SEATTLE – The California track & field distance squad turned in several standout performances Friday at the UW Invitational, the first of the Golden Bears' two days of competition this weekend at Dempsey Indoor. In total, Cal produced five new program top-10 entries from five different athletes, two of which also made the list of top-10 individual performances.
 
Arguably the finest of these results was from junior Justin Pretre, who entered the meet ranked No. 4 in program indoor 3000m history. Running in the invite section, Pretre posted the fastest time by an attached collegian at 7:51.57, rising to No.2 in program history (and Cal's No. 2 performance). He now trails only alumnus Michael Coe, who stands atop the list with a time of 7:48.05 that he posted at the 2009 Husky Classic.
 
Freshman Jackson Hein and indoor redshirt sophomore Lamarr Kirk Jr., who broke program records in the 600m (Hein) and 1000m (Kirk) earlier this season, continued their impressive campaigns with program top-10 times in the 800m, both of which were also heat wins. Hein finished his first collegiate 800m in 1:50.56, good for No. 6 in Cal history and the fastest since alumna Ben Micallef in 2022, while Kirk posted Cal's No. 9 time at 1:51.18.
 
Redshirt junior John Sesteaga competed in the indoor 5000m for the first time in his collegiate career, placing third with a time of 14:29.57. In the men's non-invite 3000m run, senior Rowan FitzGerald led the group with a time of 8:23.11, followed by indoor redshirt freshmen Gabriel Rodriguez (8:25.03) and Zac Gibson (8:26.69).
 
All three of Cal's women posted personal bests, led by junior Addie Johnson's second-place 9:14.35 in the 3000m that moved her up from No. 7 to No. 4 in the program record books. Johnson's time, a five-second PR, was the sixth-fastest individual time in program history in the event and the fastest since alumnae Bethan Knights ran a 9:07.01 at the 2018 MPSF Championships. Senior teammate Georgia McCorkle likewise lowered her career-best time by nearly three seconds to 9:36.61.
 
In the women's 800m, senior Carolina Dawson posted a time of 2:10.38 to win her heat by nearly two seconds and become the No. 10 performer in program history.
 
UW INVITATIONAL – MEN'S RESULTS
800m – 5. Jackson Hein 1:50.56 (PR, 6th Cal History); 8. Lamarr Kirk Jr. 1:51.18 (PR, 9th Cal History)
3000m Invite – 4. Justin Pretre 7:51.57 (PR, 2^nd Cal History); 13. Caden Carney 8:30.28
3000m – 24. Rowan FitzGerald 8:23.11; 25. Gabriel Rodriguez 8:25.03 (PR); 27. Zac Gibson 8:26.69 (PR)
5000m – 3. John Sesteaga 14:29.57 (PR)
                                                                                                                                                                            
UW INVITATIONAL – WOMEN'S RESULTS
800m – 13. Carolina Dawson 2:10.38 (PR, 10th Cal History)
3000m – 2. Addie Johnson 9:14.35 (PR, 4th Cal History); 30. Georgia McCorkle 9:36.61 (PR)
 
UP NEXT
The Bears will return to Dempsey Indoor on Saturday to compete at Mile City, with the first races beginning at 9 a.m. PT.
 
STAY POSTED
For complete coverage of Cal track & field, follow the Bears on X/Twitter (@CalTFXC), Instagram (@caltfxc) and Facebook (@Cal Cross Country/Track and Field).