CLAREMONT, Calif. - A total of three UC San Diego student-athletes collected NCAA Division II provisional qualifying marks on Saturday, highlighting the opening day of the Cal/Nevada Collegiate Championships in Claremont.
Squaring off against several of the top programs in Southern California and Nevada, the Tritons faced some stiff competition but still provided several noteworthy results on the day. The UCSD throwers had a big opening day as all three pro marks came in the javelin.
Senior thrower Nick Howe had another strong performance in his specialty, uncorking a season-best toss of 214'6" to easily pick up a provisional qualifier in the event. The mark was good enough for third place behind Long Beach State's Benjamin Woodruff (235'10") and UC Santa Barbara's Michael Guerra (216'6").
Teammate Kiley Libuit also registered a provisional qualifier in the javelin, finishing fifth overall with a mark of 199'11". His performance ranks No. 3 all-time at UCSD behind Howe's mark of 231'3" at the NCAA Championships last season and his older brother, Brad Libuit's toss of 200'0" back in 2006.
Junior Jessica Miklaski fared well in the javelin on the women's side, earning a provisional qualifier with a toss of 137'5" in the event. She finished third behind Ashley Gatewood (161'6") of UC Riverside and Sarah Nichols (138'8") of Nevada.
In addition to the efforts of the Triton throwers, UCSD also scored points in several of Saturday's other final events. Snior Jeffrey Head finished fifth in the men's long jump with a leap of 23'1.25", while sophomore Kellen Levy finished fifth in the men's 5000-meter run with a final time of 15:05.00.
Fellow distance runners John Svet and Warren Liem finished eighth and ninth in the men's 10,000-meters with respective times of 31.51.0 and 32.02.0, while Aaryn Kobayashi finished ninth in the women's 3000-meter steeplechase after clocking in at 11:28.51.
UCSD currently sits in fifth place through seven events scored on the men's side, while the Triton women are 10th after six events. UCSD is the top Division II squad in the standings on both sides.
The Cal/Nevada Championships conclude on Sunday with field event finals in the shot put, discus, pole vault and triple jump as well as the finals for the rest of the track events. The two-day competition features teams from all over the state at California and Nevada, with a major of the field made up of D-I schools.
