Men’s track tops at Fresno event

When a team is ranked in the top 10, a lot is expected out of each performance.

This past weekend the No. 7 men’s track team delivered that type of performance, taking the team title at the Cal-Nevada Championships in Fresno with 238 points.

The closest team was Fresno State with 165 points.

“Rankings are nice to have,” coach Art Venegas said. “I feel like the team has a lot to improve on to be placed with the elite teams.”

One athlete proving the team deserves its rank is redshirt senior John Caulfield. After earning All-American honors for the indoor season, Caulfield continued his brilliant season by winning the discus (197 feet, 10 inches) and shot put (62-7.75) with personal bests.

“(The marks were) definitely better than what I have done in the past,” Caulfield said. “I was pleased with the shot put and definitely pleased with the discus.”

The throw in the discus was a personal best by six feet and is the No. 1 mark in the country.

The throwing team had a strong performance by sweeping the shot put and qualifying for NCAA regionals. Sophomore Darius Savage finished second with a new lifetime best of 59-9.75 and redshirt freshman Bo Taylor placed third with his personal record of 59-2.

Another Bruin to win his event was redshirt junior Boldizsar Kocsor. He won the hammer throw with a mark of 217-3. On Friday during preliminaries Kocsor tossed a lifetime best of 222-6 to break the UCLA junior class record of 218-5, held by David Wilson since 1988.

“It was a great way to start (the outdoor) season,” Kocsor said. “Hopefully we can keep on building and peak at the right time for nationals.”

Rounding out the group of seven event winners were senior Henry Hagenbuch, with a lifetime best 3:50.65 in the 1,500 meters, and junior Elijah Wells, whose time of 48.02 earned him a first place finish in the 400m. Freshman Jonathan Clark won the triple jump with a mark of 49-9.25, qualifying him for regionals. Redshirt freshman Johnny Quinn reached a height of 17-0.75 for a new personal best and first place finish in the pole vault.

“We’re really excited about where the team is going,” Venegas said. “I’m pleased with the performances, and there has been a big improvement in a lot of areas.”

Two of the team’s captains made their outdoor debuts: Two-time All-American Greg Garza placed fourth in the discus with a throw of 194-9, and junior Kevin Craddock came in seventh in the 400m hurdles with a time of 58.05

After easily winning the Cal-Nevada Championships and with all the high marks, the Bruins will hope to maintain the strong performances.

“This has been a good starting point,” Caulfield said. “It lets everyone know (this season) is different. Everything is more serious, and we want people to take notice.”

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