After a very successful year, the indoor track and field season has come to a close for the Broncos. Boise State finished with 21 athletes in the top-10 finishes for 14 different events. One athlete, in particular, dominated her competition all season.
Junior sprinter/hurdler Dafni Georgiou competed in the 200 and 60-meter races, and 60-meter hurdles this season. Her best races came in the 60-meter hurdles.
Dafni previously broke the school record for the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.48 seconds in the 2019-2020 season. That time came from the Mountain West Indoor Championships where she placed fourth.
This season, Dafni ran a sub-8.48 60-meter hurdle 10 times. This means that Georgiou now holds well over the top five school records in the 60-meter hurdles for women.
“I think I changed a few things on my technique, and also getting stronger in the weight room,” Georgiou said. “I think combining those two things made me run the record again.”
Photo courtesy of Justin Tafoyal, NCAA Photos
Georgiou had the fastest time in the Mountain West Conference (MWC) for the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.20 seconds. At the Mountain West Indoor Championships this year, she placed second at 8.31 seconds.
Sophomore sprinter/hurdler Nyenuchi Okemgbo also performed well this year. Okemgbo held the seventh-fastest time in the MWC and placed fifth in the MWC Championships for the 60-meter hurdles.
Having two of the fastest runners practicing together certainly has helped them push each other to become better.
“One of the reasons I chose to come was because I knew that Dafni was a good hurdler here,” Okemgbo said. “Thinking that I would be able to train with her I feel like that has helped me and it gave me more confidence in myself because she’s a really encouraging teammate.”
Looking as far back as the 2011-2012 season, Boise State has not had two women finish inside the top 10 in the MWC for the 60-meter hurdles until now.
“It’s a huge accomplishment, especially in our conference that the sprints in the hurdles are really high quality,” said sprints/horizontal jumps coach Gavin O’Neal. “I mean, there are people that are going to national championships every year.”
Although Dafni is only a junior, this year will be her final at Boise State. She has her eyes set on going professional. She hopes to return home and compete in the University Games for both her country and Boise State. The Commonwealth Games and other international events are also on her mind.
With the indoor season over, the athletes are set to start competing in outdoor events starting March 24.
