California’s track and field team will start its 2026 indoor season on Friday at the Spokane Sports Showcase, held at The Podium in Spokane, Washington. The Golden Bears will compete against athletes from eight other colleges, including former conference rivals USC and UCLA.
The event begins with the women’s weight throw at 10:30 a.m. Pacific Time. It will be streamed live on Runnerspace+, with results available through AthleticTiming.
Last season, California’s men finished fifth at the ACC Indoor Championships while the women tied for 12th place. Both teams have seen significant changes to their rosters, bringing in 15 new male athletes and 14 new female athletes after graduating many top performers.
Seventeen new Golden Bears are set to make their program debuts this weekend. Five of these newcomers—Lauren Gilhooly, Diana Scott, Kaitlyn Williams, Tiffany Williams, and Antonio Bayon—will compete in multiple events.
Returning athletes include ten who earned a total of 14 All-ACC honors last year. Sophomore Lucija Leko collected three honors across shot put and discus events. Trevor Rogers and Valentina Savva each won outdoor silver medals and indoor second-team recognition in long jump and hammer/weight throw respectively. Senior Jason Plumb secured consecutive bronze medals at recent ACC Indoor Championships.
Several returning Bears competed internationally over the summer of 2025. Valentina Savva set a Cypriot record in the hammer throw at the European U23 Championships, finishing third. Audrey Jacobs reached the hammer final at the same event and took second place at the Dutch Championships. Lucija Leko participated for Croatia in both discus and shot put, finishing seventh in discus. Mari Testa won Austria’s U23 title in the 100m hurdles to qualify for the European U23 Championships.
Cal’s hurdlers aim to build on strong performances from last season; five returnees posted times among Cal’s all-time top ten lists during 2025. On the men’s side, Donovan Bradley recorded one of Cal’s fastest-ever hurdle times as both a freshman and sophomore.
This season also features several promising freshmen expected to make an impact at conference and national levels. Lauren Gilhooly is among California’s leading high school sprinters; South African middle-distance runner Salma Bejia was ranked as a top recruit by Track & Field News; Bradley Arrey contributed to one of America’s fastest relay squads; Jackson Hein posted notable high school times; Sam Novak (Arizona) and Kai Anderson (California) join as highly-ranked pole vaulters; Caitlyn Johnson (Texas) and Avery Hart (Massachusetts) bolster horizontal jumps; Pietro Camilli (Italy), Matas Mikulėnas (Lithuania), and Eliot Traxler bring depth to throws; Antonio Bayon is recognized as a top decathlon recruit by Track & Field News.
The coaching staff has also seen changes this year with Tyler Burdorff leading throws after his tenure at Maryland where he coached several record-holders and national finalists, while Nicole Matysik joins after competing for Furman University where she earned multiple conference honors. Additional instruction comes from two-time Olympian Stamatia Scarvelis along with alumni Carrick Denker and Riley Knott.
For ongoing updates about California track & field, fans can follow team accounts on X/Twitter (@CalTFXC), Instagram (@caltfxc), or Facebook (@Cal Cross Country/Track and Field).
