In Their Own Words: Sam Blake

Unfortunately, I spent a lot of my time as a Triton athlete dealing with injury. In particular, I broke my foot while running during my junior year of cross country season, and ended up redshirting that season as well as the preceding track season. Returning from that injury was tumultuous. During my senior year, I missed almost half of my competitions because I struggled with shin issues during the cross country season and more foot issues at the beginning of the track and field season. But finally, after having two years of injury-riddled seasons, everything was coming together for a story-book type of ending. Deciding to take a fifth year and use the eligibility I had retained from redshirting, I had a fantastic cross country season in 2019 where I was lucky enough to be a part of the men’s team that represented UC San Diego at the DII Cross Country National Championship. It was the first time UC San Diego had gone since 2007! Understandably, I was full of confidence and super excited to tackle my final track and field season as a fifth-year.

Between the beginning of training for my final track and field season and the day the NCAA announced the cancellation of all remaining winter and spring sport championships, I had run 874.6 miles. I had some weeks of training where I ran for over 10 hours and covered around 90 miles in six or seven days. The hard work I had put in for the 14 weeks of the track and field season, as well as the hard work over the course of my five years as a student-athlete, was really paying off. I was running faster, further, and healthier than I ever had before. I had run a couple of personal bests as well as recently ranked second all-time at UC San Diego in the 3000m. I was finally about to run my first 5000m race, the event that I specialized in, on March 14th, but the NCAA announced the cancellation on March 12th. 

Like all of my fellow student-athletes and especially my senior peers, I was devastated. The coaching staff told us as much as they knew about the situation through tears. I ran for about an hour in almost complete silence with a few of my teammates later that afternoon, feeling so shocked. I had to say goodbye to a lot of the younger teammates who were moving back home for the rest of the school year, unsure of when I’d see them again. It really hit me a few hours later and I cried with a few my senior teammates. I was in the middle of the best season of my life, and I wasn’t going to be able to even have a shot of hitting any of my goals. The whole day was surreal.

As time has passed, I have certainly come to understand and accept the situation. The past few weeks have allowed me to reflect on my time in the program and what being a Triton athlete has meant to me. Having been a part of the department during the push for the referendum to transition to Division I and to represent the university during it’s last year in Division II, I have realized how fortunate I have been to have the opportunity to be a part of such an amazing community.

The UC San Diego cross country and track and field programs have given me so much over my five years here. With the wisdom of the coaching staff and the excellence of teammates, I was able achieve and learn more in the sport than I ever expected upon joining the teams as a walk-on. Throughout all of the ups and down, both teams solidified my love for running, and I hope to continue to compete in the sport after graduating. Most of all, being on the cross country and track and field teams has led me to form some of the closest friendships in my life. Events during cross country, like the altitude training camps at Mammoth Lakes and travel trips across the country, were filled with amazing and hilarious memories. The teamwork and push for CCAA Championships during the track and field season were always super exciting. The thousands of miles I have run with my other passionate teammates over the last five years is something I will treasure forever.

Moving past athletic development, I have also grown so much as an adult while being a part of these programs. I learned how to be accepting and energetic from all of my fantastic peers. I have experienced the benefits of diligence and patience first-hand and gained leadership experience from holding captain roles in the past and being a member of Triton Athletes' Council (TAC). I also drew confidence and received support from the program to get involved and leave my mark in other areas on campus outside of athletics, such as tutoring and research. I have become a more balanced individual in a way that wouldn’t have been possible without being a Triton student-athlete.

First, I thank my coaches, Nate Garcia, Addy Royal, and Anthony Garcia, for sticking with me and supporting me as a runner. Second, I thank cross country's strength coach, Jesi Metz, and athletic trainer, Brittany Cline, for helping me stay strong and healthy during training. I would also like to thank Mary Angell, who helped me solidify the academic path that made my fifth year not only possible, but also incredibly rewarding.  Additionally, I thank my parents for encouraging my dream to study at and compete for UC San Diego, especially during the last year. Lastly, I would like to thank all of the teammates that I have had over the years, as representing UC San Diego with and for every one of you has meant so much to me. 

Go Tritons!

Sam Blake is a five-year member of the UC San Diego cross country and track and field teams. The Campbell native is a computer science major and cognitive science minor specializing in machine learning and neural computation at Sixth College. He is a 2019 All-CCAA and All-West Region honoree in cross country and was named a Division II USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week. An experienced racer, Blake broke a UC San Diego participant record at the 2019 Triton Classic and in 2020, he set the program's second fastest time in the 3000. Following graduation, Blake hopes to work in software development in San Diego and continue racing competitively. 

"In Their Own Words" is an on-going series highlighting UC San Diego senior scholar-athletes. Below are previous "In Their Own Words" stories:

• Derek Fordham (swim and dive)
• Alyssa Wing (softball)
• Chloe Wight (tennis)
• Melanie Jaffe (rowing)
• Ryan Lew (volleyball)
• Reilly Gallagher (water polo)
• Jessica Rieble (volleyball)
• Claudia Cox (track and field)
• Hayden Hui (golf)
• Amelia Harrison (fencing)

About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program begins a new era in 2020 as a member of the Big West Conference in NCAA Division I.  The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions III and II and helped guide more than 1,300 scholar-athletes to All-America honors.  A total of 82 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 37 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships.  UC San Diego student-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.