The Tritons men’s cross country program will be seeking to build on the team’s successes of recent seasons since moving to Division II, including trips to the NCAA National Championships in 2001 and in 2003, both of which merited 15th-place finishes for the team.
In 2003, the Tritons’ strengths were visible throughout the season as the squad finished all but two of its races in the top half of the field and recorded six top-three finishes.
In a narrow, five-team competition for the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship, UCSD was defeated by defending champion Chico State and was edged out by Cal Poly Pomona to take third place at the event. Senior Neil Kalra, who was ranked second regionally and seventh nationally for the race, finished fourth in a field of 43 to earn All-CCAA honors for his second consecutive year. Junior Robert Eap completed the 8,000-meter course 11th overall, which also merited All-CCAA honors. The first seven Tritons to cross the finish line at the 2003 CCAA Championships were all in the top 20 overall. Freshman Steve Vargas crossed the line in 23rd place for UCSD, garnering CCAA Freshman of the Year honors.
The 2003 NCAA Division II West Regionals meet gave the Triton men a chance to improve on the performance at the conference championship and to open the door to the NCAA Division II National Championship. Determined, the Tritons pulled together for an outstanding second-place team finish in the 17-team field.
The 2004 season will undoubtedly offer the Tritons a greater challenge than they were faced with in 2003 if they expect to improve. Seven of the 16 runners on the 2003 squad were graduating seniors, and that void has hardly been filled by this year’s numbers. The 2004 squad is equipped with only three seniors and five juniors; if 2004 is going to be a successful year for the men’s cross country team, then head coach Ted Van Arsdale will be expecting big performances of his freshman class, which, at eight runners, comprises half of the team’s roster.
Already out to a fast start, the Tritons brought home a second-place finish at the UC Irvine Invitational on Sept. 11 in a field of 12 teams. Eap was the top finisher for UCSD, crossing the finish line in 25 minutes, 51.9 seconds for a sixth-place finish only 30 seconds behind meet winner Jim Grabow of Long Beach State.
The next chance to see the men’s cross country team in action will be Oct. 9 at the UCSD Triton Classic.
