NCAA Indoor T&F Championships: Camryn Rogers 3rd (weight), Josh Johnson 13th (shot put)
NCAA Indoor T&F Championships: Camryn Rogers 3rd (weight), Josh Johnson 13th (shot put)
It is on to the outdoor season for Cal Track and Field
Cal Track and Field had two representatives at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships hosted by Birmingham Crossplex in Birmingham, Alabama this past weekend. Both Cal Bears had a top-16 best distance in their respective throwing events to qualify for the national championships.
Two-time defending NCAA champion in women’s outdoor hammer throw Camryn Rogers broke her own school record twice on Friday to finish on the podium in 3rd place for weight throw. “Weight throw” is the indoor equivalent of “hammer throw”. For the women, weight throw is done with a 20 lb weight. A 4 kg (8.82 lb) hammer is used for the outdoor competition. Only the outdoor hammer throw is a part of the Olympic competition.
The Canadian “Tokyo 2020” “Calympian” registered throws of 24.02m (78-9.75) and then 24.06m (78-11.25) on her final chance to get on the NCAA record book with the 9th best throw in history.
In addition to setting a new Cal record, Camryn Rogers also set a new Canadian as well as Pac-12 record for weight throw. Rogers finished 6th in the country in this event a year ago. The Cal senior will go for a three-peat in hammer throw this spring where she owns the collegiate record for a throw of 75.52m (247-9).
A day later on Saturday, graduate student Josh Johnson posted a best throw of 18.86m (61-10.5) to finish 13th in the country. Johnson’s personal best came two weeks ago at the Pac-12 Invitational when he registered a throw of 19.93m (65-4.75).
This is the second indoor All-American honor for Johnson in his collegiate career. Josh Johnson also qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championship in 2020 before that meet was canceled by COVID.
Johnson also holds the second-best mark in Cal outdoor shot put history at 19.88m (65-2.75).
"This was an exceptional national championship," said assistant coach Mohamad Saatara, who leads the throws. "Our student-athletes represented themselves and Cal to the best of their abilities."
Cal hosted their outdoor track and field season opener two weeks ago in Edwards Stadium. The outdoor season continues this weekend at the Cardinal Classic hosted by Stanford this Saturday.
The next group of Cal Bears to compete for NCAA Championships are the 16 swimmers of Cal Women’s Swimming and Diving. That meet will take place this Wednesday through Saturday in Atlanta, Georgia from the McAuley Aquatic Center on the Georgia Tech campus. While the Bears might not compete with Stanford and Virginia for the NCAA team title this year, they should extend their streak of finishing in the top-5 for a 16th consecutive season.
GO BEARS!