Hall of Honor
It's no typo – Sarah Wright competed on the men's soccer team. Caltech did not offer women's soccer as a varsity sport until 2017, but this did nothing to stop Wright, who came to the Institute with talented skills at midfield and a desire to play collegiate soccer. She made her debut as a first-year and played all four years on the team, taking the field in nearly every game over her career. Her final three seasons, she played in 53 games with 12 starts. Wright served as a pivotal trailblazer as the Institute saw an increase of Caltech women playing on the men's team, ultimately leading to the creation of the women's team.
Beyond leading the vanguard on the soccer front, Wright was also a talented member of the women's basketball team in the winter. Wright played in 86 games, starting in 59 of them. She led the team in blocks in 2011-12 and was second in assists and steals. At the time of her graduation, Wright ranked fifth all-time in steals in the program record books. She also ranked top-ten in free throws made.
Wright may have performed her strongest in the spring on the track and in the field. To this day, she holds the school record in the heptathlon (4201), a score she achieved in 2013. Unsurprisingly, her multi-event prowess puts her in the program top-ten lists in a host of events; Wright currently ranks second all-time in the 100-meters (13.27), second in javelin (127'7" ½), third in the 200-meters (26.96), third in 100-meter hurdles (15.80), third in long jump (16"5' ¼), fifth in high jump (4'11" ¾), sixth in 400-meter hurdles (1:12.56), sixth in shot put (31"10'), and sixth in pole vault (8"8' ¼). She earned All-SCIAC recognition in back-to-back-to-back years for her top-six performances at the conference meet in the javelin throw, 100m hurdles, and 4x100m relay. Wright's best finish came at the 2013 SCIAC Championships, where she placed third in javelin.
Wright won the Women's Basketball Discovery Award in 2011-12 and 2012-13, for her "commitment to the discovery of the scholar, the athlete, and the citizen." In 2013, she was awarded the Caltech Athletics Directors' Award and won Caltech Sportswoman of the Year.
