TRACK ‘amp; FIELD ‘mdash; With a conference championship under their belt, the Tritons now turn their attention to competing against the best athletes in the nation.
Fresh off the California Collegiate Athletics Association Championships less than two weeks ago, where the women’s team won its fifth straight title, UCSD will compete at the 2009 NCAA Division-II Track and Field Championships at Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas. Nationwide, 620 athletes will participate in the event, including 15 Tritons. Twelve women and three men will represent UCSD, a large number that reflects the team’s successful season.
‘Every once in a while, women’s head coach Darcy [Ahner] and I have to do a reality check,’ men’s coach Tony Salerno said. ‘We have to appreciate how far we’ve come as getting this many athletes to nationals is impressive.’
Junior Christine Merrill, senior Laiah Blue and sophomore Kelly Fogarty will lead the Tritons, each qualifying for three events at nationals. Merrill, who garnered Athlete of the Meet honors at the CCAA Championships, will compete in the 400-meter hurdles and participate on the 4×100- and 4×400-meter relay teams. Merrill’s time of 58.86 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles earned her the top seed by over a second.
Blue will run the 100- and 400-meter hurdles, and is also a member of the 4×100 relay team. Fogarty qualified for both the 100- and 200-meter dash and is also on the 4×100 team, which is seeded sixth in the nation and broke UCSD’s record earlier this year.
The Triton women have eight returning all-Americans, and will look to improve on their best-ever fourth-place finish from last season.
‘There are over 200 teams in Division II, and almost all of them are full scholarship programs,’ Salerno said. ‘The probability of getting one or two athletes here [to nationals] isn’t great, so we’re definitely ahead of the curve.’
Reigning national champion ‘mdash; and school-record holder ‘shy;’mdash; senior Linda Rainwater will look to repeat as champion in the heptathlon and will also compete in the high jump for the Tritons.
The Tritons’ other top seed is junior Danielle Thu, whose school-record mark of 57.76 meters in the hammer throw is best in the nation this year. Thu was named West Region Field Athlete of the Year earlier this week.
Sophomore Bre Schofield will lead UCSD’s distance events, seeded seventh after running a school-record time of 4:29.6 in the 1,500 meter.
On the men’s side, CCAA Freshman of the Year Nick Howe will compete in the javelin throw, only a week after setting a school record with a mark of 201’3′ at the Occidental Invitational. Fellow school record holder junior Casey Ryan qualified in the high jump after becoming the first UCSD athlete to clear seven feet earlier this year.
Ahner was awarded her second straight West Region Coach of the Year award, and will be honored along with Thu at a banquet prior to the meet.
The NCAA Division-II Nationals take place May 21 through May 23.
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