cal athletics
Both Anna Purchase (left) and Audrey Jacobs (right) will compete for Cal in the NCAA women’s hammer final.
Jacobs, Purchase, Visca, Uche, Turner all post top-12 finishes
SACRAMENT- Going into their first day of competition in the NCAA West Preliminary, the California women’s track and field had a lot of work to do to top Wednesday’s outing, in which three Golden Bear men qualified for the upcoming outdoor championships. The women not only matched that total, but nearly doubled it: By the end of the night, five more Bears had joined the group heading to the Finals and two others had advanced to the next round of their respective events.
Cal’s first qualifier (freshman audrey jacobs) had to wait quite some time before she could celebrate: she had won her flight in the hammer throw, but that was only the second of three sections of 16 athletes to compete. In the end, her new Dutch Under-20 record of 64.57m (211-10), which ranks fourth in program history, was enough to finish in a coveted top-12 spot and move her into third place. on this year’s Under-20 world list.
“I’m really at a loss for words yet, to be honest,” Jacobs said afterwards. “I’m very, very happy. Of course, you dream about it beforehand, to become an NCAA finalist, but I never expected to.”
Adding to Jacobs’ (and pitching coach Mohamad Saatara’s) joy, she won’t be the only Gold Bear vying for a women’s hammer title this year. Senior Ana buyscurrently ranked second in the nation, he broke the 70-meter barrier on his last throw to easily take the lead and earn a second straight NCAA Championship bid.
“It’s really nice to have another girl with me again,” she said, referring to the former student’s departure. CamrynRogers. “Audrey and I are trying to maintain the reputation of the Cal name; we will try to defend the California title in two weeks.”
After the Bears’ tremendous outing at the hammer, freshman carolina vizca earned the team’s NCAA third-place finish of the day, becoming the first female javelin thrower to qualify for Cal since 1982. Both her first (54.73m/179-6) and third throws (54.88m/ 180-1) broke their own program record. her, continuing her streak of improving with each consecutive match to put her in good shape heading into the Finals.
More on the track, older Jada Hicks she posted the fastest non-automatic qualifying time in all series combined with a career-high 13.11, good for moving her to No. 2 on the all-time show list and earning her a spot in Saturday’s quarterfinals. She wasn’t the only Bear to earn the No. 2 spot on Thursday, as a sophomore. aysha shahed she finished second in her 100 m heat with a time of 11.32 to automatically qualify for the quarterfinals and increase her own all-time show entry to just one place shy of the school record.
Two additional Bear women closed out the night by qualifying for their first NCAA championships. Senior Ijeoma Uchewho had only reached a regional prelim once in her college career, earned her ticket to the NCAA Finals with a mark of 6.21 m (20-4.5) and became Cal’s first long jumper in qualify since 2013. amari turner she also earned her way late in the season when she posted a height of 4.22m (13-10) in the pole vault to become one of 12 finalists in the field.
Though she narrowly missed the final, freshman pole vaulter Ali Sahaida He posted his own impressive performance on the night, clearing the bar by 4.12m (13-6.25) to set a new mark of No. 4 on Cal’s all-time list.
Second Day Results (Women)
Hammer: 1. Ana buys 70.25m/230-5; 8. audrey jacobs 64.57m/211-10 (Dutch U20 record) (4th Cal history) (PR)
Javelin: 9. carolina vizca 54.88 m/180-1 (School record)
100m hurdles (round one): 12 Jada Hicks 13.11 (q) (History of 2nd calibration) (PR)
1500m (First Round): 42. claire yerby 4:24.02
100m (First Round): 9. aysha shahed 11.32 (Q) (2nd Calibration History) (PR)
Long jump: 8. Ijeoma Uche 6.21m/20-4.5(Q)
200m (First Round): 48. aysha shahed 27.52
Pole vault: 4. amari turner 4.22m/13-10(q); T16. Ali Sahaida 4.12 m/13-6.25 (History of the 4th Cal.) (PR); – kylie hilton N.H
UNTIL NEXT TIME
The Cal men will have their second day of competition tomorrow at the NCAA West Preliminary, beginning with the men’s puck at 1 pm PT.
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