ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The California track & field team closed out competition at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Invitational on Saturday with four new program top-10s, bringing their total to eight on the weekend at the Albuquerque Convention Center.
 
Redshirt junior Seth Johnson, an All-American heptathlete, bettered his own school record in the 300m by .71 seconds to 34.65 and posted a 60m hurdles time of 7.99 – just 0.3 seconds off his PR of 7.96 that stands at No. 10 in program history. He was joined in the latter event by classmate Luke Buddie, who set a new personal best (8.52) for the second week in a row.
 
Junior Mari Testa and sophomore Inara Ukawuba also posted program top-10 entries on the track: Testa, who won the Austrian U23 100m hurdles title this past summer, finished in 8.24 in the prelims and 8.23 in the final to bring her up to No. 2 in program history, while Ukawuba claimed sole possession of Cal's No. 10 all-time mark at 8.49. Testa's performance was just 0.01 seconds slower than the school record of 8.22, set by alumna Jada Hicks in 2023.
 
Cal's top performance in the field events belonged to pole vaulter Ali Sahaida, who won her second straight title in the A section with a huge indoor PR of 4.29m (14-0.75), which she achieved on her first attempt at the height to bring her up to No. 2 in school history behind alumna Lauren Martinez (4.30m/14-1.25, 2018) and become just the second Cal woman to surpass 14 feet indoors. Reigning ACC Men's Rookie of the Week Sam Novak led Cal's competitors in the men's A section, matching his PR and freshman record of 5.25m (17-2.75).
 
Sophomore Nairobi Smith, who rose to No. 5 on Cal's indoor 200m list Friday, posted a winning time of 7.58 in the women's unseeded 60m race, followed by freshman teammate Caitlyn Johnson and her second-place PR of 7.59. On the men's side, sophomore Wazell Wright recorded a personal best of 6.90 in the 60m invitational, while junior Josh Myers likewise ran a PR of 6.95 in the unseeded contest.
 
The men's and women's shot put each featured a pair of top-three finishes, as redshirt junior Nik Iwankiw posted a season-best 17.33m (56-10.25) to take second place for the men and Lucija Leko finished third in the women's contest at 14.94m (49-0.25). Freshmen Matas Mikulėnas and Eliot Traxler each recorded substantial personal bests, with Mikulėnas adding over a foot to his PR (16.65m/54-7.5) and Traxler adding one-and-a-half feet (16.04m/52-7.5) to his own.
 
Junior Jeremiah Bolaños placed third in the triple jump with a personal-best mark of 15.26m (50-0.75), while sophomore Kosi Nwafor jumped 14.69m (48-2.5) and junior Chukwunonso Udeh made his indoor debut in the event, finishing with a best leap of 13.68m (44-10.75). Freshman Savannah Harris closed out the meet by shaving nearly four seconds off her 800m PR, posting a time of 2:20.96.
 
 
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. INVITATIONAL (DAY TWO) – MEN'S RESULTS
60m Invitational – 16. Wazell Wright 6.90 (PR); 17. Aidan Orias 6.91
60m Unseeded – 5. Josh Myers 6.95 (PR); 6. Javon Hampton Jr. 6.98; 7. Jakobi Smith 7.03
300m – 5. Seth Johnson 34.65 (PR, School Record)
60m Hurdles Prelim – 7. Seth Johnson 7.99 (q, DNS in final); 16. Luke Buddie 8.52 (PR)
Pole Vault A – 6. Sam Novak 5.25m/17-2.75 (=PR); 8. Will Siemens 4.95m/16-2.75
Triple Jump – 3. Jeremiah Bolaños 15.26m/50-0.75 (PR); 8. Kosi Nwafor 14.69m/48-2.5; 10. Chukwunonso Udeh 13.68m/44-10.75 (PR)
Shot Put – 2. Nik Iwankiw 17.33m/56-10.25; 5. Matas Mikulėnas 16.65m/54-7.5 (PR); 7. Eliot Traxler 16.04m/52-7.5 (PR)
                                                                                                                                                                            
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. INVITATIONAL (DAY TWO) – WOMEN'S RESULTS
60m Invitational – 17. Lauren Gilhooly 7.57
60m Unseeded – 1. Nairobi Smith 7.58; 2. Caitlyn Johnson 7.59 (PR); 8. Tiffany Williams 7.69; 10. Kaitlyn Williams 7.76; T11. Paige Porter 7.77
800m – 13. Savannah Harris 2:20.96
60m Hurdles Prelim – 7. Mari Testa 8.24 (q); T12. Saqqara Ruffin 8.49; T12. Inara Ukawuba 8.49 (PR, 10th Cal History); 23. Fallyn Gowans 8.86
60m Hurdles Final – 8. Mari Testa 8.23 (PR, 2nd Cal History)
Pole Vault A – 1. Ali Sahaida 4.29m/14-0.75 (PR, 2nd Cal History)
Triple Jump – 16. Avery Hart 11.74m/38-6.25; - Leah Anderson NM; - Caitlyn Johnson NM
Shot Put – 3. Lucija Leko 14.94m/49-0.25
 
UP NEXT
Cal's distance runners will head up to Seattle on Jan. 30-31 for the UW Invitational.
 
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