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Courtesy of Caltech Athletics--
Name: Sarah Wright ‘13
Institution: Caltech
Sports: Men’s Soccer, Women’s Basketball, Women’s Track & Field
Hometown: Strongsville, Ohio
High School: Lake Ridge Academy
Major: Bioengineering
It's no typo – Sarah Wright competed on the men's soccer team. Caltech did not offer women's soccer as a varsity sport until 2017, but this did nothing to stop Wright, who came to the Institute with talented skills at midfield and a desire to play collegiate soccer. She made her debut as a first-year and played all four years on the team, taking the field in nearly every game over her career. Her final three seasons, she played in 53 games with 12 starts. Wright served as a pivotal trailblazer as the Institute saw an increase of Caltech women playing on the men's team, ultimately leading to the creation of the women's team.
Beyond leading the vanguard on the soccer front, Wright was also a talented member of the women's basketball team in the winter. Wright played in 86 games, starting in 59 of them. She led the team in blocks in 2011-12 and was second in assists and steals. At the time of her graduation, Wright ranked fifth all-time in steals in the program record books. She also ranked top-ten in free throws made.
Wright may have performed her strongest in the spring on the track and in the field. To this day, she holds the school record in the heptathlon (4201), a score she achieved in 2013. Unsurprisingly, her multi-event prowess puts her in the program top-ten lists in a host of events; Wright currently ranks second all-time in the 100-meters (13.27), second in javelin (127'7" ½), third in the 200-meters (26.96), third in 100-meter hurdles (15.80), third in long jump (16"5' ¼), fifth in high jump (4'11" ¾), sixth in 400-meter hurdles (1:12.56), sixth in shot put (31"10') and sixth in pole vault (8"8' ¼). She earned All-SCIAC recognition in back-to-back-to-back years for posting top-six performances at the conference championships in the 4x100m relay, javelin throw (twice) and 100m hurdles. Wright's best finish came at the 2013 SCIAC Championships, where she placed third in javelin.
Wright won Caltech’s Women's Basketball Discovery Award in 2012 and 2013 for her “commitment to the discovery of the scholar, the athlete, and the citizen.” In 2013, she was awarded the Caltech Athletics Directors' Award and won Caltech Sportswoman of the Year.
The standout was inducted into the Caltech Athletics Hall of Honor in 2023.
"Caltech Athletics was a huge part of my experience back then and continues to be," said Wright in her induction speech. "Almost all of my closest friends were from my sports teams, and I still keep in touch with them," she said. "There's a lot of lessons that I've learned in playing sports that [ended up] helping me in my job now."
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