Kendrick Joshua has overcome plenty of hurdles during his high school track career. The Richmond Hill High (RHHS) senior won the state title in the 300-meter hurdles last season and is ranked among the top high schoolers in the country and top 20 in the world.
One hurdle he did not face was deciding where to attend college on a track scholarship. Offered an athletic ride by all the schools in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), Joshua signed with the only school he ever considered – the University of Georgia.
“I’ve always liked Georgia since I was little,” said Joshua, who grew up in Savannah before moving to Richmond Hill and attending RHHS starting as a freshman. “I was planning to go there. It was the first school to offer me a scholarship. I was overly excited when I got the offer.”
Joshua took the fast track, both literally and figuratively, to earn a scholarship to Georgia. It all started with a talent and inclination for running.
Naturally fast, Joshua was a running back and wide receiver in football. He started playing at the age of 6 and continued through his freshman year at Richmond Hill High. When he broke his wrist as a sophomore, Kendrick, who also was competing in track, decided to focus on the latter sport and in particular the hurdles, an event he had discovered as a freshman.
“I was bored running on flat surfaces,” said Kendrick, who has also competed in the 60-, 100- , 200- and 400-meter races. “I wanted something new.”
Relying on his athletic ability and a talent for progressing faster than others, Joshua quickly made his mark in the hurdles. He placed on the podium in the 300 hurdles his first two years before winning the state title as a junior.
Joshua has a personal best time of 35.9 seconds in the 300-meter hurdles and wants to break the high school record of 34.8 seconds. He said form is the biggest factor in that distance. Remarking his speed is “up there” in the state and nation, Joshua said the 400-meter hurdles, which is the only event college teams feature in that discipline, is more of a stamina event. “My endurance is improving,” he said. Although the hurdles are his best event, Joshua has showcased his his speed in the 60-, 100-, and 200-meter races with respective times of 6.82 seconds, 10.35 seconds and 21.38 seconds.
Joshua’s weekly training sessions include running 250 to 500 meters at 80- to 90% speed, weight workout, and running 10 to 120 meters at full speed. He describes it as a job he hates, allowing him to do something he truly loves. “I use winning as a motivation for training,” he explained. “I love to win.”
Outside of running the hurdles, Joshua enjoys golf and photography. He remarked he doesn’t go out much. Joshua said he misses football a lot and believes he could have played in college, adding he prefers competing as an individual rather than on a team.
Brittany Joshua said her son has always been a gifted athlete, starting at a young age. “He was the kid who picked up anything physical really fast,” she said. “He was always fast and competitive at every sport.”
Brittany attributes Kendrick’s rapid improvement as a hurdler to hard training, willingness to listen, and never backing down from a challenge. Remarked Brittany: “He loves a challenge.”
Those qualities have led to outstanding times and a number of medals. Although proud of these accomplishments, Brittany said she’s most impressed with the way Kendrick pushes to be better even after a goal is met.
One of those goals was to play any sport in college but not just any college. “He has always been a UGA fan,” Brittany said. “Watching him sign, you could see how proud he was of himself and that made me prouder.”
Given the support for the University of Georgia throughout the state, it’s not surprising Joshua received a “whole bunch” of positive feedback at school and in the local community when he announced his decision to become a Bulldog. If he hadn’t signed with Georgia, Joshua said his second choice would have been Texas Tech, alma mater for professional hurdler Caleb Dean and a fellow competitor in a race.
“We spoke before the race and it went well,” Joshua said. “He runs pretty smoothly and is a cool guy to watch.”
Levi Sybert, director of track and field and cross country at Richmond Hill High, has coached Joshua since his freshman year. He said Heather Sybert has served as Joshua’s spring coach, and a number of hurdles coaches have worked with him during that time. According to Levi, Joshua, befitting his performance on the track, has made huge strides as a hurdler.
“Kendrick started out as just a brute force talent over the hurdles,” said Levi, who has coached at Richmond Hill High since 2007. “He was able to shift his mind and become a master of the art of hurdling while having brute force strength. That’s what has made him so incredibly successful- talent and intention.”
Athletes from all sports have to make the adjustment from high school to college. It’s an even greater challenge when going to a school such as Georgia, which competes in the demanding Southeast Conference and typically recruits the top athletes. The stories are many of athletes who dominated in high school but were unable to repeat that success in college. Levi remains confident Joshua will make the transition a smooth one.
“Kendrick should do great at Georgia,” Levi said. “He is very self motivated and as long as he stays on path to what his true intentions are, he will be extremely successful to his desires.”
Then there’s the even more ambitious goal of qualifying for the Olympics, being named one of three individuals in his event out of a pool of the best college athletes in the country. Once again, Levi said he believes Joshua is up to the challenge.
“I believe he has enough meat left on the bone for that to be an obtainable goal for Kendrick,” Levi said. “That is because he has not truly challenged himself in practice as he challenges himself in competition. If you can put that last critical element together with an elite training group at Georgia, it’s going to be an amazing ride for him.”
If this year is any indication, Joshua’s ride can already be categorized as thrilling. Competing as a member of the Coastal Georgia Track Team, he won the men’s 400-meter hurdles at the USA Track & Field U-20 Championships at the historic Hayward Field, University of Oregon with a time of 50.53.
That performance capped off a junior year in which Joshua captured the 6A state title in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 36.33 seconds and followed that up by winning the Meet of Champions in Atlanta. His time of 35.94 was the second fastest in the nation in 2025.
Isaiah and Belinda Taylor have coached Joshua on the Coastal Georgia Track Team since he was 9 years old. “He is a very efficient hurdler,” Isaiah said. “What makes him special is his speed between the hurdles, and his athleticism allows him the ability to snap his trail leg down faster than his competitors.”
Like Sybert, Isaiah expects big things from Joshua in college and beyond. “I believe he will win the SEC 400-meter hurdles conference championship and qualify for the NCAA final,” he said. “I really believe he will make the Olympic team in 2028.”
Joshua has a personal best time of 50.5 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles. To qualify for the Olympics, he has to have a time of 48 to 49 seconds. That gives him several years to cut two to three seconds off his fastest time by “training at a higher level.”
As with earning a scholarship to Georgia, Joshua has had a longtime dream of representing his country in the Olympics. “I’ve wanted to compete in the Olympics since I started running,” Joshua said. “It would mean everything. It would be a big accomplishment if I make the team.”
Carol Dotson, Joshua’s aunt, said her nephew is only a few seconds away from the winning hurdles time at the Olympics and he’s just starting out. She noted he’s always been determined and wants to be No. 1 in everything he does. Dotson described Joshua as a very good hearted, focused individual, adding the family’s glad he’ll be attending Georgia.
“It’s only four hours away,” Dotson said. “The family can go there and he can visit us. Go Dawgs!”