BERKELEY – As California track & field enters the biggest month of its outdoor regular season, the Golden Bears are excited to welcome fans and opponents alike, including Pac-12 powerhouses Oregon and Stanford, to Edwards Stadium for the Brutus Hamilton Invitational this week. For the first time at this particular meet, Cal will host a multi-events competition, with nearly two dozen total competitors in the decathlon and heptathlon on Thursday (1 p.m. PT) and Friday (11 a.m.); the rest of the events will be held on Saturday, beginning with the men's hammer at 9:30 a.m.
 
Eight athletes – six decathletes and two heptathletes – will compete in the Blue & Gold on Thursday and Friday; only one of them (sophomore Riley Knott) has previously competed in the outdoor multi-events for Cal, while three others (seniors Jono Pelusi and Cole Whatley, sophomore Yuki Hamachi) have only done so at previous institutions. Saturday's events will include eight Bears.
 
Cal has posted a tremendous start to its outdoor season as its men are ranked third in the West Region, while its women currently sit in fifth. Eleven of the Bears' athletes are currently ranked in the top 25 nationally, led by sophomore Tyler Burns (No. 5, men's pole vault) and senior Anna Purchase (No. 6, women's hammer). Eight total event squads are ranked in the top 25, topped by the men's (No. 3) and women's (No. 4) pole vault.
 
Perhaps the biggest storyline for the Bears on Saturday is the much-anticipated season debut of star sophomore Mykolas Alekna, who broke the all-time collegiate discus record last season and finished second at the NCAA Outdoor Championships before winning silver at the World Championships and gold at the European Championships. Alekna's current personal best of 69.81m (229-0), which he set last July at the age of 19 to set the world record for a teenager, is the 32^nd-farthest throw of all time by any athlete worldwide. Prior to the season, he was named the world's No. 2 overall discus thrower by Track & Field News. He currently owns the Brutus Hamilton meet record at 64.97m (213-2).
 
Cal fans will also spot a familiar name in the women's hammer competition – alumna Camryn Rogers will make her professional debut at the same place where her collegiate career started after closing out her eligibility at this year's NCAA Indoor Championships. Rogers, a 2020 Olympian and Track & Field News' No. 2 hammer thrower worldwide, set her personal best of 77.67m (254-10) at last year's NCAA Outdoor Championships to win her third straight title and raise her all-time mark to ninth on the planet. Her summer followed a similar trajectory to Alekna's as she claimed a silver medal at the World Championships and a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games.
 
Tentative Entries (NCAA Top 25 notated)
MEN
Decathlon (Thurs.-Fri.): Seniors Jono Pelusi and Cole Whatley; sophomore Riley Knott; freshmen Seth Johnson and Parker Terrill
100m: Senior Ethan Song; junior Samir Thota; sophomores David Foster and Allen Seo; freshman Jason Plumb
200m: Seniors Riley Hunt, Henry Larkin; juniors Josh Keller, George Monroe and Samir Thota; sophomores David Foster, Gavin Schurr, Allen Seo and Isaiah Shaw
400m: Seniors Henry Larkin and Hakim McMorris; juniors Josh Keller and Will Sornberger; sophomores Aiden Baker, Aiden Lippert (No. 18) and Isaiah Shaw
800m: Junior Garrett MacQuiddy; freshman Caden Carney
1500m: Junior Carrick Denker; sophomore Arjun Vadgama
110m Hurdles: Senior Riley Hunt: sophomore Di'Niko Bates
400m Hurdles: Junior Will Sornberger; sophomores Aiden Baker and Di'Niko Bates
4x100m Relay: California
4x400m Relay: California
High Jump: Senior Jai Williams
Long Jump: Freshman Jason Plumb
Pole Vault: Senior Skyler Magula (No. 16); sophomore Tyler Burns (No. 5); freshmen David Brok, Luke Millam and Will Siemens
Discus: Seniors Iffy Joyner (No. 10) and Hakim McMorris; junior Justin Wirtz; sophomores Mykolas Alekna and Charlie Dang
Hammer: Senior Kegan Schroeter (No. 10); juniors Michael Gupta, Ivar Moisander (No. 11) and Jake Porter
Shot Put: Juniors Jeff Duensing (No. 20) and Jake Porter
 
WOMEN
Heptathlon (Thurs.-Fri.): Sophomore Yuki Hamachi; freshman Torre Anderson
100m: Seniors Grace Lanouette and Jazlynn Shearer; junior Jada Hicks; sophomores Chloe Decker, Makhaila Mills and Jahzara Richardson; freshmen Madison Jeffries, Masina Mayo and Zanae Woods
200m: Sophomores Chloe Decker, Jordyn Grady, Jahzara Richardson and Aysha Shaheed; freshmen Madison Jeffries, Loreal Wilson and Zanae Woods
400m: Junior Ryan Lacefield; sophomore Jordyn Grady; freshmen Jayden Hill and Loreal Wilson
800m: Senior Lucy Hurt; freshman Carolina Dawson
1500m: Seniors Lauren Calcagno, Kalinda Reynolds and Natalie Weiner; freshmen Georgia McCorkle and Sydney Morrow
5000m: Senior Kalinda Reynolds
100m Hurdles: Senior Jazlynn Shearer; junior Jada Hicks (No. 25)
4x100m Relay: California
4x400m Relay: California
High Jump: Sophomore Toby Lai
Long Jump: Seniors Asha Fletcher, Felicia Renelus and Ijeoma Uche; junior Busola Akinduro
Pole Vault: Seniors Seanne Chan, Kylie Hilton and Amari Turner (No. 9); sophomore Gabrielle Pack
Triple Jump: Seniors Asha Fletcher and Felicia Renelus; junior Busola Akinduro (No. 14)
Discus: Sophomore Sara Pettinger
Hammer: Senior Anna Purchase (No. 6); junior Rebecca Tomann; sophomores Destiny Okoh and Sara Pettinger; freshman Audrey Jacobs
 
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