LA VERNE, Calif. – Caltech Track & Field made its mark at the Leopard Invitational at the University of La Verne this week, with multiple top-10 finishes and strong individual performances through two days of competition.   

First-year Kyra Phaychanpheng (Chino Hills, Calif. / Chino Hills) broke the top 10 in the discus throw with a personal best of 36.50m, an improvement of over two meters from her previous personal best. The multi-sport student-athlete finished eighth out of 22 competitors.  

Senior Emily Hu (Vancouver, B.C. / Crofton House) led the charge for the Beavers, earning the highest placement of the day for Caltech, finishing at 4th place in the hammer throw with a mark of 42.60m. Teammate Sophia Steven (Broomfield, Colo. / Peak to Peak Charter) joined Hu in the hammer circle, securing 11th place with a throw of 33.74m out of 19 competitors.

On the men's side of the throwing events, Senior Ezra Johnson (Columbus, Ohio / Columbus Academy) earned an 8th place finish with his discus throw of 38.44m. Senior Daniel Amelinez-Robles (Madison, Wis. / James Madison Memorial) hurled a 48.96-meter hammer throw to secure sixth place out of 20 entrants. Amelinez-Robles still holds the Catlech men's hammer throw program record of 53.27m, set on April 4. at the Moorpark Invitational.

The sprinters also showcased grit in preliminary heats Thursday. Senior Thierno Diallo (New York, N.Y. / Loomis Chafee School) finished 13th in the men's 200-meter with a time of 24.33 seconds and senior Lea Grohmann (Cambridge, Mass. / Cambridge Rindge and Latin School) took 14th in the women's 100-meter with a time of 16.26 seconds. 

Caltech will compete in the two-day SCIAC Championships beginning on Saturday, April 26. The action begins at 10 a.m. each day at Jack Kemp Stadium on the campus of Occidental College in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles.

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