LA JOLLA, Calif. - The UC San Diego track and field program held the second annual Leon T. Roach Pole Vault-A-Thon on Saturday and the event was once again a tremendous success.
Held in honor of the former UCSD student-athlete, the fundraiser brought in over $7,000 towards the completion of the Leon T. Roach Memorial at the Triton Track and Field Stadium. A completely renovated pole vault area was unveiled for the first time, showcasing new block wall terraces on the south end of the facility.
The new spectator area also serves as a memorial to the former Triton pole-vaulter who was injured during a training exercise in September 2009 and passed away two days later. The Roach family dedicated the memorial during a touching ceremony between the women and men's competitions.
UCSD Director of Athletics Earl W. Edwards served as emcee of the event and university chancellor Dr. Marye Anne Fox addressed the crowd as well. The UCSD Tritones, an a cappella group on campus, performed to kick off the ceremony.
"Today was a fantastic day for the track and field program, the athletics department, and our campus in general," Edwards said. "The Roach family has shown incredible strength and dedication in completing this project and we can't thank them enough for all they've done. To me, this is what the Triton family is all about."
A total of 23 men and 10 women took part in Saturday's vault-a-thon, with Roaches' father, Leon Roach II, and half-brother, Curtis Hendrick, among those competing on the men's side. Roach II was a pole-vaulter at the University of Hawaii in the 1970s, while Hendrick was a standout at Marina High School.
A native of Huntington Beach, Leon T. Roach was a sophomore Physiology and Neuroscience major in Revelle College. He spent one season with the track and field team in 2009 after a very successful career at MHS.
From spearheading the fundraising efforts to assembling a group of volunteers to complete the construction, the Roach family was the driving force behind UCSD's new pole vault terraces, improving what was already considered one of the premiere facilities in southern California. When it was all said and done, it took over 3,000 volunteer hours to complete the project in less than eight weeks.
"We have been so blessed to get to know the Roach family so well over the past year and a half," head men's track and field coach Tony Salerno said. "Their courage in the wake of Leon's passing has been an inspiration to us all."
