CERRITOS, Calif. ? The UC San Diego track and field teams competed in the VS Athletics Long Beach Invitational on Saturday, posting several impressive marks against another highly competitive field. Linda Rainwater's first place finish in the women's high jump was the big highlight for UCSD, while Donna LaFever and Casey Ryan finished second in the women's pole vault and men's high jump, respectively. Bre Schofield also had a big day for the Tritons, setting a school record in the women's 1500.
After setting a school record with 5,104 points in the heptathlon at the Mt. SAC Relays on Thursday, Rainwater was back at it in Cerritos on Saturday, taking down another program standard. Her jump of 5'8.75" in the high jump eclipsed Kendra Canape's record of 5'7.75" set in 2005. Rainwater's previous best in the event was 5'7.25" last season. The Goleta, Calif. native shared the victory with Sarah Boyle of Toronto, who also made 5'8.75".
LeFever finished tied for second in the pole vault with nine other athletes at 12'1.5", a mark that ranks second all-time in program history. Christina Sloyer holds the school record in the event at 12'5.5". Air Force's Kimber Shealy won the event with a mark of 12'7.50".
Ryan also took home a share of second place in the high jump after a leap of 6'8.75'. Alex Pyle of Emporia State and Eastern Washington's Adam Stewart also made the mark, while Camden Helder of South Dakota State won the event at 6'10.75".
Laiah Blue's stellar senior campaign continued with a third place finish in the 100 meter hurldes and a fourth place time in the 400 hurdles. She clocked in at 13:76 in the 100 and 1:02.09 in the 400, respectively.
Blue also teammed with Katie Skorupa, Deyna Roberson, and Anna Lee McGregor to place second in the women's 4x400 relay with a time of 3:49.97, the fourth best best time in school history.
Schofield kicked off an impressive day for the Triton distance squads, finishing fourth in the 1500 meter with a time of 4:29.67. Her mark eclipsed Mimi Hodgins' program record time of 4:29.95 set in 2005 and was less than two seconds behind Team Nodak's Cody Halsey, who won with a time of 4:27.91.
The UCSD men placed three runners in the top 10 of the 5,000 meter run, with Gabe LaMothe leading the way with a time of 15:30.92, which was good enough for sixth place overall. Kevin Klein finished eighth at 15:53.36, while Eric Baum clocked in at 16:01.66 to take ninth.
The Tritons return home to host the 2009 Triton Invitational April 24-25.
