LA JOLLA, Calif. – UC San Diego's track and field team will face defending Pac-12 and Mountain West champions this weekend, as they make their 16^th straight appearance at San Diego State's Aztec Invitational, Friday and Saturday. Friday's hammer throw competition will be held at UC San Diego, with Saturday's action all taking place at San Diego State.
 
The hosting Aztecs, against whom the Tritons have already competed multiple times this season, captured the women's Mountain West track and field title last season. Fellow conference champ Oregon, who captured the 2021 men's Pac-12 crown, are one of two Pac-12 teams scheduled to attend, with Cal also making the trip south. UC Santa Barbara will be the only one of the Tritons' Big West conference-mates at the meet.
 
DETAILS
At 43^rd Annual Aztec Invitational
Friday, March 25
Women's Hammer — 3:30 p.m. | Men's Hammer — 5:30 p.m.
Triton Track & Field Stadium | La Jolla
Live Results | Meet Info & Schedule (PDF)
 
Saturday, March 26
Field Events — 9 a.m. | Track Events — Noon
Aztrack Sports Deck | San Diego, Calif.
Live Results | Meet Info & Schedule (PDF)
 
ATTENDING UC SAN DIEGO HOME EVENTS
For the latest information on attending home events, please visit our Spectator Information Page. Parking permits are required seven days per week at UC San Diego.
 
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.
 
AZTEC INVITATIONAL HISTORY
The Tritons have competed at every single Aztec Invitational going back to 2006, and last year's event was UC San Diego's first meet as a Division I program. The Tritons' distance runners put in some impressive performances that day, including Brad Nelson and Sidney Hendricks' second-place finishes in the 3000-meter Steeplechase and Gabriel Reuter's second-place finish in the 5000-meter run. Blake Walkowiak produced the best result by a Triton thrower, finishing third in discus.
 
LAST TIME OUT
A smaller-than-normal squad of Tritons traveled to Point Loma for the Ross & Sharon Irwin Invitational last Saturday. Despite their small numbers, UC San Diego produced some big performances, including junior thrower Katie Cuneo smashing her personal best javelin throw by over eight feet. For the full recap, click here.
 
SALERNO AND AHNER ENTER FINAL SEASON
Head coaches Tony Salerno and Darcy Ahner announced that the 2022 season will be their last at the helm of UC San Diego's track and field teams. The duo, who have over 70 combined years of coaching experience, have been fixtures in La Jolla since the turn of the century, and have served as the Tritons' co-head coaches since 2007. For more on Ahner and Salerno, click here.
 
ON THE MOVE
After 20 seasons playing as an NCAA Division II team, the entire athletics program is in its second year of 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.
 
ROSTER BREAKDOWN
The 2022 track and field squad is composed of four graduate students, 24 seniors, 36 juniors, 14 sophomores and 15 freshmen. All but four men and three women hail from California.
 
NEW TRITONS ON THE BLOCK
The freshman class consists of eight women and seven men. The women's rookies are Julia Di Silvestri (Ventura/Ventura HS), Idara Ibekwe (Riverside/John W. North HS), Phoebe Ladd (Irvine/Woodbridge HS), Sylvana Northrop (Cupertino/Monta Vista HS), Sarah Paino (Anaheim/Canyon HS), Lauren Pritchard (Monterey/Carmel HS), Emily Richards (Aliso Viejo/Aliso Niguel HS), and Kelsie Yamano (San Clemente/San Clemente HS).
 
The men's freshman class is Colin Beale (Manhattan Beach/Mira Costa HS), Miles Bennett (Castro Valley/Castro Valley HS), Charlie Frank (Dearborn, Mich/Dearborn HS), Nathan Garderes (Thousand Oaks/Thousand Oaks HS), Nathaniel Grant (Rancho Cucamonga/Rancho Cucamonga HS), Jordan Haney (Carlsbad/San Marcos HS), and Andrew Villapudua (South Pasadena/South Pasadena Senior HS).
 
RETURNING RECORD SETTERS
UC San Diego returns a wealth of talent for the 2022 season. A total of 26 scholar athletes on the 2022 track and field roster have posted results among the top ten best in Tritons' history, with three currently holding UC San Diego records. Graduate student Blake Walkowiak set the Tritons' discus record of 176'10" last season, and fellow grad student Evan Shimasaki set the record in pole vault a season earlier, clearing 16'6.75" in 2020. Senior Max Halvax's record 400 meter time of 47.84 has stood since 2019.
 
UP NEXT
After three straight meets in San Diego, the Tritons hit the road next weekend, paying a visit to Big West Conference rivals UC Irvine for the Vince O'Boyle Track & Field Classic, April 1-2. UC San Diego is back home in La Jolla April 8-9, hosting the Triton Invitational.
 
WHY THE TRITONS?
The Triton is described as the offspring of Poseidon and Amphitrite, a demigod of the sea with a lower part of the body like that of a fish. It is known as a mighty and fierce sea warrior. Given UC San Diego's close proximity to the Pacific Ocean and its connections with the world-famous Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Triton became our mascot in 1964.
 
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 Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Audible, iHeartRadio, Pandora, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, and Vurbl. In addition, each episode can be heard and downloaded on UCSDTritons.com. For individual show information and listen links, follow Tritoncast on Twitter @Tritoncast.
 
GET SOCIAL WITH UC SAN DIEGO TRACK & FIELD
Keep up with the Tritons all season long on social media through Twitter and Instagram. The team's handle is @ucsdtrackfield.
 
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!
 
GEAR
For the latest Triton apparel and accessories, click here.
 
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 38 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 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in Division I or II. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.