WALNUT – California track & field closed out the second day of the Pac-12 Championships in good shape, adding another two podium finishes to its total and qualifying six additional athletes to Sunday's finals. Currently, Cal's women are third in the standings with 33 points, while the men rank fifth with 24 points.
 
The women's hammer throw, a standout event for the Golden Bears as of late, featured another set of powerful performances. Senior Anna Purchase earned her second Pac-12 podium finish, the Bears' first of the day and third of the competition, with her throw of 68.38m (224-4). Freshman Audrey Jacobs made the final and scored for the Bears after launching the hammer to a fifth-place distance of 61.10m (200-5), a mark that ranks ninth in program history.
 
Both of Cal's shot putters followed suit with scoring performances in the men's contest as junior Jeff Duensing recorded a fifth-place put of 18.94m (62-1.75) to improve his own program No. 7 mark while classmate Jake Porter recorded his own PR at 18.27m/59-11.25 to finish seventh for the Bears. The next event, the men's 110m hurdles preliminary, was notable due to all three Cal entries moving on to the finals: sophomore Di'Niko Bates improved his personal best by .17 seconds to finish in 13.88, second in his heat and good for an automatic qualification, while seniors Riley Hunt and Hakim McMorris posted qualifying times of 14.01 (another PR) and 14.06, respectively. McMorris then returned to the long jump pit, where he had been competing before taking a quick break to run the hurdles, and posted a wind-aided leap of 7.58m/24-10.5 to finish fifth and add to the Bears' point total.
 
Although she had to miss Cal's commencement ceremony back in Berkeley, senior Jada Hicks nonetheless created an incredible memory of her own on Saturday as she improved her program No. 3 100m hurdles time for the second straight meet, racing to a finish of 13.18 in the Pac-12 preliminary and earning her an automatic berth to tomorrow's final. Two further qualifiers followed in the 100m dash, with sophomore David Foster posting a wind-aided time of 10.30 on the men's side and classmate Aysha Shaheed recording a personal-best 11.34, bettering her time for the second straight competition and moving up to No. 3 in program history. Over at the men's high jump, senior Jai Williams and sophomore Riley Knott acquitted themselves well, each leaping 2.06m (6-9) to place fourth (Williams) and fifth (Knott); Knott's mark was a good inch and a half over his old personal best.
 
Both the men's and women's multi-event athletes finished competition on Saturday. Freshman Seth Johnson finished with the highest point total of the Bears' decathletes, a personal-best 6738 aided by PRs in the discus (32.69m/107-3), pole vault (4.07m/13-4.25) and a 1500m time (4:42.43) that eclipsed his previous best by nearly 14 seconds. Senior Cole Whatley also set two personal records of his own in the pole vault (4.57m/15-0) and 1500m (4:45.50) to reach a final score of 6723 – his best point total as a Golden Bear. In the heptathlon, freshman Torre Anderson set massive PRs in both the javelin (30.52m/100-1) and the 800m (2:35.73), the latter by over six seconds, to post a personal-best total of 4874.
 
A few highlight-reel performances closed out the night for the Bears, as Amari Turner added a third-place plaque to her fantastic senior season with a pole vault mark of 4.25m (13-11.25), her highest-ever finish at a conference championship. Two of Cal's entries in the women's long jump, seniors Ijeoma Uche and Asha Fletcher, made the final and scored; Fletcher's wind-aided mark of 6.12m (20-1) was enough to earn her seventh place in the contest, while Uche herself sailed 6.31m (20-8.5) on her final jump, moving her up to fourth place and sending both her and her teammates into jubilation. That distance moves her up from 10th to 6th on the all-time program list.
 
Day Two Results
 
MEN
Decathlon:
10. Seth Johnson (6738 points) (PR)

• 110m Hurdles: 15.09 (4th place, 839 points)
• Discus: 32.69m/107-3 (PR) (12th place, 518 points)
• Pole Vault: 4.07m/13-4.25 (PR) (T10th place, 637 points)
• Javelin: 47.15m/154-8 (9th place, 547 points)
• 1500m: 4:42.43 (PR) (6th place, 665 points)

11. Cole Whatley (6723 points) (Cal PR)

• 110m Hurdles: 15.31 (6th place, 812 points)
• Discus: 33.77m/110-9 (11th place, 539 points)
• Pole Vault: 4.57m/15-0 (PR) (5th place, 781 points)
• Javelin: 42.46m/139-3 (11th place, 478 points)
• 1500m: 4:45.50 (PR) (9th place, 646 points)

-Jono Pelusi (DNF)

• 110m Hurdles: DQ
• Discus: 25.42m/83-4 (13th place, 375 points)
• Pole Vault: NH
• Javelin: FOUL
• 1500m: DNS

Shot Put: 5. Jeff Duensing 18.94m/62-1.75 (7th Cal History) (PR); 7. Jake Porter 18.27m/59-11.25 (PR)
Long Jump: 5. Hakim McMorris 7.58mw/24-10.5
110m Hurdles Prelim: 3. Di'Niko Bates 13.88 (Q) (PR); 5. Riley Hunt 14.01 (q) (PR); 6. Hakim McMorris 14.06 (q)
High Jump: 4. Jai Williams 2.06m/6-9; 5. Riley Knott 2.06/6-9 (PR)
400m Prelim: 15. Isaiah Shaw 47.16; 17. Aiden Lippert 47.35; 21. Henry Larkin 47.76
100m Prelim: 6. David Foster 10.30w (Q); 19. George Monroe 10.63; 22. Gavin Schurr 10.76
 
WOMEN
Heptathlon:
9. Torre Anderson (4874 points) (PR)

• Long Jump: 5.56m/18-3 (7th place, 717 points)
• Javelin: 30.52m/100-1 (PR) (8th place, 486 points)
• 800m: 2:35.73 (PR) (7th place, 623 points)

Hammer: 2. Anna Purchase 68.38m/224-4; 5. Audrey Jacobs 61.10m/200-5 (9th Cal History) (PR); 13. Rebecca Tomann 53.98/177-1; 14. Destiny Okoh 53.63m/175-11
100m Hurdles Prelim: 4. Jada Hicks 13.17 (Q) (3rd Cal History) (Cal PR)
Pole Vault: 3. Amari Turner 4.25m/13-11.25; T14. Ali Sahaida 3.90m/12-9.5; T14. Kylie Hilton 3.90m/12-9.5
400m Prelim: 13. Ryan Lacefield 55.63; 17. Jayden Hill 56.92
100m Prelim: 4. Aysha Shaheed 11.34 (Q) (3rd Cal History) (PR); 15. Makhaila Mills 11.79
Long Jump: 4. Ijeoma Uche 6.31m/20-8.5 (6th Cal History) (PR); 7. Asha Fletcher 6.12mw/20-1; 22. Yuki Hamachi 5.65mw/18-6.5
 
UP NEXT
The Bears will conclude the Pac-12 Championships on Sunday, beginning at 11 a.m. PT with the men's discus.
 
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