SAN ANGELO, Texas ? Behind individual victories by Christine Merrill and Linda Rainwater, the UC San Diego women's track and field team finished in third place after the final day of competition at the 2009 Division II National Championships at the LeGrand Sports Complex in San Angelo, Texas.
Merrill won the national championship in the women's 400 meter hurdles, while Rainwater placed first in the women's high jump, guiding the Tritons' to their highest national finish at the Division II level and one place better than their finish in 2008.
Sitting in fourth place entering the final day, UCSD finished with a total of 56 points, surpassing Grand Valley State, which finished third with 39.50. Lincoln won its sixth national title in a span of seven years, totaling 85 points to edge host Angelo State (82) by three.
Merrill, who entered the national meet as the top seed in the 400 hurdles, lived up to that billing on Saturday, besting the field with a time of 58.59. Her mark surpassed her previous personal best and school record time of 58.86 set earlier this season.
After setting a new school record in the heptathlon on Friday, Rainwater established another program standard in the high jump, winning the event with a mark of 5'9.75". She won a tiebreaker with Central Missouri's Jenna Schimdt, who also hit 5'9.75", by reaching the mark on her first attempt. The jump was an inch higher than her previous best.
Laiah Blue took fifth in the women's 100 meter hurdles with a time of 13:70, while her time of 1:02.80 in the 400 hurdles was good enough for eighth place.
The Tritons' 4x100 relay team of Merrill, Katie Skorupa, Kelly Fogarty, and Blue finished fifth with a time of 46.42, marking the program's highest finish in the event at the D-II level. Merrill, Skorupa, Anna Lee McGregor, and Deyna Roberson placed fourth in the women's 4x400 relay, clocking in at 3:43.66.
In other events, senior Sarah Hendy posted a fifth place finish in the women's discus with a toss of 152'11", while sophomore Bre Schofield placed seventh in the women's 1500 meter run, crossing the finish line with a time of 4:34.20. Nick Howe, who was UCSD's only male competitor on the day, placed 11th in the javelin throw with a toss of 195'11".
UCSD won a total of three national championships on the women's side during the three day event, while a total of eight new records were set. In addition to Merrill and Rainwater's titles on Saturday, Danielle Thu won the women's hammer throw on the opening day of competition Thursday.
