Four More Bears Named All-Americans On Day Two
AUSTIN, TEXAS – California track & field added another quartet of All-Americans on Thursday at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, with three throwers and a pole vaulter overcoming an hour-long weather delay at Mike A. Myers Stadium to record performances that ranked among the best in the nation. The Golden Bears now have six All-Americans through two days of competition, matching last year's four-day total.
Senior Anna Purchase closed out her Golden Bear career with her highest-ever NCAA finish while also posting her second-farthest throw to date. The Nottingham, England native launched the hammer 71.47m (237-4) on her first throw to take an early lead, eventually finishing third to earn her second straight First Team All-American nod and score the first six points for the Bears' women. Cal hammer throwers have now received First Team All-American honors in four straight Outdoor Championships.
Purchase, who hopes to qualify for this summer's World Athletics Championships, will now enter her pro career with the distinction of owning the No. 6 mark in collegiate history (73.02m/239-7), which is also the No. 4 mark in Pac-12 history and the No. 2 mark on Cal's all-time list.
Freshman Audrey Jacobs, the second rookie in program history to compete in the women's hammer throw at the NCAA Championships, also posted her best effort on her first throw. Although her mark of 63.77m (209-2) did not qualify her for a final three attempts, the youngest woman in the field nevertheless finished in an impressive 12th place for the highest placement ever by a Cal freshman and a Second Team All-America award. Currently, she sits at fourth on Cal's all-time list and is heir apparent to Purchase for the position of the Bears' top hammer thrower.
Like Jacobs, freshman Carolina Visca earned Second Team All-American honors in the javelin with a 12th-place throw of 51.83m (170-0), becoming just the second Cal woman in history and first since 1982 to compete in the event at the NCAA Championships. The school and freshman record-holder will next turn her attention to the Italian Championships in July, with hopes of building toward a breakout sophomore season.
Senior Amari Turner, who is currently tied with alumna Lauren Martinez for the all-time program pole vault record, notched her first career All-American honor after tying for ninth place, clearing the bar at 4.15m (13-7.25). It was the highest finish by a Cal female vaulter since 2008, putting a bow on a tremendous season that also saw Turner break a meet record in her outdoor opener and earn Pac-12 Women's Field Athlete of the Week honors.
On the track, the Bears' 4x100m relay team of Jada Hicks, Jordyn Grady, Makhaila Mills and Aysha Shaheed lined up against some of the best relay teams in collegiate history and proved that they belonged among the best, combining for a time of 43.83 that ranks third-fastest on the all-time program list. Three of the four (Grady, Mills, and Shaheed) are sophomores, promising even more impressive results as they develop in the years ahead. Hicks, a senior, also competed in the semifinals of the 100m hurdles and finished the race in 13.29, while classmate Ijeoma Uche posted a mark of 5.71m/18-8.75 in the long jump to close out the night.
Tomorrow will feature a single but notable Cal entry as sophomore and world leader Mykolas Alekna will look to earn his first NCAA discus title following another collegiate-record setting season. With a win, he would be the Bears' first men's champion since 2011 and their first discus champ since 2009.
Day Two Results
Men's Decathlon: Hakim McMorris (DNF)
- 110m Hurdles: DNF
Women's Hammer: 3. Anna Purchase 71.47m/237-4 (First Team All-American); 12. Audrey Jacobs 63.77m/209-2 (Second Team All-American)
Women's 4x100m Relay Semifinal: 18. California (Jada Hicks, Jordyn Grady, Makhaila Mills, Aysha Shaheed) 43.83
Women's 100m Hurdles: 17. Jada Hicks 13.29
Women's Pole Vault: T9. Amari Turner 4.15m/13-7.25 (Second Team All-American)
Women's Javelin: 12. Carolina Visca 51.83m/170-0 (Second Team All-American)
Women's Long Jump: 24. Ijeoma Uche 5.71m/18-8.75
Day Three Schedule (Friday, June 9)
5:35 p.m. PT – Men's Discus (Mykolas Alekna)
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