CLAREMONT, Calif. — University of California San Diego senior Paul Doan took first place in both the men's 100 and 200-meter, while senior Meghan Fletcher placed first in the women's 400 hurdles to lead the way for the Tritons at the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational on Saturday.
Doan's time of 21.10-seconds in the 200 set a new UC San Diego record, and is also a solid provisional mark that will likely qualify for nationals.
“We had some great performances, especially on the track,” said Tritons head coach Tony Salerno. “(Doan) showed today he can compete with anyone. His mark in the 200 is impressive to say the least.”
Doan, a San Diego native and St. Augustine High graduate, finished the 100 in 10.55-seconds to edge second-place finisher Leon Powell (10.57) by just 0.02 seconds. Senior Justin Hunter took sixth (10.80) and freshman Riley Sasaki placed eighth (10.89).
Fletcher, a native of Pleasanton, Calif., finished the 400 hurdles in 61.07-seconds to hold off Azusa Pacific's Zoe March (61.86) for first place. UC San Diego junior Kelly Strand took eighth (62.77) and sophomore Claudia Cox placed ninth (62.90).
Fletcher and Doan were two of several bright spots for UC San Diego on Saturday.
Junior Esther Nofodji was the top collegian and fourth overall in the women's discuss with a toss of 46.21-meters, freshman Evan Shimasaki cleared 15-feet, 9-inches (4.80-meters) to tie for third and become a provisional qualifier in the men's pole vault and Josef Polk placed second in the men's 400 hurdles (53.00) for an improved provisional qualifier.
In addition, The Triton women's 4x400 relay team of senior Mandy Che, senior Selena Friedman, Cox and Fletcher earned second place with a time of 3:52.89, while Che also took eighth in the women's 400 (58.59).
Sophomore Chelsea Challacombe's leap of 5-feet, 7-inches (1.70-meters) in the women's high jump was good for second place, while teammates Natalie Caraway (1.60) and Amanda Brooks (1.55) earned seventh and eight-place finishes respectively.
Caraway also took second in the triple jump with a leap of 11.77-meters, and sophomore Melissa Seaman placed ninth in the long jump (5.41).
The Triton men's 4x100 relay team of Doan, Sasaki, Hunter and sophomore Adam Winding earned a second-place finish with a time of 41.02, while UC San Diego's 4x400 team of sophomore Makhai Husband, senior Nick Famolaro, Winding and Polk also took second place at 3:15.81.
Junior Joseph Benrubi and senior Garrett Lepine earned fourth and fifth place finishes respectively in the 3000 steeplechase, and sophomore Timothy Corvese placed seventh in the men's 1500 (3:55.61).
UC San Diego returns to action next weekend when it hosts the two-day Triton Invitational on April 13-14.
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