Competing at the California Collegiate Athletics Association Track and Field Championships, the UCSD women finished second, while the men finished in third.Four Tritons won their respective events. Sophomore Nash Howe took first in the javelin, sophomore Keith Rose won first in the 100-meters, junior Kellen Levy took the 1000-meters and freshman Kristin Sato won the triple jump.“I feel like [the team] competed very well,” UCSD head coach Darcy Ahner said. “They put it together as well as they could have. And it’s always disappointing to not win, but I’m very happy with a lot of performances.”
Howe’s first-place finish in the javelin marked the fifth consecutive occasion on which a member of the Howe family has won the CCAA Championship. For the past four seasons, older brother Nick Howe — a three-time All-American and now a UCSD assistant coach — has claimed the title. This season, Nash Howe won the title with a personal best of 221’4”, significantly farther than second-place redshirt senior Kiley Libuit (189’1”).
The Tritons continued their dominance in the throws, as senior Ryan Eckert and junior Zach Nagengast scored big points for UCSD, going two-three respectively in the shot put, while senior A.B. Shaheen finished in second in the hammer.
Sophomore Keith Rose — another legacy with an All-American for an older sibling, alumnus Jackie Rose — broke his own personal record, winning with a time of 10.62 in the 100-meter sprint. In the 200-meter sprint, Rose broke another school record, finishing in third with a time of 21.64. On the track, Levy took first in the 1000-meter sprint with a career-best time of 30:58.93, beating second place by just under two seconds.
“Winning the [100-meter sprint] was an amazing feeling,” Rose said. “After learning that I am the first to do so at UCSD, [it] made me feel as though I’m helping to bring new talent and earn respect for our athletes, and I’m proud to be a part of that.”
On the women’s side, freshman Kristin Sato earned All-CCAA Freshman of the Year for her showing in the triple jump. Right behind her was sophomore Chantia Justice, who earned second place in the triple jump. Sato was the only Triton woman to win her event, but UCSD picked up points where it could. On the track, junior Lorato Anderson earned second place in the 800-meter sprint (2:16.92), while sophomore Sabrina Pimentel — last season’s All-CCAA Freshman of the Year — finished in second in the 400-meter sprint (56.11). In the heptathlon, sophomore Veronica Bradley took second place.
The Tritons have one last meet and one last shot to qualify before those who make the cut will travel to the NCAA Division II National Championships. UCSD ends its regular season at the aptly named Last Chance Qualifier at Azusa Pacific University on Saturday, April 11.
On the men’s side, the Tritons have eight provisional qualifying marks, with Nagengast qualifying for both the hammer and the shot put. For the women, UCSD currently has 10 qualifying marks, with Pimentel qualifying in both the 400-meter and the 800-meter sprints.
“I guess that to have the team finish in second bodes well for the future, and we’re excited to see what we can do next year with another year of a maturity, and a good class of incoming athletes,” Ahner said.
