LA JOLLA, Calif. — UC San Diego's Triton Track & Field Stadium is home to a brand-new American discus record. Valarie Allman, the reigning Olympic gold medalist, broke her own record in the women's discus throw at the Triton Invitational on Friday, setting the new top mark at 71.46 meters (234' 5").
Five UC San Diego athletes were in action across Friday's four events, and all five earned top-ten finishes, highlighted by freshman
Julia Di Silvestri's new personal best in the women's pole vault. She cleared 11' 11.75", finishing second overall and solidifying her spot at number eight on the Tritons' all-time pole vault list. Di Silvestri's fellow vaulters, junior
Naomi Chin and sophomore
Sky Kezmoh, finished fourth and seventh, respectively.
Redshirt junior thrower
Sarah Perkins also set a new personal best, finishing sixth in the open division of the women's discus. Her mark of 146' 7" stands as the tenth best in Triton history. Allman, along with three other Olympians, plus British and Canadian national discus champs, competed in the invitational division. Senior
Crystal Diei was the first Triton to compete on Friday, finishing ninth in the women's hammer throw with a mark of 163' 5".
QUOTABLE
"Our athletes certainly had a great day, with UC San Diego all-time performances by
Julia Di Silvestri in the pole vault and
Sarah Perkins in the discus," Co-Head Coach
Tony Salerno said. "The American record by Olympic Gold Medalist Valarie Allman in the discus was really historic and inspiring. Our throwing field is world-renowned as being one on the best, and it certainly lived up to that today. The meet is certainly off to a great start, it should be great day tomorrow."
TRITON TIDBITS
- In pole vault, Naomi Chin cleared exactly the same height as Julia Di Silvestri, with the tie broken by number of attempts taken to clear the height, Di Silvestri only needing one while Chin took two
- Valarie Allman's record discus throw also broke not only the Triton Track & Field Stadium women's record, which had stood since 2002, but also cleared the men's stadium record by over a meter
UP NEXT
Saturday brings the second and final day of the Triton Invitational, with the potential for more records to fall. The day's field events will start with the men's hammer throw at 9:30 a.m., with the women's 4x100 relay kicking off track events at 11:10 a.m. The reigning Olympic gold and silver medalists in men's discus will compete in the invitational division at 1 p.m.
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.
