SACRAMENTO – In their first day of competition at the NCAA West Preliminary, California track & field's women had a lot of work to do in order to top Wednesday's outing, in which three Golden Bear men qualified through to the upcoming Outdoor Championships. Not only did the women match that total, they nearly doubled it – at the end of the night, five additional Bears had joined the Finals-bound party and another two had advanced to the next round of their respective events.
 
Cal's first qualifier (freshman Audrey Jacobs) had to wait quite some time before she could celebrate – she had won her flight in the hammer throw, but that was only the second of three 16-athlete sections to compete. In the end, her new U20 Dutch record of 64.57m (211-10), which ranks fourth-best in program history, was enough to finish in a coveted top-12 spot and place her at third on this year's World U20 list.
 
"I don't really have words yet, to be honest," Jacobs said afterward. "I'm just very, very happy. Of course, you dream about it beforehand – becoming an NCAA finalist – but I never expected to actually do it."
 
To add to Jacobs' joy (and to that of throws coach Mohamad Saatara), she will not be the only Golden Bear competing for a women's hammer title this year. Senior Anna Purchase, who currently ranks second in the nation, broke the 70-meter barrier on her final throw to take the lead with ease and earn a second straight NCAA Championships bid.
 
"It's really nice to have another girl with me out there again," she said, referring to the departure of alumnus Camryn Rogers. "Audrey and I are trying to keep the prestige of the Cal name going – we'll try and defend the California title in two weeks."
 
Following the Bears' tremendous outing in the hammer, freshman Carolina Visca earned the team's third NCAA berth of the day, becoming the first women's javelin thrower to qualify for Cal since 1982. Both her first (54.73m/179-6) and third (54.88m/180-1) throws broke her own program record, continuing her streak of improving with each consecutive meet to put her in good shape heading into the Finals.
 
Over on the track, senior Jada Hicks posted the fastest non-automatic qualifying time in all heats combined with a personal-record 13.11, good to move her up to No. 2 on the all-time program list and earning her a spot in Saturday's quarterfinal. She was not the only Bear to earn a No. 2 ranking on Thursday, as sophomore Aysha Shaheed finished second in her 100m heat with a time of 11.32 to auto-qualify for the quarterfinal and increase her own all-time program entry to just one spot under the school record.
 
Two additional Bear women closed out the evening by qualifying for their first NCAA Championships. Senior Ijeoma Uche, who had only ever reached a Regional Preliminary once before this in her collegiate career, punched her ticket to the NCAA Finals with a mark of 6.21m (20-4.5) and became Cal's first female long jumper to qualify since 2013. Classmate Amari Turner also earned her way to the season finale as she recorded a height of 4.22m (13-10) in the pole vault to become one of the final 12 in the field.
 
Although she just missed out on the final, freshman pole vaulter Ali Sahaida posted her own impressive performance on the night, clearing the bar at 4.12m (13-6.25) to set a new No. 4 mark on Cal's all-time list.
 
Day Two Results (Women)
Hammer: 1. Anna Purchase 70.25m/230-5; 8. Audrey Jacobs 64.57m/211-10 (Dutch U20 Record) (4th Cal History) (PR)
Javelin: 9. Carolina Visca 54.88m/180-1 (School Record)
100m Hurdles (First Round): 12. Jada Hicks 13.11 (q) (2nd Cal History) (PR)
1500m (First Round): 42. Claire Yerby 4:24.02
100m (First Round): 9. Aysha Shaheed 11.32 (Q) (2nd Cal History) (PR)
Long Jump: 8. Ijeoma Uche 6.21m/20-4.5 (q)
200m (First Round): 48. Aysha Shaheed 27.52
Pole Vault: 4. Amari Turner 4.22m/13-10 (q); T16. Ali Sahaida 4.12m/13-6.25 (4th Cal History) (PR); - Kylie Hilton NH
 
UP NEXT
Cal's men will have their second day of competition tomorrow at the NCAA West Preliminary, beginning with the men's discus at 1 p.m. PT.
 
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