The annual event regularly draws some of the world’s best in the throwing events for the conditions favorable to getting a strong mark. In addition to several world-class throwers, the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif. sent several athletes, and a handful of female sprinters from the Brazilian and British national teams were also there to compete.
“It’s nice to have people want to come to your place,” men’s head coach Tony Salerno said. “They come here because they know the performances are going to be good, and they’re going to get some good marks out of it.”
Among all the star power, UCSD’s own athletes held their own, collecting two events victories and a number of competitive marks.
Senior Jesse Morrill came out on top in the 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:20.69.
The women’s 4×400 team — consisting of freshman Lauren Irish and juniors Jacqueline Rose, Deyna Roberson and Caitlin Meagher — edged out UC Santa Barbara’s squad to take first in 3:47.12.
The Brazilians dominated the women’s sprinting events, winning the 100- and 200-meter dash as well as the 4×100 relay. Ana Claudia Lemos Silva won both the 100 and 200, with times of 11.48 and 23.44, respectively.
UCSD’s senior star sprinter Kelly Fogarty wasn’t far behind in both events. Fogarty ran 11.94 in the 100 meters, finishing in fourth behind two Brazilian competitors and Consuella Moore of the U.S. Olympic Training Center. Fogarty finished in 23.69 in the 200-meter dash, taking second behind Lemos Silva.
Fogarty was joined by Rose and sophomores Kathleen Hitchens and Bailey Weaver on the 4×100 team, and picked up an NCAA provisional qualifier with a time of 46.68. Brazil won with a time of 44.78, and conference rivals Cal State Dominguez Hills finished just .02 ahead of UCSD, landing in third place.
One week after setting a Lebanese national record, AB Shaheen — a Lebanese dual citizen and UCSD junior — improved on his mark with a throw of 186’5”. The mark was nearly three feet better than last week’s throw, and landed him in sixth in the event behind five Division-I athletes.
Junior Ka Wai Ng had one of the better performances of the day, with a third-place finish in the triple jump. His mark of 48’0.75” is good for second-best all-time at UCSD and a provisional qualifier, as Ryan Swafford of UC Riverside won the event with a mark of 50’7.25”.
The biggest stars of the meet were in the throwing events, highlighted by Canada’s Dylan Armstrong, who set a new national record in the shot put with a mark of 71’3.25”. The throw was over 12 feet farther than the second-place finisher from the University of Arizona.
Nadine Kleinert, who won the silver medal for Germany in the 2004 Olympic Games, won the women’s shot put with a toss of 62’10”. The top-three finishers produced the three best marks in the world so far this year.
Holland’s Erik Cadee won the discus throw with a mark of 213’2”, which is good for fifth-best in the world this year. The discus ring is oriented with the ocean so that there is a good chance of favorable wind.
“It’s become a thing where everyone knows this is the place to be to throw discus on this date,” Salerno said. “Once you have some of the top people competing, they’re bound to throw far, on top of the conditions being really helpful.”
UCSD will have next week to prepare for the CCAA Championships, which will be held on May 5 through May 7 at Cal State Stanislaus.
Readers can contact Liam Rose at [email protected].
