Cal Track & Field: Camryn Rogers Among 4 Golden Bears to Win National Titles
Four current or past Cal track and field athletes won national championships in their events recently, with Camryn Rogers capturing her third straight Canadian title in the women’s hammer throw.
Rising junior Mykolas Alekna claimed his second straight Lithuanian discus title, while rising sophomores Audrey Jacobs of the Netherlands and Carolina Visca of Italy took home national championships in the women’s hammer and women’s javelin, respectively.
Rogers, the 2022 Cal grad and ’21 Olympian, set meet and facility records with her winning throw of 254 feet, 0 inches (77.43 meters) at the Canadian meet.
Headed to the world championships in Budapest later this month, Rogers topped 77 meters for the sixth time this season. The silver medalist at last year’s worlds in Eugene, Oregon, Rogers is second among the 2023 world leaders with a personal-best mark of 257-11 (78.62) that ranks No. 5 on the all-time global list.
Alekna, the collegiate recordholder in the discus, threw 227-4 (63.30) to secure his second Lithuanian crown. Also headed to the world championships, Alekna threw his personal best of 232-11 (71.00) at the Big Meet, the longest throw on U.S. soil in 13 years.
Jacobs captured her second straight Dutch title with a mark of 196-6 (59.90) while Visca broke her own Cal record to win her third straight Italian crown with a throw of 185-6 (56.54).
Two other Golden Bears earned silver medals at their national meets.
Rising senior Busola Akinduro was second in the women’s triple jump at the Canadian championships, leaping 42-0 3/4 (12.82) while also finishing eighth in the long jump with a lifetime-best effort of 18-5 3/4 (5.63). Ivan Moisander, who will also be a senior in the fall, nabbed second in the men’s hammer at the Swedish nationals, throwing 209-0 (63.72).
Cover photo of Camryn Rogers at the Canadian national championships by Crash Kamon.
Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo