WHITTIER, Calif. – Caltech Track & Field traveled to Whittier College this Saturday to compete in its second SCIAC meet of the season. Both the Men's and Women's teams had strong performances across the board, including numerous top-three finishes.

Distance events began with a bang on the Men's side, as first year Stephen Goehringer (Wellesley, Mass. / Wellesley) sped past the competition in the 3000m steeplechase with a first-place time of 10:11.51. Later on in the meet, senior Rohun Agrawal (Cupertino, Calif. / Monta Vista) placed third out of 17 in the 1500m after 4:09.46 minutes. 

The 5000m saw all three of Caltech's entrants, first year Jack Sullivan (Bethesda, Md. / Georgetown Preparatory), sophomore Colin La (Potomac, Md. / Winston Churchill) and first year Gavin John (Swarthmore, Penn. Strath Haven) reach scoring position with fourth, fifth, and sixth place times respectively. In the 800m, sophomore Richard Hoffman (Simi Valley, / Calif. Westlake) and rookie Brady Akau (Kapolei, Hawaii / Kamehameha Schools Kapalama) stuck with the pack with each of their 2:03.74 and 2:05.04 times.

The Women's side had its own fair share of scoring finishes, starting off with the 800m as first year Katelyn Sadorf (Boca Raton, Fla. / Spanish River) reached third place out of 15 competitors after a blistering 2:26.29 performance. She was joined in the event by fellow junior Elisa Grillo (Cypress, Texas / Bridgeland), who ran for 2:39.50, and sophomore Layla Adeli (Pacific Palisades, Calif. / Palisades Charter) finishing after 2:41.64. 

The 5000m then saw another third place finish from junior Camila Power (Edmonds, Wash. / Saint James) as well as a close fourth and fifth place finish by rookies Shrila Esturi (Campbell, Calif. / Saint Francis) and Raquel Lample (Encino, Calif. / Notre Dame HS). Power finished after 19:53.43, followed by Esturi and Lample at the 21:15.28 and 21:36.41 marks.

Sprints saw their own share of success for both the Men's and Women's teams throughout the day as well. For the Men, seniors Roy Jiang (Vancouver, B.C. / Southridge School) and Thierno Diallo (New York, N.Y. / Loomis Chafee School) scored in the 400m, with Jiang placing second after 51.62 seconds and Diallo in fifth after 53.81 seconds. 

For the Women's team, their 200m runners stuck together to snag sixth, seventh, and ninth out of a pool of 14. The runners who achieved those places in order were senior Isabela Ceniceros (Mukilteo, Wash. / Kamiak), sophomore Ivy Brainard (Charlotte, N.C. / Providence Day) and sophomore Isha Goswami (Saratoga, Calif. / Saratoga). Each of the sprinters ran personal bests, with Ceniceros' 26.89 second and Brainard's 26.93 second splits being fast enough for the program's third and fourth fastest times in history, with Goswami's 27.37 second time also cracking the top 10 at seven.

The Women's 4x400m team also had a strong performance on the day, coming in second place out of the five teams in attendance. With the combined efforts of Goswami, Brainard, Sadorf and first year Hypatia Hamkins (New York / The Brearley School), the team completed all four laps in 4:12.81 and earned eight points for their effort.

Throwers for both teams also saw great success of their own throughout the day and across multiple events. On the Men's side, the trio of seniors Ezra Johnson (Columbus, Ohio / Columbus Academy), Daniel Amelinez-Robles (Madison, Wis. / James Madison Memorial) and first year Maxwell Braithwaite (Webster, N.Y. Webster Thomas) took first through third place respectively in the shot put, throwing for 12.71m, 12.16m, and 11.77m on the day. In discus, the trio once again placed in the top five as Amelinez-Robles took first after throwing 40.35m, Johnson took second with 39.96m, and Braithwaite took fourth with 38.15m.

The most notable feat of the day for the men's team, though, comes in the hammer throw, as Caltech took seven of the top eight places. Amelinez-Robles picked up another win, this time followed by fellow senior Jadon Hale (Fort Collins, Colo. / Fossil Ridge) in second place. Places four through eight were achieved in order by Braithwaite, Johnson, juniors Luke Lamitina (Pittsburgh, Penn. Winchester Thurston), David Castillo (Johns Creek, Ga. / Chattahoochee) and sophomore Colin Gray (High Point, N.C. / Early College at Guilford).

Women's shot put saw first year Kyra Phaychanphen (Chino Hills, Calif. / Chino Hills) hurl for a second place result of 9.62m, closely followed in fourth place by fellow first year Clara Stevens (Vienna / Flint Hill School) with a 9.29m toss of her own.

Phaychanphen's consistency would persist in the discus, finishing a third place throw of 34.18m. Out of the total 13 competitors in the event, her runner-up in fourth would be Caltech's own senior Emily Hu (Vancouver, B.C. / Crofton) throwing for 31.42m.

Hu's own success would also continue into her performance in the hammer, achieving second place out of 10 with her best throw measuring in at 40.71m. Stevens also ranked in the top five of the pool, coming in at fourth with a 35.83m toss of her own.

Lastly, the Men's pole vaulters swept the top three, as first year Brendan Rudberg (Shoreline, Wash. / Shorecrest), junior Aaban Syed (Laurel, Md. / North County), and rookie Lucas Smith (Hailey, Idaho / Wood River) each flew above four meters on the day. Their final heights cleared measure at 4.85m, 4.20m, and 4.05m, respectively.

Caltech Track & Field will be back in action this weekend at both the Moorpark Invitational and the UC San Diego Triton Invite.