Caltech’s Choudhury Makes Another Top 10 List at Oxy Distance Carnival

Freshman Rohan Choudhury (Cupertino, Calif. / Monta Vista) broke onto another Caltech men’s track & field top-10 list in his first collegiate 5,000-meter run at the Occidental Distance Carnival Spring Break Classic on Friday.

The rookie crossed the finish line in 15:30.59, vaulting into seventh place on the all-time list and less than 10 seconds back of fourth.

Senior Morgan Hill (San Diego, Calif. / Wasatch Acad.) and freshman Muskaan Goyal (Apple Valley, Minn. / Eastview) each recorded personal bests in the hammer throw and 100-meter dash, respectively. Hill tossed the hammer six feet further than his own fourth-best mark in program history from the week prior, coming within four inches of third all-time with a throw of 139 feet, eight inches, while Goyal shaved .3 in the 100m.

“One of our mantras is, ‘If we get a little bit better each day, we can surprise ourselves’,” Raphelson said. “We’ve seen that play out this year with Morgan in particular. Lots of small, consistent improvements led to a big jump in performance this weekend.”

Freshman Michelle Marasigan (Elk Grove Village, Ill. / James B. Conant) and junior Lilly Luo (Belle Mead, N.J. / Montgomery) clocked impressive 1500m times of 5:15.32 and 5:51.23, with Marasigan’s just two seconds shy of the top-10 list.

“I think this was a breakthrough race for Michelle in terms of her execution, finishing kick and poise,” Head Coach Ben Raphelson said. “It was her best race yet at Caltech.

Freshman Rohan Doshi (West Windsor, N.J. / West Windsor-Plainsboro North) came within two seconds of Choudhury’s season-best 1500m, crossing the line in 4:16.08, with freshman Joey Hong (Milpitas, Calif. / King’s Acad.) not far behind at 4:31.77.

“The distance group as a whole is in a great place right now,” Raphelson said. “They’re having fun, gaining experience and improving by leaps and bounds.”

Raphelson and the Beavers will enjoy a week off from competition due to finals before another tuneup at the Point Loma Collegiate Invitational on Saturday, Mar. 26 preceding the following week’s SCIAC Multi-Dual #2.