CLAREMONT, Calif. — The men's and women's track & field teams opened their 2024 seasons on Saturday at the Outdoor Indoor Distances and Field Events (OIDFE) Challenge Meet in Claremont, Calif.

A group of Caltech athletes – primarily throwers – made their way out east, where the Beavers did not hesitate to show off their offseason training. In men's shot put, senior Ezra Johnson (Columbus, Ohio / Columbus Academy) threw a personal-best 13.69 meters (44' 11") to put himself ninth on the program's all-time top-ten list for the event. The last time a member of the Caltech men's track & field team recorded a program top-ten result in shot put was 1975 – 49 years ago.

The standout also contested the weight throw competition, leading the Beavers with a throw of 11.10m (36'5").

Junior Emily Hu (Vancouver, B.C. / Crofton House) produced a massive result in the women's weight throw competition after recording a 11.40 (37' 5") throw. Hu's performance – a personal best – earned her eighth place overall.

The talented thrower returned to action for the shot put competition, in which she placed 13th after posting an 8.89m (29' 2") performance.

Another notable result came in the men's 600-meter run, in which junior Cason Shepard (Vancouver, Wash. / Union) nabbed a fifth-place finish with a quick time of 1:29.61. First-year Joseph Kim (Irvine, Calif. / Portola) followed seconds later, crossing the line at 1:34.95

Junior Thierno Diallo (The Bronx, N.Y. / Loomis Chaffee) just nearly missed out on his personal record in the men's 200-meter race, nabbing a time of 24.93 seconds.

Junior Jadon Hale (Fort Collins, Colo. / Fossil Ridge), first-year Colin Gray (High Point, N.C. / Early College at Guilford) and sophomore Subham Sahoo (Moon Township, India / Moon Township) also competed at the meet, with each Beaver putting up strong performances behind Johnson in both shot put and weight throw.

In shot put, Hale posted a throw of 9.41m (30' 10.5"), followed closely behind by Gray (9.40m, 30' 10.25") and Sahoo, who earned a personal best (8.70m, 28' 6.5").

Sahoo led the trio in the weight throw with a result of 10.91m (35' 9") while Hale nabbed 10.71m (35' 1") and Gray followed with 8.46m (27' 9").

Next up for Caltech Track & Field is the annual Ron Mann Classic on Friday, Feb. 2 in Flagstaff, Ariz., as hosted by Northern Arizona University.

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