After an outstanding performance at the Cal-Nevada Regional Championship a week earlier, the No. 21 UCSD’s men and women’s track and field squads split up this past weekend and turned in solid results at two separate meets. The 13 athletes with NCAA-provisional qualifying times made the long trip to Arizona for the Sun Angel Track Classic, while the remaining athletes traveled to Los Angeles to take part in the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational.

In Arizona, the Tritons performed well against the top tier of the nation’s track and field athletes, including several participating Olympians. All-American junior sprints Sabrina Pimentel broke the school record in the women’s 800-meter run with her time of 2 minutes, 9.07 seconds. Pimentel’s time was good enough for a fifth-place finish, but it was just .07 seconds too slow to guarantee a spot at the NCAA Championships.

San Diego native junior distance Carlos Bojorquez took first place in the men’s 800-meter run. Bojorquez’s time of 1:51.10 barely edged out fellow San Diego native freshman sprints Jared Senese’s third place time of 1:52.33. Bojorquez now holds the second fastest time in UCSD history while Senese sits at sixth.

“This was a huge improvement for Bojorquez,” UCSD men’s head coach Tony Salerno told the UCSD Guardian. “He ran really well.”

On the field, All-American junior throws Nash Howe placed fourth in the javelin with a throw of 202-8. Senior pole vaults Clint Rosser finished in second in the pole vault (15’9.25”) and All-American senior hurdles Lauren Irish earned the third spot in the 400-meter hurdles.

“Arizona was a tune-up for the national level competitors,” Salerno said. “It gave them a chance to travel and see different uniforms.”

The remainder of the Triton team posted a handful of season and personal bests in Claremont. In the men’s 100-meter run, junior sprints Keith Rose finished seventh (10.89) and freshman sprints Emmanuel Elijah finished in 21st, winning his heat in the process with a time of 11.09 seconds.

Three women’s 1500-meter runners ended the day with season bests. San Diego native freshman distance Ella Verhees finished 12th in her event with a time of 4:40.44 and sophomore distance Marie Diaz crossed the finish line in 16th with a time of 4:42.20. Junior distance Tanner Collins also placed 15th with his time of 3:57.28.

In the women’s 400-meter run, freshman sprinter Jackie Chalmers was the fastest Triton on the day. Her time of 56.87 seconds gave her a 16th place finish and inked her into the record books with the seventh fastest time in UCSD’s history.

On the field, sophomore pole vaults Chrissi Carr placed second in the pole vault, hitting an NCAA-provisional mark and improving an entire foot with her 11-11.75 finish. The feat puts her at sixth on the Triton all-time best list.

Once again, the track team will be split up this week as the Tritons will participate in three separate road contests. The California Invitational will occur on Wednesday, April 16 and Thursday, April 17, the Mt. SAC Relays will span from April 17 to April 19 and the Soka Peace Invitational will take place on Friday, April 18, and conclude on Saturday, April 19.

“Any time you come off with a school record, it really sets you up for the next couple of weeks,” Salerno said. “With nationals coming up in a month, the momentum gained from this weekend can propel the Triton squad to excellence at the national level.”