Bears Qualify Two More To NCAA Championships
FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS – No surprises here - the number one discus thrower in the country remains at number one heading into the NCAA Championships next month.
On Friday, which was Day Three of the NCAA West Region Preliminary, California track & field qualified two more throwers to the upcoming national meet in Eugene, Oregon, both of whom competed in the men's discus. Top freshman Mykolas Alekna dominated the field of some of the nation's best throwers, including fellow freshman standout Ralford Mullings of Arizona State, finishing with a top mark of 64.87m (212-10) that tied the meet record and set a new John McDonnell Field facility record.
Alekna's first throw sailed 64.02m (210-0), more than 20 feet ahead of then-second place Elijah Mason of Washington. He followed that up with his aforementioned top throw, which sat 12 feet, 2 inches ahead of the second-place Mullings. Teammate Iffy Joyner followed up his third-place finish at the Pac-12 Championships with another third-place heave, reaching a mark of 57.95m (190-1) to ensure his spot at the NCAA Championships. With Alekna and Joyner's additions to the list, the Bears now have six national entries – all throwers – which is triple the number of Cal entries from just one year ago.
In the 1500m quarterfinals, sophomore Garrett MacQuiddy finished just short of the required 12th place to move onwards, finishing seventeenth with a time of 3:43.82.
Now that the men are done, Cal's women will close out competition at the NCAA West Regionals on Saturday, beginning with the women's discus at 11:00 a.m. PT. In total, seven women are scheduled to compete across six events.
Day Three Results
Discus Throw: 1. Mykolas Alekna 64.87m/212-10 (Q) (Tied - Meet Record) (Facility Record); 3. Iffy Joyner 57.95m/190-1 (Q); 30. Josh Johnson 52.28m/171-6
High Jump: T34. Jai Williams 2.05m/6-8.75
1500m Run: 17. Garrett MacQuiddy 3:43.82
4x400m Relay: 18. California (Hakim McMorris, Josh Keller, Will Sornberger, Isaiah Shaw) 3:09.21
UP NEXT
Cal's women will finish competing on Day Four of the NCAA West Region Preliminary (Saturday, May 28) as they aim to add more athletes to the Bears' party of championship qualifiers.
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