.