Cal Athletes Excel at MLK Jr. Indoor Track Meet at Albuquerque

Throwers dominate while Johnny Goode and Tyler Burns set indoor program records

Giovanna Meeks in the women's weight throw / Photo by Max DeHerrera

Cal throwers shined Friday at the Martin Luther King Jr. Invitational track and field meet at Albuquerque, NM, winning men’s and women’s titles in the indoor weight throw and posting three marks that land on the program’s top-10 all-time lists.

A day later, Johnny Goode and Tyler Burns set program indoor records in the 400 meters and pole vault.

Giovanna Meeks, a redshirt sophomore transfer from Vanderbilt, won for the second week in a row, three times topped her personal best on the way to taking the 2025 national collegiate lead with a mark of 77 feet, 3 1/4 inches (23.55 meters). 

Her winning throw ranks No. 2 on Cal’s career list and No. 19 on the all-time collegiate chart.

Meeks returned Saturday morning to place fourth in the shot put at 49-11 1/4 (15.22m).

Valentina Saava, a newcomer from Larnaca, Cyprus, placed second in the weight throw with a toss of 66-9 3/4 (20.36m) that is No. 5 all-time in program history and eclipsed Cal’s freshman record held by two-time Olympian Camryn Rogers.

Senior Jared Freeman, a transfer from UC Santa Barbara, won the men’s weight throw with a nearly two-foot personal-best mark of 66-0 1/4 (20.12m) that elevates him to No. 2 on Cal’s all-time list.

Goode, a junior transfer from College of San Mateo, placed second in the men’s 400, improving his own indoor program record by one-tenth of a second with a 46.58 clocking.

Burns, a redshirt junior, eclipsed the men’s indoor pole vault record with a clearance of 18-5 1/4 (5.62m) that earned him third place. He broke Skyler Magula’s year-old standard of 18-1 3/4 and improved his own previous indoor best of 18-1

Cal’s David Foster (6.61 seconds) and Gavin Schurr 6.72) placed first and third, respectively, in the 60-meter dash.

 Myla Canty was second in the women’s triple jump with a best of 41-7 3/4 (12.69m).

Four Cal athletes finished among the top eight in the men’s long jump, with Jason Plumb nabbing second place with a mark of 24-11 1/4 (7.60m) that is sixth-best in program history.