COLLEGE STATION, Texas –Ashtyn Davis and Tuomas Kaukolahti earned places on the podium with marks near the top of the school’s all-time list as California track & field wrapped up competition at the NCAA Indoor Championships on Saturday at Gilliam Indoor Stadium.
All three men’s competitors scored points for Cal as they collected 11 points and took 20th place in the standings. It was the Bears’ highest finish since 2010 when Cal also notched 11 points and tied for 17th.
Davis took third place in the men’s 60m hurdles as he set a school record of 7.63 seconds. Davis clipped the first hurdle but was able to recover to take the bronze. The senior had something to prove after finishing sixth at last year’s championship. The previous school mark of 7.67 was set by Milan Ristic in 2014.
Davis stumbled in 2017 and finished in 7.83. His personal best was 7.71 coming into the final which he set in last year’s semis and earlier this year at the MPSF Championship. Davis advanced to the final after qualifying with a mark of 7.74 seconds. Davis took fourth in his heat and fourth overall to earn the berth in the finals.
Tuomas Kaukolahti finished in fifth in the men’s triple jump thanks to a monster final leap. He jumped 53-7.00 to notch the second-best mark in school history and take fifth. Heading into his final jump, Kaukolahti sat in ninth place and was in danger of not scoring. However, the sophomore from Finland recorded a personal best to get on the podium.
He improved throughout the competition as he moved from 50-3.5 to 52-0.5 to 52-11.5 over his first three jumps. He sat in 13thafter one jump and moved up to ninth after his second leap. However he wasn’t guaranteed three more jumps since there were still a couple jumpers behind him in the order. So Kaukolahti jumped 52-11.5 to take the seventh-best mark of the opening round. After two fouls he sat in ninth heading to the final jump, before his new career-best.
Lauren Martinez took 10th in the women’s pole vault with a clearance of 13-9.75, the second-best mark of Martinez’ indoor career. She cleared the first two bars of 13-5.75 and 13-9.75 without a miss. The junior took on the next height of 14-1.75, which would have been a new personal best and an indoor school record. She was unable to clear it on three attempts despite coming very close on her second attempt.
“I don’t think anybody had a bad meet,” director of track & field/cross country Tony Sandoval said. “I think everybody performed well. I was pleased with the poise everyone showed throughout the event. This is the elite of the elite and it takes tremendous poise to compete at this level. For the men to finish in the top 20, the top finish since 2010 is pretty good. We have a number of All-Americans across the board. They are going to enjoy that, but there is more to come during outdoor season.”
Davis and Kaukolahti earned first-team All-American honors while Martinez earned a spot in the second team.
On Friday, redshirt freshman McKay Johnson took eighth in the shot put with a throw of 63-5.50 to add a point to the Bears’ total and earn first-team All-American honors. Bethan Knights booked second-team All-American honors as she took 12th in the women’s 5000m. Knights finished in 16:18.51.
The Bears will begin the outdoor season in earnest next weekend as they take the entire team to the Hornet Invitational in Sacramento. The Bears will compete on Friday and Saturday at Hornet Stadium.
Friday’s Results
Men’s 60m Hurdles (Semifinals): 4. Ashtyn Davis, 7.74
Men’s Shot Put: 8. McKay Johnson, 63-5.50
Women’s 5000m: 12. Bethan Knights, 16:18.51
Saturday’s Results
Men’s 60m Hurdles (Finals): 3. Ashtyn Davis, 7.63
Men’s Triple Jump: 5. Tuomas Kaukolahti, 53-7.00
Women’s Pole Vault: 10. Lauren Martinez, 13-9.75
