False finish line: Cal’s end of indoor season marks beginning of outdoor
The finish.
That’s the favorite F-word of track and field athletes. But even though Cal wrapped up its indoor season last weekend at the Pac-12 Invitational in Seattle, it was a false finish line. The end of the indoor season only marks the beginning of outdoor season. Hence, the grind continues.
Despite a meet schedule that extends well into May, the Pac-12 Invitational provided a significant checkpoint for the Bears.
Jumps
Cal’s jumpers showed out this past weekend, with top-three performers in both the men’s and women’s long jump. On the men’s side, Mason Mangum finished in second with a leap of 7.58 meters, and fellow Bear Kamau Carlisle landed in sixth with a solid 7.21.
In the women’s long jump, Ijeoma Uche, a transfer from Brown, took third by jumping 5.78 meters. Felicia Renelus, a fellow transfer from Brown, took second in the triple jump. Renelus recorded a mark of 12.60 meters, just 0.04 meters short of her personal record, or PR.
Sprints
Freshman Aly Conyers solidified her status as a breakout freshman with her PR of 55.54 in the 400-meter dash. Not only did she earn 12th overall, but she also penciled her name in as No. 6 in program history. In the women’s 200-meter, Cal took spots eight through 10, as senior Ezinne Abba, freshman Aysha Shaheed and senior Maisie Stevens each finished only a fraction of a second apart.
In the men’s 200-meter dash, sophomore George Monroe was the sixth athlete to cross the finish line with a time of 21.80.
Distance
Twice this indoor season, Garrett MacQuiddy has run the mile — and twice he has run 4:01 low. Just a freshman by eligibility, MacQuiddy will surely have several more cracks at breaking four minutes in the mile during the outdoor season, so don’t be surprised if it happens in the coming months. This weekend, his time of 4:01.14 was good for fifth in the meet. In the men’s 3,000-meter run, Cole Sawires Yager shone with a time of 8:12 (a PR), followed by Gabriel Abbes in 8:23.
On the women’s side, Claire Yerby, Jessica Nye and Meredith Corda all earned PRs. Yerby threw down a 4:51 mile and was followed closely by Nye, who finished in 4:56. Corda, who participated in the women’s 3,000-meter, covered the distance in 10:08.
Throws
Camryn Rogers has done it again. She utterly dominated the weight-throw event this past weekend, launching a winning throw of 22.73 meters to earn herself a stadium record and improve on her own school record. The Bears were also well-represented by Rebecca Tomann, Anna Purchase and Jasmine Blair, who placed third, 10th and 12th, respectively.
Josh Johnson, meanwhile, placed highest among the Cal athletes competing in shot put. The senior took third with a heave of 19.93 meters. Jeff Duensing and Jake Porter joined Johnson in the top 10, and Iffy Joyner and Justin Wirtz finished close behind them.
This meet, which marks the close of the indoor season, is really just the beginning for the blue and gold. With high marks to reflect on from this past weekend, the Bears should enter the outdoor season exuding confidence and hungry to continue their success in the approaching weeks.
Sarah Siegel covers track and field. Contact her at ssiegel@dailycal.org. Ethan Moutes covers track and field. Contact him at emoutes@dailycal.org.