Cal Track and Field: Bears Sweep Big Meet; Mykolas Alekna Sets College Discus Mark
Stanford won on the track but Cal dominated the field to pull off a rare sweep of both the men’s and women’s competitions at the 127th Big Meet at Stanford’s Cobb Track and Angell Field.
And the Bears got a world-class performance from freshman Mykolas Alekna in the discus.
The Bears brought home team victories in both genders for the first time since 2014 and just the second time since 2000. Cal’s men won 86-77 and the women prevailed 81.5-71.5.
“That was fun," Cal coach Robyne Johnson said in a Sunday morning phone interview. "I’m just really happy for our athletes and our coaching staff. We’ve been working pretty hard training not only for the Big Meet but also thinking about Pac-12’s and regionals and nationals. This was really satisfying.”
The Bears did it by literally flexing their muscles in the field events, outscoring Stanford 52-20 over those eight disciplines in both competitions.
The Cal men executed off 1-2-3 sweeps of the long jump, shot put and discus while the women outscored Stanford by the same 9-0 margin in the long jump, triple jump and shot put.
The Bears broke a pair of Big Meet records, led by Alekna, the 19-year-old Lithuanian who set a collegiate record in the men’s discus with a personal-best of exactly 222 feet (67.68 meters) that elevates him to No. 2 on the yearly world list. He edged the collegiate mark of 222-0 (67.66m) set by SMU’s Hannas Hopley in 2004, on the basis of a two-centimeter advantage.
"I knew that I was going to (break the record), but I didn't think that I would do it so early," Alekna said. "To be honest, I'm not in my best shape. Consistency in my training will be key for me going forward."
Alekna now owns six of the top-10 throws in college history.
“Omigosh, and he’s a baby still,” Johnson said. “What an impressive kid.”
Runnerup Iffy Joyner of Cal threw a career-best 203-11 (62.17m) - climbing to No. 5 on Cal's all-time list. Both athletes shot past the 37-year-old Big Meet standard of 198-7 (60.52), set by Cal’s Dave Maggard Jr. All six of Alekna’s throws exceeded Maggard’s mark.
Canadian Olympian Camryn Rogers, the collegiate record holder in the women's hammer throw and owner of the the No. 2 mark in the world this year, didn’t match that on Saturday. But she eclipsed the meet standard for the fourth time with a throw of 237 feet, 8 inches (72.46m). Rogers set the record in 2018, ’19, ’21 and again Saturday (the 2020 meet was canceled due to COVID-19).
Among collegiate recordholders in the traditional outdoor events, only four are held by athletes currently competing at this level -- and two of them are owned by Cal athletes. The others: Alabama's Eliud Kipsang in the men's 1,500 (3:33.74) and LSU's Favor Ofili in the women's 200 (21.96).
Hakim McMorris
Photo by Kirby Lee, USA Today
Otherwise, the afternoon’s biggest star may have been Cal senior decathlete Hakim McMorris, who couldn’t compete in all 10 events but contributed to 18 team points by winning the long jump in 24-2 1/2 (7.38m) and the 110 hurdles in 14.76 seconds, finishing second in the javelin at 147-4 (44.92m) and running a leg on the 4x400 relay team that clocked 3:11.94.
"Hakim is in rare air right now," Johnson said of McMorris, ranked sixth on the current collegiate decathlon list. "It shows why he can be used in a plethora of events. He’s extraordinary."
Cal’s men scored 32 of a possible 36 points in the four throwing events, with senior Josh Johnson leading a sweep in the shot put at 61-5 3/4 (18.74m), freshman Riley Knott capturing the javelin with a season-best of 152-2 (46.38m), and sophomore Ivan Moisander claiming victory in the hammer throw at 215-2 (65.59m).
The Bears also got a victory in the high jump from junior Jai Williams, who cleared 6-8 3/4 (2.05m).
The Cal men scored five victories on the track, including two critical wins by narrow margins. Sophomore Garrett MacQuiddy took the 1,500 meters in 3:49.30, edging Stanford’s Cole Sprout by 2/10ths of a second. And junior Henry Larkin completed the 400 in a season-best 47.30, beating Cardinal rival Karson Lippert by 16/100ths of a second.
Sophomore William Sornberger took home the 400 hurdles title in 53.97 and joined Blaise Carson, McMorris and Larkin on the winning 4x400 relay.
On the women’s side, Cal scored 28 points in the four throwing events, with freshman Amelia Flynt leading a sweep of the shot put with a toss of 52-2 (15.90m) and junior Jasmine Blair throwing 183-1 (55.80m) to win the discus over Flynt, who threw 167-8 (51.12m). Junior Anna Purchase took second in the hammer at 220-3 (67.14).
The Bears swept both horizontal jumps, led by junior Asha Fletcher, who took the long jump in 19-8 1/4 (6.00m) and the triple jump in 43-1 (13.13m), both wind-aided. Senior Felicia Renelus was second in the triple at 41-8 3/4 (12.72m) and third in the long jump at 18-10 (5.74m).
On the track, Cal's female sprinters dominated, with Ezinne Abba winning the 100 (11.10) and 200 (23.22), both marks wind-aided. Abba also ran on the winning 4x100 relay (44.39), joined by senior Maisie Stevens, who was second in the 200 (23.57) and third in the 100 (11.42).
"Ezinne has really upped her game," Johnson said,
The Bears take next week off before the Pac-12 Championships, May 13-15 at Eugene, Ore.
Dual meets and championship events are "different animals," as Johnson said. But she is excited to see how her program measures up against the league's best.
"They still have to do it. Being in one of the toughest conferences in the country, it’s not going to be easy," Johnson said. "I tell them you just have to do what you did to get here."
Cover photo of Mykolas Alekna by Catharyn Hayne, KLC fotos
Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo