The California track & field team will hit the road this week to nearby Sacramento, bringing a full squad to Hornet Stadium to continue its outdoor season at the Hornet Invitational. The two-day meet will begin on Friday, with events starting at 10 a.m. PT both days.
 
Several of the Golden Bears' top indoor performers are slated to compete this weekend. The first heat of the men's 400m features All-ACC star Johnny Goode and fellow standout Isaiah Shaw, with the former holding the indoor school record and the latter already ranked No. 2 in outdoor program history. Sub-four milers Garrett MacQuiddy and Justin Pretre are slated to appear in the men's 800m, while Jayden Hill (400m, 800m), Addie Johnson (800m, 1500m) and Sophie Tau (1500m) will both look to continue their strong seasons on the women's side. The jumps will be headlined by Parker Terrill in the pole vault, who currently ranks No. 10 both indoors and outdoors, and All-ACC long jumpers Jason Plumb (No. 8 outdoors, No. 5 indoors) and Trevor Rogers (No. 8 indoors).
 
Many of Cal's vaunted throwers will also begin their outdoor campaigns. Dutch U23 record-holder Audrey Jacobs is set to appear in the hammer throw along with program top-10 weight throwers Adrianna Coleman (No. 7) and Angie Schykerynec (No. 8). All-ACC thrower Lucija Leko will make her outdoor collegiate debut in the shot put and discus, the former in which she is the reigning Croatian champion and the latter in which she is the reigning Mediterranean U23 champion. Rounding out the group is Carolina Visca, a three-time Italian javelin champion and the school record-holder, who will compete for the first time this year.
 
HORNET INVITATIONAL (March 21-22 – Hornet Stadium, Sacramento)
Meet Info/Schedule – HornetSports.com
Live Results - TimerHub
 
CALIFORNIA ENTRIES (MEN)
Program Top-10 holders marked with an asterisk
100m – Deon McCauley, Aidan Orias, Trevor Rogers, Jakobi Smith, Chase Williams*, Wazell Wright, Aaron Yang
200m – Johnny Goode, Aiden Lippert, Deon McCauley, Aidan Orias, Trevor Rogers, Avinash Schwarzkopf, Isaiah Shaw, Jakobi Smith, Chase Williams, Wazell Wright, Aaron Yang
400m – Johnny Goode, Aiden Lippert, Avinash Schwarzkopf, Isaiah Shaw*
800m – Caden Carney, Rowan FitzGerald, Zac Gibson, Lamarr Kirk Jr., Garrett MacQuiddy, Justin Pretre, Gabriel Rodriguez
1500m – Caden Carney, Julian Doak, Rowan FitzGerald, Sam Franco, Zac Gibson, Alexander Lodewick, Antoine Moret, Gabriel Rodriguez
5000m – Dylan Bissell, Roland Ruckmann-Barnes
110m Hurdles – Donovan Bradley*, Luke Buddie, Matt Gladney, Riley Knott
400m Hurdles – Daniel Chen, Owen Foley, Luke Tanguay
4x100m – California
High Jump – Brandon Cheeks II, Chukwunonso Udeh
High Jump Invite – Victor Ezike Jr., Riley Knott
Pole Vault Invite – David Brok, Will Siemens, Parker Terrill*
Long Jump – Brandon Cheeks II, Javon Hampton Jr., Jason Plumb*, Trevor Rogers, Chukwunonso Udeh
Triple Jump – Jeremiah Bolaños, Kosi Nwafor, Brandon Rush
Shot Put – Nick Godbehere, Nik Iwankiw
Discus – Charlie Dang, Jared Freeman, Nick Godbehere, Nik Iwankiw
Hammer – Kai Barham, Kai Burich, Jared Freeman
Javelin – Luke Buddie, Charlie Dang
 
CALIFORNIA ENTRIES (WOMEN)
Program Top-10 holders marked with an asterisk
100m – Fallyn Gowans, Masina Mayo, Paige Porter, Saqqara Ruffin, Jaymie Ruskovich, Mari Testa, Zanae Woods
200m – Masina Mayo, Paige Porter, Jaymie Ruskovich, Nairobi Smith, Jaya Westby, Loreal Wilson, Zanae Woods
400m – Jayden Hill, Zoe Lahanas, Nairobi Smith
800m – Carolina Dawson, Jayden Hill, Addie Johnson, Ava Kopec, Zoe Lahanas
1500m – Carolina Dawson, Addie Johnson, Georgia McCorkle, Sarah Perkins, Sophie Tau
5000m – Amelia Wardle-Stacey
100m Hurdles – Torre Anderson, Asjah Atkinson*, Fallyn Gowans, Saqqara Ruffin*, Mari Testa*
400m Hurdles – Jaya Westby, Loreal Wilson
High Jump – Adriana Ellard, Jade Neser
High Jump Invite – Mara Lampsas, Ashanti Elie
Pole Vault Invite – Ali Sahaida*
Long Jump – Leah Anderson, Torre Anderson, Yuki Hamachi, Jade Neser
Triple Jump – Leah Anderson, Myla Canty
Shot Put – Lucija Leko
Discus – Adrianna Coleman, Lucija Leko, Amanda Spear
Hammer – Adrianna Coleman, Audrey Jacobs*, Angie Schykerynec, Amanda Spear
Javelin – Adriana Ellard, Yuki Hamachi, Carolina Visca*
 
 
BEARS COLLECT FOUR INDOOR ALL-AMERICA HONORS
Cal's quartet of NCAA qualifiers each picked up an All-America nod at the Indoor Championships, marking the highest combined total by the program since 2018. Giavonna Meeks claimed her second-straight First-Team recognition after placing fourth in the weight throw, while David Foster took home his fourth Second-Team honor with a 15th-place finish in the 60m. Tyler Burns (pole vault - 12th) and Seth Johnson (heptathlon - 15th) were each named to the Second Team following their debuts on the NCAA big stage.
 
ALL-ACC HONOREES
Cal's men earned eight All-ACC honors and its women five at the Bears' first-ever ACC Indoor Championships on March 1-3, with the team's four medalists named First-Team All-ACC: Giavonna Meeks was Cal's first champion of the meet, posting a new meet record in the weight throw,  while top sprinter David Foster won his first conference title in the 60m after outpacing the field by .08 seconds. Jason Plumb and Tyler Burns took bronze in the long jump and pole vault, respectively, marking the second time in each of their careers that they have placed third at a conference meet. Men's Second-Team honors went to Johnny Goode (400m), Victor Ezike Jr. (high jump), Riley Knott (high jump), Trevor Rogers (long jump) and Seth Johnson (heptathlon); on the women's side, recognition went to Aysha Shaheed (60m), Asjah Atkinson (60m hurdles), Lucija Leko (shot put) and Valentina Savva (weight throw). Rogers, Shaheed, Atkinson, Leko and Savva also set new program top-10 marks with their performances.
 
WORLD RECORD RETURNER
Discus thrower Mykolas Alekna will compete for the Bears once more after taking the 2024 season off to prepare for his debut Olympic Games, where he surpassed the previous Olympic record on the way to a silver medal. The 22-year-old phenom stunned the athletics world by breaking track & field's oldest standing men's record last April, posting a throw of 74.35m (243-11) at the Oklahoma Throws World Invitational to surpass a mark that had stood since 1986.
 
Since enrolling at Berkeley in Fall 2021, Alekna has compiled an eye-popping résumé that has already elevated him into one of the sport's legendary figures. The two-time World medalist, three-time Lithuanian Male Athlete of the Year and two-time semifinalist for The Bowerman set his first collegiate record as a freshman, later becoming the youngest-ever European discus champion and youngest World discus medalist in history at just 19 years of age; that year, he was also named a semifinalist for the AAU James E. Sullivan Award and the USTFCCCA West Region and Pac-12 Men's Field Athlete of the Year. Most recently, he was named the top discus thrower in the world by Track & Field News and landed a spot on The Bowerman Preseason Watch List for the third consecutive year, becoming just the fourth man in award history to make a watch list in four different calendar years.
 
THROW LOUD AND PROUD
Cal's throws squad - which has already set six program indoor top-10 marks this season - looks prepped for another elite year, led by returning Olympic discus throwers Mykolas Alekna and Caisa-Marie Lindfors. Hammer thrower Audrey Jacobs owns the Dutch U23 record and earned All-America status as a freshman in 2023, while javelin specialist Carolina Visca set the school record as a rookie and was also named an All-American in 2023. Adrianna Coleman, a sophomore, has also reached the USATF U20 Championships in each of the past two years, taking bronze in the hammer in 2023.
 
The Bears also welcome several top newcomers to the team this year. Cal's throwing transfer class is headlined by Giavonna Meeks, who was an All-American weight thrower at Vanderbilt and reached the U.S. Olympic Trials in the hammer. The new freshmen include 2024 World U20 hammer silver medalist Valentina Savva, 2024 European Championships two-way competitor Lucija Leko (discus and shot put) and 2023 European U20 hammer medalist Kai Barham.
 
BEYOND THE NCAA
In addition to its standout throws squad, Cal boasts multiple additional athletes with experience on big-time national or international stages. Both David Foster (100m) and Tyler Burns (pole vault) were semifinalists at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials after posting fantastic winter and spring seasons; the former also has a world medal to his name, claiming bronze with the Team USA 4x100m relay squad at the 2022 World U20 Championships. Later that summer, sophomore Justin Pretre represented Canada in the 1500m at the 2024 World U20 Championships after winning its national U20 title.
 
SPRINTERS ON THE RISE
Cal's sprinters and hurdlers are prepped for another big outdoor season, following an indoor campaign in which they posted 13 new program top 10s and four school records. Newcomer Johnny Goode posted a breakout indoor season in which he set program records in the 200m, 400m and 4x400m relay; he was joined in the latter event by Isaiah Shaw, Arian Naim and Iyan Godwin. Hurdlers Asjah Atkinson (No. 2 indoor), Mari Testa (No. 5 indoor) and Inara Ukawuba (No. 9 indoor) are also looking forward to strong outdoor seasons as the former two, along with junior Saqqara Ruffin, are also ranked on Cal's 100m hurdles top-10 list at No. 5, No. 8 and No. 10, respectively. Rounding out the group is Chase Williams, who owns a share of the school 4x100m relay record and is ranked No. 5 on Cal's all-time 100m list.
 
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