Alekna Places Second In Discus For First-Team All-America Honors

Mykolas Alekna, one of the best athletes in Cal history, closed out his Golden Bear career Friday with a second-place finish at the NCAA Championships.

T&F6/13/2025 8:52 PM | By: Cal Athletics

Two-Time World Medalist Battles In Clash Of Olympians

EUGENE, Ore. – Coming into day three of the NCAA Outdoor Championships, just one man from California track & field had yet to compete: discus world record-holder Mykolas Alekna, who hoped to follow up second- and third-place finishes at his first two NCAA Championships with a title for the Golden Bears. All knew nothing would come easy, however, as his main opponent in the ring was the No. 2 discus thrower in the history of the NCAA: Oklahoma’s Ralford Mullings, who had posted a best mark of 69.13m (226-9) in March at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays and, like Alekna, was a finalist at the 2024 Olympic Games.
 
Competing third in the initial order, Alekna took an early lead with a first-round throw of 66.44m (218-0), while Mullings’ first throw came off his hand short and wobbly; the reverse happened in the second round, as the Cal graduate took an intentional foul while Mullings moved into second place with a throw of 65.92 (216-3). The Jamaican native then took the lead for good in the third round after another Alekna foul, the discus finally falling at 67.70m (222-1) to break a 33-year-old meet record.
 
The next three throws featured multiple personal bests in a battle for third place, prompting several cries of admiration from the crowd. USC’s Racquil Broderick, who was one of just two men to qualify from the first flight, unleashed a throw of 63.31m (207-8) in round five, after which Virginia Tech’s Uladzislau Puchko responded with a 63.94m (209-9) to surge ahead. Neither of them ultimately challenged for the top two spots, which came down, as billed, to Alekna and Mullings: Alekna’s fourth throw sailed farther than any of his previous attempts but was ultimately ruled foul, while his fifth throw improved his mark to 66.77m (219-0).
 
Alekna’s sixth throw crashed into the right side of the cage, ricocheting off the pole with a resounding clong. Mullings, his victory assured, then launched a personal-best rocket of 69.31m (227-4) for the final exclamation point.
 
In addition to becoming the first man in…