The UCSD track and field team ended its season last Friday through Sunday, March 24 through March 26 at the NCAA Division II Championships. Seven Tritons qualified for the national meet, ranking among the top 20 performers nationally, but only sophomore javelin thrower Nash Howe performed well enough to earn All-America honors.
On the last day of competition, Howe — ranked No. 5 going into the meet — threw just 202’1” in his first four attempts and fell to No. 9 in the field of 20 throwers. In his fifth attempt, Howe, the California Collegiate Athletics Association conference champion, jumped two spots to No. 7 with his throw of 214’11” — 14’ further than his first attempt. Howe threw 210’10” in his final attempt, to remain in seventh place overall, earning UCSD its only two points of the national championships.
“I didn’t have all the warm-up time that I’m usually used to,” Howe said. “I was super nervous and was just trying to throw as hard as I could at the beginning. The first four throws were all, like, 10 feet off the ground, but on the fifth and sixth throws, I found some patience and was so lucky to make it into the finals.”
Despite the result, Howe says that with more experience under his belt, he looks forward to making the trip to nationals next season.
“Now that I know what to expect, I know what it’s going to take to win next year, and I can prepare,” Howe said. “And hopefully, if the training lines up and I’m healthy, there’s nothing that can stop me from winning.”
Senior Kiley Libuit also represented UCSD in the javelin, entering the tournament ranked No. 21 nationally and finishing in 18th place. He threw farthest (187’11”) in his first attempt and did not advance to the finals.
Fellow senior Jessica Miklaski also competed in the javelin, ending her career at UCSD, finishing in 20th in the 21-person field with a throw of 122’6”. Miklaski — who finished in 10th place in 2012 and eighth place in 2011 — went into the 2013 nationals ranked No. 16 but failed to qualify for the final in her last go on the national stage.
Junior pole vaulter Clint Rosser also competed in the last day of the meet, and had arguably the best performance at the NCAA Championships. Rosser — ranked No. 19 going in — rose 10 spots to finish in ninth place, one rank short of earning All-America honors. Rosser cleared the first height of 15’9” on his first attempt and was one of 12 competitors to clear the second height of 16’2.75” — just 0.75” short of Rosser’s personal record this season (16’3.5”). But competing in his first national championship, the junior came up short in the third round, with the bar set at 16’8.75”.
“The most nerve-wracking jump was the opening height, but after that, I cleared right around my [personal record], which was great,” Rosser said. “I was nursing a bum leg and hurt shoulder, but I had some of my best jumps at nationals, so I was just happy about that.”
Rosser, who has improved his mark 1.5’ over the course of the 2013 season, has high expectations for next season.
“I’m hoping to get the school record next year and break 17’, and hopefully do some damage at nationals,” Rosser said.
Sophomore Sabrina Pimentel, competing in the 800-meter dash, also finished in ninth place, improving on her initial No. 13 seed. Making her second appearance at nationals, the sophomore earned a place in the finals after finishing with a time of 2:11.46. In the finals the following day, Pimentel ended in ninth place with a time of 2:13.35.
“The first day, it was hot and a pretty difficult day to race, but the competition definitely helped me keep pace,” Pimentel said. “The second day didn’t go as well. I did well in the first 400 [meters], but in the last 100 [meters] I let the competition get to me, and that’s where things didn’t quite go as I planned.”
Finishing in ninth, Pimentel just missed out on the All-America nod, but says that she looks forward to improving for next season.
“It was definitely a good experience,” Pimentel said. “And it gives me something more to look forward to so that eventually, I can reach that higher goal.”
Freshman triple jumper Kristin Sato was another Triton to over-perform in the national championships. Sato, ranked No. 22 nationally, got the last-minute call-up two days after the NCAA declarations were made. Sato’s first attempt proved her longest jump of the day. At 38’8.75”, the mark was not good enough to qualify the freshman for the finals, and she ended the meet in 18th place.
A.B. Shaheen was the only Triton to compete in the first day of the championships. The Lebanese national record holder in the hammer came in with the No. 16 rank but made an early exit after scratching two of his three attempts. Shaheen’s only fair throw (180’4”, over 11 feet short of his NCAA qualifier) put him in 17th place.
On the men’s side, Saint Augustine’s University was the hands-down winner, taking 105 points, 48 points in front of second-place Ashland University, while for the women, the Academy of Art University took first place, with 60 points. Although UCSD took just two points overall, the Tritons retain a lot of the talent that scored big points at the CCAA championships, where the men finished second and the women finished third.
