TEMPE, Ariz. - The UC San Diego track and field teams had another jam-packed day of competition on Saturday, splitting time between the 32nd Annual Sun Angel Classic and the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational. The Tritons saw some tough competition at both meets, including several top Division I programs.
Despite rain showers and unseasonably cool temperatures in Tempe, Ariz., there were still plenty of good results from the hand full of Tritons competing at the Sun Angel Classic. UCSD's 4x400 relay team of Lauren Irish, Jacqueline Rose, Caitlin Meagher and Kelly Fogarty picked up an NCAA provisional qualifier with a time of 3:45.99 in the event. The quartet finished fifth behind teams from BYU, Arizona State, Central Arizona and Purdue.
Meagher also earned an individual NCAA qualifier in the 400-meter hurdles after clocking in at 1:01.02. She placed 14th in the event behind 13 Division I competitors.
Fogarty posted impressive finishes her two primary events, finishing third in the premiere sections of both the 100 and 200. With respective times of 12.03 and 24.06, she finished behind only Oklahoma's Shawna Anderson (11.83) and San Diego State's Lawreta Ozoh (11.96) in the 100 and Charonda Willaims (23.34) of adidas and Tameka Williams (23.92) of Central Arizona in the 200.
Theresa Richards also had a noteworthy performance for the Tritons, finishing seventh in the javelin with a toss of 133'9".
On the men's side, Jesse Morrill finished ninth in the 3000 meter steeplechase with a time of 9:30.33, while Dustin Harris was 19th in the 800 at 1:53.74. Nick Howe finished 16th in the javelin with a toss of 176'11".
"We really had some great performances against some top level competition, especially considering the cold and the rain we had," men's head coach Tony Salerno said from Arizona.
Switching over to the Pomona-Pitzer Invite, senior Erin Langford was one of four Triton women to post a top-10 finish, placing fourth in the triple jump with a mark of 36'11.75". Katie Kane also finished fourth with a time of 11:38.22 in the steeplechase, while Allison Rudd took fifth in the 400 hurdles at 64.78 and Jessica Miklaski was seventh in the javelin with a toss of 116'9".
Senior Andrew Tran had the best showing for the Tritons on the men's side, finishing fourth overall in the triple jump with a mark of 44'8.25". Jeffrey Head was ninth in the long jump at 21'7.25".
Clint Rosser finished fifth in the pole vault after clearing 15'3", while Ab Shaheen took sixth in the hammer throw with a final mark of 175'4". Matt Lenehan had a strong showing for the distance squad, placing seventh in the steeplechase with a time of 9:38.42.
USC, UNLV, Pepperdine, Cal State Northridge, Cal State Bakersfield, the University of San Diego and Southern Utah were among the many schools competing in Claremont on Saturday.
The Tritons will be back in action at the Soka Peace Invitational in Aliso Viejo, Calif. on Friday and Saturday of next week.
