The UCSD track and field squads divided up the weekend, sending some athletes to the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational and others to the Mount San Antonio College Relays and Heptathlon at Azusa Pacific University. Juniors Jon Patton, Mimi Hodgins and Briana Hinga each set new school records in the 200-meter race, 1500-meter race and heptathlon, respectively.
On the mark:
At the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational on April 15, Patton led the men’s team as he raced to two NCAA provisional times and set a UCSD record in the 200. Patton crossed the finish line at 21.84 seconds — .05 seconds faster than the previous school record — and met the NCAA provisional time. He also made the NCAA provisional cut in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.79.
Junior teammate Carl Lostrom ran the 1500 event in a time of 3:50.96 and earned the NCAA provisional time.
For the women, Hodgins, who ran a 4:29.95 in the 1500, broke the school record and also met the NCAA qualifying time. Hodgins regained the school record, which senior teammate Lindsay Stalker had broken two weeks ago. Stalker, in turn, met the NCAA qualifying cut in the 800 meters with her time of 2:11.23.
Freshman Emily McGregor ran a 17:32.08 in the women’s 5000-meter competition and finished fourth out of 44 runners overall. Although she was competing in the event for the first time, McGregor met the NCAA provisional time and placed sixth in the nation for Division II schools for the event.
“I thrive off of competition,” she said.
When McGregor strode past a former high school rival, who currently runs with UC Irvine, she was exuberant.
“It was redeeming just to show how much college training had helped me and my race,” she said.
Sophomore teammate Elisa Holiday ran the 100-meter dash in 12.08 seconds and finished fifth of 55.
At the Mt. San Antonio College Relays and Heptathlon on April 13, Hinga and junior Amy Beeman finished 12th and 15th, respectively, out of the 26 competitors.
The heptathlon event, which includes the 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shotput, 200, long jump, javelin and 800, occurs only twice during the track and field season.
Hinga finished the competition with 4380 points — a new school record. She competed solidly throughout the two-day competition, jumping 16 feet, six inches in the long jump, throwing for 124-6 in the javelin and running 2:39.04 in the 800.
Despite her personal record, Hinga says the event was not everything she hoped for.
“I was honestly frustrated because I didn’t finish very strong in the 800,” she said. “But I was pleased that it was a personal best for me.”
Beeman set a personal record with her finish of 4023 points, the third-best finish in school history. Beeman finished the 800 in 2:32.34, while jumping 16-5 in the long jump and throwing for 102-6 in the javelin.
Hinga and Beeman will concentrate on decreasing personal tension during the event, especially for the 800.
“Amy and I both have the problem of tightening up instead of just relaxing and pushing through the pain,” Hinga said. “But you need to be mentally tough and just do it.”
The Tritons track and field teams will next compete on April 22 and April 23 at the UCSD Triton Invitational. The first event on the opening day will commence at 4 p.m. while the remainder of the competition will begin at 10 a.m. on April 23.
