Tritons have another strong showing in preparation for the CCAA championships in two weeks.
Multiple Tritons earned provisional qualifying marks for the NCAA Division-II Championships this past week when the UCSD track and field team split and competed in three different meets: the California and Bryan Clay Invitationals in Azusa, CA and the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, CA.
At the California Invitational, hosted by Azusa Pacific University, only the decathlon and heptathlon events were held. Looking to return to the NCAA Championships, sophomore Dan Golubovic finished in the top 10 in eight of the 10 events and finished in sixth place overall in the “A” group of competitors, with a score of 6,881, clinching a provisional qualifying mark. On the women’s side, senior Veronica Bradley also earned a provisional qualifying mark with an overall score of 4,433 points and a solid 28th place finish. Making her collegiate debut in the heptathlon, sophomore Taylor Eljenholm finished with 3,921 points.
In the Bryan Clay Invitational, the Tritons hit several provisional qualifying marks as well and had a strong showing overall. Two-time California Collegiate Athletic Association champion and NCAA qualifier senior Nash Howe won the javelin competition with a throw of 220 feet. For the women, junior Haley Libuit, who is already the author of a provisional qualifying throw, bested her mark from last week’s meet with a throw of 137 feet.
In a similar fashion, the Triton 4-x-100 relay team, consisting of sophomore Emmanuel Elijah and freshmen Justin Hunter, Vince Hernandez and Paul Doan, ran exceptionally well, finishing in second place with a time of 41.89 seconds. Doan and Elijah continued to dominate in the 100-meter race, finishing in second and third in their respective heats with impressive times of 10.86 and 10.92.
Senior Mario Flores bested his previous personal record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase by seven seconds and now holds the third-best time for UCSD in that event. Finishing second in his heat and sixth overall, Flores’ time of 9:11.52 is also good for a provisional qualifying time.
“I was really happy with the performance,” Flores told the UCSD Guardian. ”I felt strong in the middle few laps, which in the steeplechase is where most start to fall off pace.”
In the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase, senior Anneke Kakebeen, who already holds the school record for this event, finished with a time of 11:04.94, taking fourth place. Her teammate, freshman Merin Arft, crossed the line at 11:28.94, making this time the eighth best in UCSD history for this event.
Also performing well, Ella Verhees earned UCSD’s ninth-best time for the 1,500-meter run with a personal record of 4:38.10. Juniors Corinne Hinkle and Paige Hughes ran personal records, coming in seventh and 11th, respectively, in the 5,000 meter, with times of 17:22.69 and 17:25.28. On the field, freshman Matt Bowen and sophomore Derek Van de Streek continued to perform well, jumping 48-3 1/2 and 46-4 3/4, respectively, in the triple jump.
Only two Tritons competed at the Mt. San Antonio College Relays, where many elite track and field athletes compete. Senior Tanner Collins and junior Tareq Alwafai attained NCAA provisional qualifying times in the 5,000-meter run with times of 14:33.10 and 14:34.91, respectively, each just a few seconds shy of their performances last year at the same meet.
Looking forward to the CCAA Championships in just a couple of weeks, the Tritons are among the favorites to be crowned the CCAA Champions and to earn a trip to the NCAA Championships.
“I’m confident that my teammates, Daniel Franz and Daniel Hauptman, and I are ready to for All-Conference podium finishes,” Flores said. “[We] are looking forward to finishing off our collegiate career with an exclamation point in pursuit of making it to the NCAA Championship meet.”
UCSD will compete next at home in the Triton Invitational next weekend, April 24 and 25.
