A dozen Cal Bears qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
A dozen Cal Bears qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
Eugene, Oregon will host this championships on June 8-11
Needing a top-12 finish to advance out of the NCAA West Region Preliminary this past week, 11 Cal Bears were able to achieve that and earn a trip to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
This group qualified for 8 events and one relay and join teammate Hakim McMorris who had already qualified for decathlon.
Cal's 2022 NCAA Qualifiers
-Ezinne Abba, 100m/4x100m
-Busola Akinduro, Triple Jump
-Mykolas Alekna, Discus
-Jada Hicks, 4x100m
-Josh Johnson, Shot Put
-Iffy Joyner, Discus
-Hakim McMorris, Decathlon
-Ivar Moisander, Hammer
-Anna Purchase, Hammer
-Camryn Rogers, Hammer
-Aysha Shaheed, 4x100m
-Maisie Stevens, 4x100m
Ezinne Abba will participate in two events. The senior will race as an individual in 100m sprint thanks to a 5th place finish as well as with Jada Hicks, Aysha Shaheed, and Maisie Stevens in the 4x100m relay since the quartet placed 6th.
Also making the NCAA Championships for the first time is Cal sophomore Busola Akinduro. She earned the last spot available by placing 12th with a wind-aided Personal Record jump.
The rest of the Cal Bears, including Hakim McMorris who will have to toss shot put, discus, and javelin as a part of the decathlon, will all be tossers.
Leading the way is Canadian “Calympian” Camryn Rogers, who will be seeking a COVID-interrupted three-peat as the outdoor hammer throw champion. Rogers broke her own collegiate record from earlier this season when she achieved 76.46m (250-10) en route to a totally-expected win at the West Prelim.
By the way, Camryn Rogers now owns the top-5 best collegiate women’s hammer throws in history.
Freshman Mykolas Alekna may not have broken his men’s discus collegiate record set at the Pac-12 Championships, but the 19-year-old was able to tie the NCAA West Prelim record with his winning throw of 64.87m.
Alekna also became the first Cal male athlete to win a yearly track and field award. He won both the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year award as well as the Pac-12 Field Athlete of the Year.
Both Rogers and Alekna won Pac-12 titles leading up to the NCAA West Prelim. The third Cal Pac-12 champ is Josh Johnson, who will also make it back to Eugene, Oregon by placing 3rd in men’s shot put with a new Personal Record.
Also heading to the NCAA is Ivar Moisander. The Swedish sophomore placed 9th in men’s hammer throw.
Finishing two spots behind Camryn Rogers is teammate Anna Purchase. The junior from England placed 3rd in women’s hammer throw.
Rounding out the Cal throw contingent is Iffy Joyner, who placed two spots behind Alekna in men’s discus throw. Joyner also made it to the NCAA Championships last year when he placed 13th overall in this same event.
Congratulations to all of the Cal NCAA Championships qualifiers. This sleuth of Cal Bears will rest and train for the next two weeks before vying for national titles in what should be the last Cal Athletics event of the 2021-22 school year.
THROW (RUN AND JUMP) ON YOU BEARS!