The UCSD track and field team returned to competition after a week of rest, squaring off against four other UC schools from Santa Barbara, Davis, Irvine and Riverside in the All-Cal Championships on March 4. In the head-to-head meet, the Triton women finished in second while the men took third out of five teams.
Junior Elisa Holiday earned first place in the long-jump competition with her 5.66-meter mark, helping the Tritons to a second place finish in the All-Cal Championships on March 4.
The top story from the competition, held in Irvine, was freshman Sarah Hendy, who finished first in the discus with a throw of 150 feet, eight inches. The distance was a NCAA provisional qualifying mark, which almost guarantees her the chance to compete at the Division-II Championships at UCSD from May 25 through May 27.
According to head coach Tony Salerno, the NCAA sets a time bar that only about three runners in the country can beat. Anyone who can earns an automatic bid to nationals, while the rest must earn a spot through a provisional mark. Field athletes face similar qualifying standards.
Salerno said that on average, about 30-40 athletes earn provisional marks and 16-18 of them get the chance to compete in Kansas.
Hendy’s throw should earn her the trip, Salerno said.
“It’s nice to have a freshman qualify for nationals,” Salerno said. “Its a sign of bigger things to come.”
Although Hendy was a top competitor in high school, “a lot of big D-I schools passed up on her,” he said.
But when he learned that the talented athlete was coming to UCSD, he was aware of “what caliber player [UCSD] was getting.”
Also earning an NCAA provisional mark at the meet was a pair of sophomores, Whitney Johnson and Diane Dunn. In the women’s triple jump, Johnson went big, flying 38 feet, 9.75 inches to take first place in the event. While Johnson strengthened the Tritons’ air attack, Dunn added to UCSD’s score on the ground with a third-place finish in the 1,500 meters. Her time of four minutes, 39.76 seconds, although behind two finishers, was good enough for a NCAA provisional mark.
According to Salerno, Dunn would not have even competed in the event if senior Mimi Hodgins had not fallen ill and been sent to the hospital. Salerno said that due to Hodgins’ sickness, Dunn was forced into a tough situation, in which she excelled.
It took Dunn awhile before she calmed down and put in her record jump. According to Salerno, Dunn came up short in her first four jumps, but came back in her final attempt to take third place.
“It was a great clutch performance,” Salerno said.
Hendy, Johnson and Dunn’s top finishes led the women to a second-place finish in the competition, with 223 total points, behind UC Santa Barbara’s 251.5 points, but well ahead of the third-place team, UC Davis, which scored 173.5.
The men’s team did not fare as well as the women, but solid finishes from senior Carl Lostrom and freshman Scott Tsuda led the UCSD men to a third-place finish with 197 points, well behind UC Santa Barbara’s 248 and UC Irvine’s 232.
Lostrom finished first in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:10.37. Tsuda also led the Tritons with his second-place performance in the men’s triple jump with a distance of 47 feet, 11 inches. Both Lostrom and Tsuda posted NCAA provisional marks with their performances, with Lostrom favored to go to nationals.
Although Lostrom is one of the more accomplished athletes on the team, Salerno was still surprised by his finish.
“[Lostrom] went above and beyond expectations,” Salerno said. “Qualifying this early is always a surprise.”
After the productive meet, the Tritons will return to competition on March 11, hosting the San Diego City Championships. The event will be the first of three meets hosted by the Tritons this year, with the annual Triton Invitational scheduled for April 21 and April 22. Following the invitational, UCSD has the honor of hosting the California Collegiate Athletic Association championships May 4 through May 6.