LA JOLLA, Calif. – The UC San Diego track and field squad will square off against three fellow Big West contenders in CSUN, Long Beach State, and UC Riverside at the Matador Invitational on Friday, April 23. The meet will be held at Northridge Track and Field Complete located in Los Angeles, Calif.  
 
DETAILS
at Matador Invitational
Friday, April 23
Field Events – 9:00 a.m.
Running Events – 10:15 a.m.
Northridge Track and Field Complex • Los Angeles
Live Results | Meet Manuel (PDF) | Schedule (PDF)
 
UC SAN DIEGO AND COVID-19
UC San Diego's nationally renowned Return to Learn program was created to return to in-person teaching, learning, conducting pioneering research and serving our communities in the safest way possible. The program has three adaptive pillars that are central to our strategy to resume on-campus activity: risk mitigation, viral detection, and intervention.

For the latest information on UC San Diego and COVID-19, please visit the University's Return to Learn site.
 
MATADOR INVITATIONAL HISTORY
It will be UC San Diego's first time competing in the Matador Invite.
 
LAST TIME OUT
On April 16-17 the Tritons took part in two different meets. Four distance runners made appearances in the Bryan Clay Invite in Azusa as the rest of the team participated in the Long Beach Invite in Long Beach. The entire weekend was filled with high level competition including most of USC's nationally ranked pack: No. 2 women, No. 4 men.  
 
Individually, UC San Diego recorded a total of five event winners on day one in Long Beach, including four marks that made their way into the program record book. Sophomore Sebastian Garcia (discus/6th/165'1") and senior Kushaal Tadepalli (shot put/10th/51'3") for the men, and sophomore Katie Cuneo (javelin/10th/131'5") and junior Crystal Diei (hammer/5th/167'6") for the women did the honors.
 
Day two of the Long Beach Invite was highlighted by Zach Aanstoots' individual performance. The junior jumper beat his personal best mark in the high jump, which was good for fourth place overall (6'9.5").  
 
Sophomore Caitlin Billman took 13th-place in the 10K at the Bryan Clay Invite, proudly representing the distance team.
 
WALKOWIAK NAMED USE CREDIT UNION ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Following his big performance at the Chris Rinne Twilight, Walkowiak earned UCSDTritons.com Athlete of the Week on April 5. It is his second time earning the honor. He was recognized as a sophomore in 2019.
 
ON THE MOVE
After 20 seasons competing as an NCAA Division II team, the entire athletics program has begun a four-year transition to NCAA Division I, culminating in full DI status as a member of the Big West Conference for the 2024-25 academic year. At that time, all sports will be eligible for conference and NCAA postseason play.
 
RETURNING 2020 CCAA ALL-STARS
The Tritons return seven standouts that were voted as 2020 CCAA All-Stars for their pro-qualifying performances, prior to the abrupt cancelation of the season.
 
On the men's side, Blake Walkowiak (throws), Evan Shimasaki (pole vault), Maxamilian Halvax (sprints), Nathan Yoder (jumps), and Leyikun Solomon (hurdles) were recognized. In addition, Devin Lecakes-Jones (throws), also honored, looks to capitalize on an extra year of eligibility as he returns for another senior season.
 
For the women, Naomi Chin (pole vault) is the lone female CCAA All-Star award-winner who returns for the blue and gold.

REWRITING THE RECORD BOOKS
The Tritons have already seen some record-breaking performances in the 2021 campaign. Highlighting the displays is senior Blake Walkowiak's new record-setting discus (176'10"), which surpassed a mark that stood for 29 years at the top. Additionally, sophomore Kalobe Jimenez moved to ninth all-time in the 110 hurdles (14.78), while fellow classmate Gabriel Reuter took fifth all-time in the 3000 (8:32.81).
 
Redshirt sophomore Sebastian Garcia jumped to sixth in the discus (164'9") and senior Kushaal Tadepalli etched his name in at number 10 in the shot put (51'3"). From the women, junior Crystal Diei now ranks fifth in the hammer (167'6") as sophomore Katie Cuneo's 131'5" javelin toss put her 10th in the respective event.

In 2020, UC San Diego boasted numerous productions that bypassed the all-time marks in Triton history. In the pole vault, Shimasaki cleared 16'6.75" to tie the program's record and Lecakes-Jones earned the fourth slot in the shot put (53'11"). Halvax, alongside his 4x400 relay team, exhibited tremendous speed as expected, bumping to third all-time as they crossed the finish line in 3-minutes, 14.81-seconds.
 
For a full look at the record books, click here (PDF).
 
OPTING OUT
Seven Tritons have opted out of participation this season due to COVID-19. Leyikun Solomon, Richie Caragao, and Marco Truqui from the men's team and Danika Pagaduan, Alyssa Hayashi, Ashley King, and Sierra Smith will sit out the 2020-21 season.
 
SUCCESS IN DIVISION II
Over the past 20 years, as members of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), the track and field squad took home a combined six CCAA team titles (women: 5, men: 1), as well as 15 CCAA runners-up and 171 individual or relay conference championships. 
 
Just after four meets in 2020, UC San Diego had eight individuals who posted pro-qualifying marks, proficient scores that would likely take them to Nationals. Among 13 events, multiple individuals and relay teams surpassed personal bests or become prevalent in the Triton all-time record books.
 
KALT FAMILY TIES
Sophomore Gloria Kalt is proudly following in the footsteps of her mom Renée, UC San Diego's 1995 DIII Long Jump National Champion. Renée was the best long jumper in the country in 1995 after an impressive 18'9.25" winning leap at the NCAA's. After 25 years, the mark remains tied for fifth in the record books and a feat Gloria is working hard to beat one day. Read about their mother-daughter connection, the track program's continued family culture, and more, here.

100-PLUS YEARS AT THE HELM 
100-plus years of combined coaching experience sits at the helm of the UC San Diego track and field program. Four coaches in particular have bled blue and gold for quite some time. Head Coach Tony Salerno of the men's team approaches his 22nd year at the top, while Head Coach Darcy Ahner enters her 14th stint leading the women. Sprint Coach Mick Gieskes begins his 25th year overall and Distance Coach Nate Garcia embarks on season 19 between cross country and track. For more on the Triton coaching staff, click here. 

WHAT'S NEXT
UC San Diego will continue its inaugural Division I season next weekend, April 29-May 1 at the UC Riverside, UC Irvine and Long Beach State Tri-Meet.
 
UC SAN DIEGO ATHLETICS LAUNCHES WEEKLY PODCAST
As part of UC San Diego's transition to Division I, the Athletics Department launched a weekly podcast, Tritoncast. Produced by UC San Diego Athletics Communications, Tritoncast features in-depth interviews with UC San Diego personalities including scholar-athletes, alums, coaches, and administrators. Triton fans will get an inside look at the UC San Diego Athletics Department as the program transitions to NCAA Division I and the Big West Conference. New episodes of Tritoncast are available each week on the most popular podcasting apps, including Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify, Stitcher, and TuneIn. In addition, each episode can be heard and downloaded on UCSDTritons.com. For individual show information and listen links, follow Tritoncast on Twitter @Tritoncast.
 
FOLLOW THE TRITONS
Keep up with the Tritons all season long on social media through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. The team's handle is @UCSDtrackfield.

GEAR 
For the latest Triton apparel and accessories, visit the official team store of the Tritons here.

FOR THE YOUNGER CROWD
Got some young Triton fans in your family? If they are eighth grade or under, check out the Junior Triton Club. Membership includes a free t-shirt, admission to over 100 UC San Diego home athletic events, and much more!
 
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 has begun a new era 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 II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 37 have garnered prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-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. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.
 
Return To Sport… Safely
In order for UC San Diego scholar-athletes to be permitted to return to training and competition safely and within federal, state, local and university guidelines, the athletic department implemented a number of measures designed to complement and enhance the university's highly-successful Return To Learn program.  Notable actions include being physically distanced when practical, including during out-of-season training sessions; wearing masks, except when undergoing physically strenuous exercise; and maintaining proper hygiene.  Athletes, coaches and staff are testing at a higher frequency than the campus population, teams adhere to CDC, NCAA and Big West Conference guidelines and department officials participate in regular meetings with conference and university-affiliated physicians and the UC San Diego emergency operations staff.