Driving up to San Francisco for the 2007 California Collegiate Athletic Association Championships, the UCSD track and field team was calm and focused, and anything but nervous. The relaxed confidence of the Tritons was well deserved after coming off a regular season filled with multiple team victories and an abundance of school and personal record setting.
The men took fifth place, down from last year’s second, at the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championships on May 3 through May 5.
Granted, even professional sports have recently proven that regular season showings mean nothing when the spotlight and opportunities of playoffs come, but this weekend the Tritons solidified their place at the top of their competitive heap.
For the third straight year, the UCSD women captured first place in the CCAA, while the men took fifth in the weekend championship. To cap off the amazing season, junior jumper Whitney Johnson was named 2007 CCAA Most Valuable Athlete of the Year and Meet and head coach Tony Salerno was named CCAA Coach of the Year for women’s track.
Not only did the Triton women win back-to-back-to-back championships, but they did so by dominating their opponents, finishing with 260 total points, a stunning 77.5 points more than second place Chico State. Junior thrower Torrey Trust exemplified the Tritons’ awareness of their competition and their amazing sense of team pride and confidence.
The Triton men had many impressive finishes at championships including second place in the high jump and third place in the 110-meter hurdles, 400-meter hurdles and the 4×400 meter relay team race.
“”All of the other teams raised their level of competition,”” Trust said. “”We weren’t going in with a ‘we’re going to win’ attitude. We went in trying to place as many people on the podium as possible.””
Trust’s words echoed true throughout the meet, with a seemingly nonstop line of Tritons standing atop the podium to accept their medals.
Throughout the year, junior hurdler Laiah Blue and Johnson were the leaders of the Triton women, and their dominant years fully extended into the CCAA championships. Blue, a two-time 2007 CCAA Athlete of the Week, claimed victories in both the 100- and 400-meter hurdles with times of 13.83 seconds and 61.25 seconds, respectively.
Blue illustrated her true leadership when, as the final leg of the women’s 4×100 relay team, she stormed from behind in the last 50 meters of the race to bring UCSD the championship.
In a similar fashion, Johnson was a winner in two events, and her jumps in both the long and triple jumps were a combined 7.75 inches longer than the second-place winners. Johnson’s distance in the triple jump of 41 feet, 3.25 inches was an all-time CCAA record, and one of the deciding factors in her MVP honors.
Johnson, who has consistently won victories at meets all season long but who had not received national attention for any of them, finally got her due credit when she was named the 2007 CCAA Athlete of the Year.
Salerno is in his eighth season at UCSD, but prefers to shift the focus toward his assistant coaches when discussing the success of the program.
“”It really is a huge honor getting the award, but really all of my coaches make it happen,”” Salerno said. “”I just kind of coordinate it all. Each and every one of my assistant coaches does an amazing job, and it is really reflected in the performances of our athletes.””
Junior jumper Khalil Hooper paced the men, who finished in second place at last year’s championships. Hooper’s preliminary time in the 110 hurdles was the leading time, but he could not maintain his lead in the finals, and settled for a very respectable third place.
Freshman jumper Casey Ryan set a season personal record in the high jump with a leap of 6 feet, 9 inches, which was good enough for a second-place finish.
Senior hurdler Dan Noel placed third in the 400 hurdles, and also helped the 4×400 meter relay team race to third place.
Salerno reflected on the men’s finish in a very proud fashion and was very optimistic about the future.
“”We have a good young team,”” Salerno said. “”Last year was the best finish in school history, so even coming close to repeating that is great. The conference is the strongest D-II in the whole country, so we are always proud with how we finish at CCAAs.””
Next up for the Tritons will be the Occidental Invitational, before they travel to Charlotte, N.C., for the 2007 NCAA Division II National Championships from May 24 through May 26.
It appears as though sophomore discus thrower Daniel Anderson will be the lone representative for the men at nationals, with the women sending approximately 11 athletes to Charlotte.
Nationals will pit the Tritons against teams that distribute scholarships to their players (UCSD is currently the only D-II school nationally that does not), and must face off against teams who have attempted to “”purchase championships.””
While the Tritons have had a successful year by most standards, upsetting major track and field programs and gaining national attention, the NCAA championship is the event they look forward to for a chance to showcase their skills on a national level.
