BERKELEY – California track & field's record-setting season ends this week as a program-record group 17 qualifiers head to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, scheduled this year from June 7-10 at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas.
 
Combined, this group of Golden Bears has set one U23 world and continental record, one U20 national record, one facility record, eight meet records, 15 program top-10 marks (each of which is ranked sixth or better, including four school records) and one Cal freshman record this season.
 
Seven of Cal's competitors appeared at the NCAA Championships in 2022, making the majority of this year's group newcomers to the national season finale.
 
Event-by-Event Path to Austin:
 
Men's 1500m: Junior Garrett MacQuiddy posted his season-best time of 3:41.26 at the Bryan Clay Invitational in April, later placing fifth at the Pac-12 Championships and following that up with a gutsy performance at the NCAA West Preliminary. After advancing to the quarterfinals with a time of 3:41.87, MacQuiddy forced his way through a tightly crowded pack on the final lap to clinch the final qualifying spot at 3:50.08 and become Cal's first 1500m runner since 2015 to compete in the NCAA Championships.
 
Men's Pole Vault: Senior Skyler Magula follows up his first career Pac-12 title with an appearance at the NCAA Championships, clearing the bar at 5.40m (17-8.5) at the NCAA West Preliminary to become Cal's first male pole vaulter to advance this far since 2010. He aims to become the fourth Bear to win an NCAA men's pole vault title; his PR of 5.55m (18-2.5), set two months ago at the Mt. SAC Relays, is tied for third best on the all-time program list.
 
Men's Shot Put: Junior Jeff Duensing makes his NCAA Championships debut this year as the latest in Cal's string of NCAA-qualifying shot putters (six of the past seven outdoor championships have featured a Cal man in the event). Duensing, who finished fifth at the Pac-12 Championships, set his current PR of 19.80m (64-11.5) at the NCAA West Preliminary, improving his old personal best by two feet, 10 inches and moving him up to a tie for third in program history.
 
Men's Discus: Sophomore Mykolas Alekna continues to stand atop this year's world leaderboard with his collegiate-record (and world U23 record) 71.00m (232-11), set at the 128th Big Meet, in addition to posting seven additional top-10 throws in collegiate history this season. For his efforts, he has been named to every iteration of The Bowerman Watch List this season, as well as earning two USTFCCCA Men's Athlete of the Week honors and three Pac-12 Men's Field Athlete of the Week awards. Alekna also clinched his second straight Pac-12 championship last month with a throw of 70.40m (231-0), as well as breaking the Hornet Stadium facility and NCAA West Preliminary meet records with his mark of 67.75m (222-3) at the NCAA West Preliminary to add to his three other meet records broken in this season alone. He will chase his first NCAA championship after finishing second last season, looking to become Cal's third discus champ and first since 2009.
 
Men's Hammer: Junior Ivar Moisander is set to compete in his second straight NCAA Outdoor Championships following a season that saw him rise to third on the all-time program list. His personal-best throw of 69.32m (227-5) at the Pac-12 Championships, which earned him his second third-place conference finish, puts him just an inch and a half behind the No. 2 mark. Two weeks later, he crossed the 69-meter mark again with a qualifying throw of 69.15m (226-10) at the NCAA West Preliminary.
 
Men's Decathlon: Senior Hakim McMorris will appear at his third straight NCAA Championships, having also competed in the 2022 Outdoor and 2023 Indoor Championships. He has only competed in the decathlon once this season, scoring 7655 points at the Mt. SAC Relays to earn one of 24 qualifying spots to this week's meet. Currently, McMorris ranks fourth on Cal's all-time decathlon list; he will pursue the program's fifth decathlon title this week and the first since 2011.
 
Women's 100m Hurdles: Senior Jada Hicks is Cal's only entry in multiple contests this week, as she is also scheduled to run the first leg of the 4x100m relay. This year, she is set to make her NCAA debut in an individual event after posting 100m hurdles times of 13.11 and 13.04, respectively, in the NCAA West Preliminary's first round and quarterfinals. Hicks is now just 0.02 seconds off the all-time program record and is the first women's hurdler since 2006 to appear in a Cal uniform at the NCAA Championships.
                                                                                                                                                                         
Women's 4x100m Relay: The quartet of Hicks and sophomores Jordyn Grady, Makhaila Mills and Aysha Shaheed ran together for the first time at the 128th Big Meet, setting a meet record at 44.23 for the second-best time in program history; two weeks after that, they smashed the program record at 43.81 for a second-place finish at the Pac-12 Championships before lowering that time to 43.75 at the NCAA West Preliminary. They, as well as junior alternate Ryan Lacefield, will become just the sixth women's 4x100m relay squad in program history to compete at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
 
Women's Pole Vault: Following a mark of 4.27m (14-0) that set a Cardinal Classic meet record and earned her Pac-12 Women's Field Athlete of the Week honors, senior Amari Turner leaped 4.30m (14-1.25) to tie the program record at the Mt. SAC Relays. She later earned bronze at the Pac-12 Championships, clearing the bar at 4.25m (13-11.25) for her first conference podium finish, before earning an NCAA-qualifying spot with a mark of 4.22m (13-10) at the NCAA West Preliminary to become the team's first women's pole vaulter to compete at the NCAA Championships since 2018.
 
Women's Long Jump: Senior Ijeoma Uche started the season outside of Cal's top-10 list; she currently ranks sixth all time for the Bears after leaping to a fourth-place 6.31m (20-8.5) at the Pac-12 Championships. She followed that career-best effort with a leap of 6.21m (20-4.5) at the NCAA West Preliminary, qualifying for her first career NCAA Championships and becoming Cal's first finals-bound competitor in the women's long jump since 2013.
 
Women's Triple Jump: Senior Asha Fletcher soared to an all-conditions PR of 13.38mw (43-10.75) at the blustery Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays, later placing seventh at the Pac-12 Championships before posting a clutch wind-legal performance of 13.33m (43-9) at the NCAA West Preliminary to move her up to fourth in program history and qualify her for her first career NCAA Championships.
 
Women's Hammer: For the second straight year, Cal will enter two women in the hammer throw in hopes of earning the program's fourth straight title. Senior Anna Purchase, who ranks second in the nation and second on Cal's all-time list at 73.02m (239-7), is the No. 2 British woman in history and fourth all time in the Pac-12. She qualified for the NCAA Championships with a winning throw of 70.25m (230-6) at the NCAA West Preliminary after placing second at the Pac-12 Championships. Freshman Audrey Jacobs smashed her own U20 Dutch record with a toss of 64.57m (211-10) two weeks ago at the West Preliminary, moving up to fourth on the program all-time list and putting her in good shape as she attempts to win her first All-American award.
 
Women's Javelin: Freshman Carolina Visca has improved each week in her rookie campaign, most recently breaking her own school and freshman record with a throw of 54.88m (180-1) at the NCAA West Preliminary. Although she has yet to surpass her senior javelin PR of 58.47m (191-10), Visca's rapid upward trajectory, including a second-place finish at the Pac-12 Championships, indicates that she is prepped for another explosive performance at the biggest collegiate stage of them all.
 
Event Schedule (All Times PT - Seeds, Season-Highs Notated)
 
Wednesday, June 7
Men's Hammer (12:30 p.m.): No. 13 Ivar Moisander (69.32m/227-5)
Men's Decathlon 100m (12:30 p.m.): No. 23 Hakim McMorris (10.48)
Men's Decathlon Long Jump (1:10 p.m.): No. 23 Hakim McMorris (7.45m/24-5.5)
Men's Decathlon Shot Put (2:25 p.m.): No. 23 Hakim McMorris (13.80m/45-3.5)
Men's Decathlon High Jump (3:40 p.m.): No. 23 Hakim McMorris (1.89m/6-2.25)
Men's Pole Vault (4:30 p.m.): No. 3 Skyler Magula (5.55m/18-2.5)
Men's 1500m Semifinal (4:46 p.m.): No. 19 Garrett MacQuiddy (3:41.26)
Men's Shot Put (6:10 p.m.): No. 10 Jeff Duensing (19.80m/64-11.5)
Men's Decathlon 400m (6:56 p.m.): No. 23 Hakim McMorris (47.49)
 
Thursday, June 8
Men's Decathlon 110m Hurdles (10:30 a.m.): No. 23 Hakim McMorris (14.00)
Men's Decathlon Discus (11:20 a.m.): No. 23 Hakim McMorris (42.44m/139-3)
Men's Decathlon Pole Vault (12:30 p.m.): No. 23 Hakim McMorris (4.60m/15-1)
Women's Hammer (1:30 p.m.): No. 2 Anna Purchase (73.02m/239-7); No. 14 Audrey Jacobs (64.57m/211-10)
Men's Decathlon Javelin (3:00 p.m.): No. 23 Hakim McMorris (49.45m/162-3)
Women's Javelin (5:10 p.m.): No. 11 Carolina Visca (54.88m/180-1)
Women's Pole Vault (5:30 p.m.): No. 5 Amari Turner (4.30m/14-1.25)
Women's 4x100m Relay Semifinal (5:32 p.m.): No. 14 California (Jada Hicks/Jordyn Grady/Makhaila Mills/Aysha Shaheed/Ryan Lacefield) (43.75)
Women's 100m Hurdles Semifinal (6:32 p.m.): No. 21 Jada Hicks (13.04)
Women's Long Jump (7:00 p.m.): No. 19 Ijeoma Uche (6.31m/20-8.5)
Men's Decathlon 1500m (7:56 p.m.): No. 23 Hakim McMorris (4:33.30) (Total Decathlon Season-Best: 7655)
 
Friday, June 9
Men's Discus (5:35 p.m.): No. 1 Mykolas Alekna (71.00m/232-11)
Men's 1500m Final (6:12 p.m. – if qualified): No. 19 Garrett MacQuiddy (3:41.26)
 
Saturday, June 10
Women's 4x100m Relay Final (6:02 p.m. – if qualified): No. 14 California (Jada Hicks/Jordyn Grady/Makhaila Mills/Aysha Shaheed/Ryan Lacefield) (43.75)
Women's Triple Jump (6:10 p.m.): No. 19 Asha Fletcher (13.33m/43-9)
Women's 100m Hurdles Final (6:42 p.m. – if qualified): No. 21 Jada Hicks (13.04)
 
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