LA JOLLA, Calif. – UC San Diego track and field will compete for the final time in 2022 at the APU Last Chance meet, hosted by Azusa Pacific University, Friday and Saturday. The Tritons join a diverse field, with schools from Divisions I, II, and III, plus a wealth of track and field clubs and unattached athletes all set to compete in Azusa.
 
DETAILS
at APU Last Chance
Friday, May 13
Hammer & Discus @ Claremont McKenna College — 11 a.m.
Track Events — 6:15 p.m.
Cougar Athletic Stadium | Azusa, Calif.
Live Results | Meet Schedule (PDF)
 
Saturday, May 14
Field Events — Noon | Track Events — 2 p.m.
Cougar Athletic Stadium | Azusa, Calif.
Live Results | Meet 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.
 
APU LAST CHANCE HISTORY
UC San Diego concluded their inaugural season in Division I at the APU Last Chance meet last May, with three Tritons setting all time marks in that 2021 finale. UC San Diego has already made one visit to Azusa this season, competing at the Bryan Clay Invitational in April. Eight Triton distance runners set new top ten marks in school history at that meet.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Tritons put up their best performance away from home this season last weekend, competing at CSU Fullerton's Titan Tune-Up meet on Friday and the Occidental Invitational in Los Angeles on Saturday. Led by their sprinters, the team set a season-high 13 new top ten marks in school history and picked up eight first-place finishes in Fullerton. The next day, senior Jake Selstad set a new school record in the 800-meter run, his third time doing so this season. Selstad's record was one of three new top ten marks for the Tritons in LA, bringing their total on the weekend to a whopping 16. For a full recap of Friday's Titan Tune-Up, click here, and for a full recap of Saturday's Occidental Invitational, click here.
 

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DOLAN AND SELSTAD NAMED BIG WEST ATHLETES OF THE WEEK (MAY 10)
Tritons swept the season's final Big West weekly track awards, with redshirt junior Lizzie Dolan winning Big West Women's Track Athlete of the Week and senior Jake Selstad winning Big West Men's Track Athlete of the Week after both put up career-best performances. Dolan set a personal best in the 100-meter hurdles (14.24) at CSU Fullerton's Titan Tune-Up meet on May 6, the fastest time in the event across the conference on the weekend, plus she helped UC San Diego's 4x100-meter relay team to their best time of the season (41.62). Selstad set a new school record in the 800-meter run at the Occidental Invitational May 7 (1:49.47), the fastest time in the Big West on the weekend and second-fastest in the conference all season.

Dolan was also named Triton Athlete of the Week on May 9 for her performance in Fullerton, which moved her up to sixth in UC San Diego history in the 100-meter hurdles.
 
WOMEN'S 4X400 RELAY EARNS TRITON ATHLETE OF THE WEEK AWARD (MAY 2)
The women's 4x400-meter relay team of Maxine Schultz, Idara Ibekwe, Mckenna Meaney, and Amari Jenkins were named Triton Athletes of the Week for their performance at UC San Diego's first-ever visit to the Drake Relays April 29-30. They produced the Tritons' best result in Iowa, taking first place in their heat and fourth place overall, with a time of 3:46.999. It was their second-best time this season.
 
JENKINS WINS BIG WEST ATHLETE OF THE WEEK (APR. 26)
Sophomore Amari Jenkins earned the Big West Women's Track Athlete of the Week award after her personal-best performance in the 400-meter hurdles at the Chris Rinne Twilight meet April 22. Jenkins took first place with a time of 1:00.87, the fastest time by any woman in the Big West that weekend, and the second quickest in the conference this season.
 
JIMENEZ NAMED TRITON ATHLETE OF THE WEEK (APR. 18)
Junior Kalobe Jimenez stood out among the eleven Tritons to set top ten marks in UC San Diego history on the team's first split squad weekend April 15-16. He was the only one to set multiple top ten all time marks, doing so in the 110-meter hurdles and 200-meter dash at the Beach Invitational to earn Triton Athlete of the Week honors.
 
SELSTAD EARNS TRITON ATHLETE OF THE WEEK HONORS (APR. 11)
Senior Jake Selstad was one of four record breakers at the Triton Invitational April 8-9, setting a new UC San Diego record in the men's 800-meter run. Selstad became the first Triton to complete the race in under 1:50, placing first with a time of 1:49.97, earning Triton Athlete of the Week for his performance.
 
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 25 scholar athletes on the 2022 track and field roster have posted results among the top ten best in Tritons' history, with two currently holding UC San Diego records. Graduate student Blake Walkowiak set the Tritons' discus record of 176'10" last season, and senior Max Halvax's record 400 meter time of 47.84 has stood since 2019.
 
UP NEXT
UC San Diego is hosting a Blue & Gold Celebration meet on Saturday, May 21, to say thank you and farewell to retiring Head Coaches Darcy Ahner and Tony Salerno. The event will feature light-hearted competition for the current team and alumni from noon - 2 p.m., followed by a short program celebrating Ahner and Salerno. Register to attend (for free) by clicking here. 
 
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.