Fab Five: Jake Selstad

Photographs have the ability to capture important pieces of our past and help us recall people, places, feelings and memories that made an impact on our lives. For many scholar-athletes, pictures secure those special moments and assist in making their collegiate careers last forever.

In a new feature called “Fab Five”, Triton scholar-athletes are tasked to pick five of their favorite photos throughout their career to be highlighted on UCSDtritons.com.

LA JOLLA, Calif. – As our “Fab Five” series continues, UC San Diego cross country and track and field rising senior Jake Selstad shares his collection and a brief caption describing each moment. 

Selstad hails from San Marcos, majoring in aerospace engineering at Sixth College. He is a team captain of the cross country squad and the 2019 CCAA Champion in the 800. 

1. Making the Team

This picture marks the moment at which my whole world was changed by making the cross country team as a walk-on in 2017. I am extremely grateful that the coaching staff and team believed in my future and development as an athlete. I can just remember calling my Dad to tell him I made the team. He cried. It was great. Mom was stoked too. Clearly, I was too - just look at that grin.

2. Pain Face

This one was a struggle. I got absolutely toasted (I ran slow). I really like to look back on races like these and laugh, to not only shed some light-heartedness on the situation but also learn from my lack of preparedness and mistakes. It’s times of struggle like this that help me strive in the future in both life and running. It’s almost like negative reinforcement, where I don’t ever want to run that slow again. So, in order to never run that slow again, I train harder, prepare better and (seems blunt) run faster. Funny how that goes...

3. CCAA 2019 with Nicky Fam

This picture marks the last few strides of the 2019 California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Championship 800 meter final. The picture just doesn’t do the race justice. Seriously, go watch the race video instead! My teammate Nick Famolaro, my chiseled role-model in the middle-distance forte, and I took the race down to the wire going first and second to the Chico State favorites. As the race was unfolding, Nick and I found ourselves walled off by the three Chico runners going into the final 200 meter. I was on the inside of the track, with Nick on my right. Without a second thought, Nick popped outside the wall with room for me to follow and we hit our 120 meter surge that we had been working so hard on together. Racing with Nick was always a pleasure and I’m proud to call him my friend. 

4. 2019 XC Nationals

This one humbles me. I was so fortunate that my best friends had balled out this season to earn a team bid to Nationals. Aren (Johnson), Sam (Blake), Tim (Corvese), Brett (Beattie), Gabe (Reuter), Jules (Romero) and I put a final effort in for the season for the boys back home. While the times weren’t there for us on that day, it doesn’t discount the hard work that we put in to get there. This would come to be my final race beside Aren “not a 10ker” Johnson, Samuel “eats hills for breakfast” Blake and Julian “cactus is high in protein content” Romero. It was more than an honor.

5. Last Race Before COVID-19

This photo is bittersweet in so many ways. I had just run what would come to be the top 800 meter mark in Division II for the 2020 early season. I had been running off beat for the first couple of meets so it felt so good to get my groove back. I had also finally redeemed my high school self in a race against Jarret Chin, a friend from Poway, whom I had never beaten in a race before. What I didn’t know was that this race would be the last of the season - that my decent shot at nationals was no more, that the men on my team who had been looking so fit and so good would also have ruined chances, and worst of all, it was my last race with Tim Corvese. 

The baggage attached to this race makes me really appreciate the constants in my life. Fast times and championship opportunities mean nothing if I can’t achieve and celebrate them with my lifelong friends. I was able to come to terms with the abrupt cancellation of a seemingly successful season because at the end of the day, I am still that walk-on that was given a chance and has been so fortunate to surround himself everyday with his best friends.

Stay tuned for future editions of “Fab Five” from other UC San Diego scholar-athletes. Below are previous “Fab Five” collections: 

• Zeinab Torabi (women's track and field)
• Isabel Lavrov (softball)
• Cameron Leonard (baseball)
• Neil Tengbumroong (men's tennis)
• Konami Masui (fencing)
• Natalie Widmer (women's soccer)
• Anu Bhadada (women's tennis)
• Calder Hilde-Jones (men's water polo)