The UCSD men’s and women’s track and field teams garnered a number of solid performances in their final meet prior to the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championships. They competed against their top opponents in the high temperatures at the Steve Scott Invitational hosted by UC Irvine on May 2.
“It was a long, hot day, and that really hurt most of the performances in the field events and races longer than 200 meters,” UCSD head coach Tony Salerno said.
Nonetheless, a number of long distance runners maintained their edge, including senior Neil Kalra, who secured the 5,000-meter championship with his time of 15 minutes, 4.58 seconds.
“Kalra had a win in the men’s 5,000 in very hot conditions, [which] was pretty impressive,” Salerno said.
Freshman Matt Maybeno broke the 11-second barrier in the 100 men’s dash, crossing the finish line in a time of 10.99 seconds.
Maybeno’s time was good enough to win section four in the meet and also to place him at the third-best all-time position in the school records.
Senior Julian Nahan finished second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:23.82. Sophomore Mike Cunningham had a personal record in the 110 hurdles with a time of 14.65, further improving his qualifying time for Nationals and placed him at the second-best all-time position at UCSD.
On the women’s side, freshman Elisa Holiday captured the second-fastest time in UCSD history, clocking in with a time of 12.03 in the 100.
“Holiday had a big personal record in the 100 at 12.03,” Salerno said. “That should get her into Nationals and is just .02 off the school record.”
Senior Clara Wilson registered an NCAA provisional time in the 400 hurdles with her time of 1:03.03. Junior Lindsay Stalker also gave a solid performance in the 1,500 with her time of 4:42.16, which placed her time as the sixth-best on the school record list.
Senior Sagrario Hernandez finished third place in the shotput with her throw of 14.56 meters, the second-longest throw for a Division II athlete this year.
With roughly a week until the CCAA Championships, the team has been focusing on competing, rather than training.
“If all goes well, both teams should be in the top three in the CCAA Championship meet,” Salerno said. “The women have a chance to win if we have a good meet.”
The Steve Scott Invitational was the last meet prior to the CCAA Championships for the Tritons, which will take place on May 14 and May 15.
