Cal Track & Field: Brutus Hamilton Invite Produces Two World-Leading Marks

Sophomore Mykolas Alekna (discus) and ex-Bear Camryn Rogers (hammer) shine in outdoor season debuts.

The Brutus Hamilton Invitational at Edwards Field produced two world-leading marks on Saturday — one by Cal sophomore Mykolas Alekna and the other by former Golden Bears’ star Camryn Rogers, both in their outdoor season debuts.

Alekna, the 19-year-old Lithuanian, threw the discus 224 feet, 4 inches (68.39 meters) to win the competition by 32 feet and move into the 2023 world lead.

Camryn Rogers / Photo by Catharyn Hayne

Rogers, who won three NCAA women’s hammer throw titles before completing her outdoor collegiate eligibility last spring, prevailed in her specialty with a toss of 253-7 (77.30).

Cal senior Anna Purchase was second in the hammer with a personal-best throw of 239-6 (73.02), which eclipsed her previous best by nearly eight feet and exceeded the previous season collegiate leader by nine feet. The native of Nottingham, England, ranks No. 5 on the world list this season and No. 5 on the all-time collegiate list.

Purchase said she was shocked by her performance.

“I worked very hard both physically and mentally this year to prepare myself for the outdoor season in the best way possible,” Purchase told Cal's official website, “and it is starting to show. My goal is to obviously make the podium at the NCAA Championships, and it would be a dream to keep the women’s hammer title in the Cal name after the last few years of Camryn Rogers’ success.

“After that, the World Championships are my target – it’s now pretty realistic, since I’m just 58 centimeters off the automatic qualifier mark.”

Alekna, who set a collegiate record in the discus as a freshman last season then won a silver medal at the World Championships in Eugene, Ore., had the world’s fourth-longest throw in 2022.

His mark on Saturday eclipsed the 2023 world best of 224-1 (68.30) by reigning world champ Kristjan Ceh of Slovakia. It exceeded the previous 2023 collegiate best by 14 feet and was just shy of Alekena’s lifetime best of 226-1 (68.91). It also was the second-longest in college history.

Rogers, the Olympian from Canada who continues to train post-collegiately at Cal, owns the top 11 throws in collegiate history. Competing independently at the Hamilton meet, she topped the day-old world-leading mark of 241-0 (73.47) by American Erin Reese.

She opened her season with a mark just 15 inches shy of her personal best.

Cal senior Skyler Magula won the pole vault with a career-best clearance of 18-1 1/4 (5.52) that sits No. 4 on the program’s all-time list. The Bears’ Amari Turner claimed the women’s vault title with a mark of 13-9 3/4 (4.21).

Cal’s Kegan Schroeter won the men’s hammer (222-7/67.86), Jake Porter took the men’s shot (57-10 1/2 /17.64) and Yan Dei Lai captured the women’s high jump (5-9 1/4 /1.76).

David Foster won the 100 meters in 10.33, just off his month-old best of 10.30 that ranks No. 2 in program history.

Cover photo of Cal sophomore Mykolas Alekna by Catharyn Hayne

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo