King of the ACC – California Golden Bears Athletics

BERKELEY – Competing at Edwards Stadium for the first time in 364 days, it took Mykolas Alekna just two throws of the discus to give California track & field fans what they were expecting to see: another record.
 
Surprisingly, it wasn’t one that the world record-holder already possessed. At last year’s Brutus Hamilton Invitational, Alekna – competing unattached in a gray top and black shorts – opened his season with a throw of 71.39m (234-2) to break the stadium and meet records. During his first two years as a collegian, he re-set the collegiate record multiple times, ending up with a best mark of 71.00m (232-11) that naturally also set a new conference record.
 
The Pac-12, that is. Not the ACC.
 
Now, a second conference record belongs to Alekna, as his throw of 70.09m (229-11) at Saturday’s iteration of the Brutus Hamilton Invitational shattered the previous mark of 67.02m (219-10) posted by Virginia Tech’s Claudio Romero in 2022 – and made him the new 2025 World leader.
 
Alekna’s achievement was just the cherry on top of an outstanding day for the Golden Bear throwers. Rookie Valentina Savva broke the Cyprus U23 hammer record with a winning throw of 68.73m (225-6) – smashing Cal’s previous freshman record set by 2024 Olympic champion Camryn Rogers in 2018 by over 10 feet. Giavonna Meeks, who earned indoor All-America honors earlier this year, placed second in the event with a personal-best throw of 66.93m (219-7) to open her outdoor campaign at No. 4 in program history, while Audrey Jacobs took third at 64.13m (210-4).
 
In the men’s hammer, Jared Freeman improved his standing on Cal’s all-time list to No. 7, finishing second to alumnus Kegan Schroeter’s lifetime-best 70.75m (232-1) with his throw of 66.90m (219-6), while freshman Kai Barham improved his collegiate best to a third-place 59.53m (195-3). Freeman also took second place in the discus with a mark of 52.04m (170-9), while Charlie Dang finished third at 51.00m (167-4) – a mark that he achieved right after winning the men’s javelin competition with a nearly-nine-foot PR of 63.55m (208-6) that was the 10th-farthest throw in program history.
 
Newcomer Lucija Leko moved up to No. 3 on Cal’s all-time shot put list with her winning mark of 16.44m (53-11.25) in the women’s contest. Nick Godbehere claimed the men’s shot put title for the Bears, recording a throw of 17.72m (58-1.75), while teammate Nik Iwankiw took second at 16.47m (54-0.5). Finally, 2024…