COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Three of the five California track & field athletes competing at the NCAA West Regional on a humid Friday afternoon posted qualifying marks to advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, elongating their already-outstanding seasons in which each man set at least one program record. Including the four Golden Bear qualifiers from Thursday, Cal is now up to seven with the opportunity to add more Saturday.
 
World record-holder and The Bowerman candidate Mykolas Alekna continued his historic streak of dominance in the discus, letting out a yell in his third attempt as he unleashed a throw of 72.12m (236-7) that surpassed the rest of the competition by over 16 feet (4.91 meters) and crushed the former E.B. Cushing Stadium facility record by nearly 24 feet (7.25 meters). The mark also bettered Alekna's own meet record by nearly 14 feet, or 4.37 meters, and was both the No. 10 performance in world history and the No. 2 throw in collegiate history, which officially clinched all 10 of the all-time collegiate top-10 marks for the Lithuanian native.
 
Garrett MacQuiddy navigated his heat masterfully in the 1500m quarterfinal, putting himself in the perfect position to move outside in the final 200m and execute his signature kick to finish third with a time of 3:47.06, good for third place in his heat and the auto-Q to his second NCAA Championships. Four events later, Johnny Goode ground out a time of 45.84 in the 400m to hang on as one of the top three "next fastest" men, finishing outside of the top three in his heat but nevertheless earning his first NCAA qualifying berth to become Cal's first man to qualify in that specific event (not counting the 440y race) since Dave Archibald and Forrest Beaty in 1964.
 
Jared Freeman, who competed in the hammer throw two days prior, concluded his collegiate career with a discus mark of 54.91m (180-2), while Jeremiah Bolaños closed out his sophomore campaign in the triple jump with a leap of 15.06m (49-5).
 
NCAA WEST REGIONALS – MEN'S RESULTS (Day 3)
400m Quarterfinal – 9. Johnny Goode 45.84 (q)
1500m Quarterfinal – 14. Garrett MacQuiddy 3:47.06 (Q)
Triple Jump – 36. Jeremiah Bolaños 15.06m/49-5
Discus – 1. Mykolas Alekna 72.12m/236-7 (q, Facility Record, Meet Record); 31. Jared Freeman 54.91m/180-2
 
 
UP NEXT
Five Cal women will close out the meet Saturday, beginning with the women's discus at 11 a.m. PT.
 
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