BERKELEY – As California track & field's offseason comes to a close with the indoor season starting in one week's time, the Golden Bears are primed for a standout year to build upon the successes of the 2023 squad, which qualified a program-record 17 athletes to the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Six of Cal's eight All-Americans return to the team in 2024, leading a group with increased depth and experience across the board.
 
The Bears are scheduled to make their first appearance of 2024 in Albuquerque, N.M. at the New Mexico Team Open on Jan. 26-27.
 
SPRINTS & HURDLES
The sprinters and hurdlers aim to have another strong year following a 2023 campaign that saw no fewer than six school records broken. Top hurdler Jada Hicks, who ranks No. 1 on Cal's indoor list and No. 2 on the outdoor list, is returning for her final season of eligibility following an appearance in the 100m hurdles at last year's NCAA Outdoor Championships; she also ran in the 4x100m relay on the biggest collegiate stage along with fellow returnees Makhaila Mills and Aysha Shaheed (the indoor 200m record-holder and No. 2 100m sprinter). On the men's side, David Foster will once again look to be a force for the Bears, hoping to improve upon his program 60m record and No. 2 100m spot, while Gavin Schurr will likewise take aim at improving his own indoor school 200m record. Three of Cal's indoor program-record-setting 4x400m relay-men (Aiden Lippert, Josh Keller and Isaiah Shaw) return for the Bears; Lippert also has two individual program top-10 marks to his name.
 
Cal's crop of newcomers to the sprints and hurdles squad includes transfers Ariyonna Augustine, Amelia Liao, Zion Mayo, Deon McCauley and Chase Williams. Augustine in particular has top-level NCAA experience, twice earning Second Team All-American status at Ole Miss (2022-23). The Bears will also field five incoming freshmen: Donovan Bradley, Mackenzie Motz, Zachary Pastore, Mari Testa and Trudy Watkins. Both Bradley and Testa were named 2023 MileSplit All-State First Team in Texas and California, respectively, with Bradley's 110m hurdles time coming in as the third-fastest in the nation among high school boys.
 
DISTANCE
Cal's distance runners will be headlined by senior returners Garrett MacQuiddy, who competed in the NCAA Outdoor Championships last year and became the first Bear to run a sub-four-minute mile since 2017, and Claire Yerby, who posted three entries on the program top-10 lists. The Bears will also be bolstered by sophomore Caden Carney, who placed fifth in the 1500m at last summer's USA Track & Field (USATF) U20 Championships and was Cal's top men's scorer at the NCAA West Regional Cross Country Championships in the fall. New faces in the distance unit include transfers Sage Holter and Cecelia Zielke as well as a slew of freshmen in Julian Doak, Addie Johnson, Lamarr Kirk Jr., Alexander Lodewick, Eva Novy-Hildesley, Justin Pretre, Roland Ruckmann-Barnes, Petra Schuster, Anastasia Snodgrass, Sophie Tau and Amelia Wardle-Stacey. Kirk Jr. and Pretre were both named to the MileSplitCA All-State Second Team following the 2023 high school season.
 
The squad looks to continue building on its upward momentum from the cross country season, which finished with the men taking fifth at the Pac-12 Championships – their best finish since 2011 – and the women finishing eighth. Both MacQuiddy and Carrick Denker earned their first career All-Pac-12 nods after finishing in 13th and 14th place, respectively. The men's (12th) and women's (14th) teams also each improved nine places from last year's finish at the NCAA West Regionals.
 
JUMPS
The Bears' pole vaulters are set for another big year as they return no fewer than five individuals who reached the NCAA West Regionals last season. Skyler Magula, the reigning Pac-12 Champion who also made an appearance at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, will enter the season with his name tied for first and third on Cal's respective indoor and outdoor program lists. Pac-12 bronze medalists Amari Turner and Tyler Burns likewise return with high aspirations; Turner, a Second Team All-American, is tied for both the outdoor program record and the third-best indoor mark, while Burns has the No. 3 indoor mark and is tied with Magula for the No. 3 outdoor spot. Ali Sahaida, who set a new outdoor freshman record last year and owns Cal's fourth-best overall mark, opens the year in a tie for eighth with Kylie Hilton (No. 7 outdoors) on the indoor list.
 
High jumpers Toby Lai and Jai Williams also return for the Bears, with Lai currently holding the program's indoor record as well as the No. 6 spot on the outdoor list and Williams holding the No. 8 indoor spot. For the horizontal jumps, senior Busola Akinduro, the reigning Canadian triple jump silver medalist, will lead the way for the veterans as she currently ranks fifth and eighth, respectively, on Cal's indoor and outdoor triple jump lists.
 
A strong crop of freshmen will bolster Cal's jumps groups, with Jeremiah Bolaños, Myla Canty, Frankie Cruz Jr., Victor Ezike Jr., Javon Hampton Jr., Khang Nguyen, Obi Nwafor and Chukwunonso Udeh each set to make their mark or the Bears. Bolaños (Calif.), Canty (Texas), Elie (Calif.) and Udeh (Calif.) were each named to their MileSplit All-State First Teams in 2023 after winning state titles in the men's triple jump, women's triple jump, women's high jump and men's long jump, respectively, while Nwafor (Calif.) received an Honorable Mention nod; Elie also posted the sixth-best high jump among all high school girls nationwide.
 
THROWS
Cal's throws group is once again filled with stars looking to make a strong impact on the national and international levels. Mykolas Alekna will be the program's top returner as the world's No. 3 discus thrower in 2023 – in addition to smashing his own collegiate record last spring and setting an official European U23 record, he also found a great deal of success in the summer by winning the U23 European title on his way to a bronze medal at the World Athletics Championships. Dutch hammer champion Audrey Jacobs and Italian javelin champion Carolina Visca will enter their sophomore seasons at Cal with hopes of building upon their Second Team All-American finishes at last year's NCAA Outdoor Championships, while seniors Jeff Duensing (shot put – First Team) and Ivar Moisander (hammer – Second Team) look to add more All-America honors to their résumés. Redshirt freshmen Nick Godbehere and Nik Iwankiw will also compete for the first time in the Blue & Gold after competing in both the shot put and discus at the USATF U20 Championships, with Godbehere taking bronze in the first event.
 
The Bears will field a trio of transfers in Rowan Hamilton, Caisa-Marie Lindfors and Kay Racine. Hamilton, a three-time NAIA hammer champion, posted the 27 longest throws in NAIA history during his undergraduate career at British Columbia and has represented his native Canada twice at the World Championships. Lindfors, the reigning Swedish discus champion who took fourth place at last year's NCAA Outdoor Championships, is likewise no stranger to the big stage after making her World Championships debut last August. Cal also welcomes freshmen Adrianna Coleman, Lauren Lemire and Angie Schykerynec to the squad; Coleman and Schykerynec were respectively ranked No. 2 and No. 4 nationally among all high school girls' hammer throwers, with the former taking third at the USATF U20 Championships and winning both the hammer and discus Washington State titles.
 
STAY POSTED
For complete coverage of Cal track & field, follow the Bears on X/Twitter (@CalTFXC), Instagram (@caltfxc) and Facebook (@Cal Cross Country/Track and Field).