LA JOLLA, Calif. – The UC San Diego track and field team is gearing up for its first outdoor meet of the season, as they travel to Long Beach, Calif. to compete at the Beach Opener on Mar. 3 and 4. The Tritons will be led by their new head coach, Kim Graham-Miller, who has recently taken over the program and is looking to make an immediate impact.
 
UC San Diego will be looking to make a strong start to the outdoor season and build momentum for the upcoming meets.
 
Keep up with the Tritons all season long on social media through Twitter and Instagram. The team's handle is @ucsdtrackfield.
 
DETAILS
at Beach Opener
Friday, Mar. 3 through Saturday, Mar. 4
Jack Rose Track | Long Beach, Calif. 
Live Results | Meet Schedule (PDF)
 
ATTENDING UC SAN DIEGO HOME EVENTS
For ticket information for the Triton Invitational (April 7-8), visit the Triton Box Office. Parking permits are required seven days per week at UC San Diego.
 
LAST TIME OUT 
UC San Diego's appearance at the Washington State Invitational (Feb. 2-4) marks the first time the programs have competed at an indoor event since transitioning to NCAA Division I prior to the spring 2021 season. 
 
The team finished the meet off strong with the hurdlers running a personal best and advancing to two out of three rounds. Nolan Crespo finished fifth overall in the 60-meter dash finals after stumbling in the blocks during the first round.
 
The Tritons set many new indoor records for the program and faced a huge learning curve competing indoors.
 
OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST KIM GRAHAM-MILLER TAKES THE HELM
UC San Diego Director of Athletics Earl W. Edwards announced the hiring of former Olympic gold medal-winner Kimberly Graham-Miller as the new head track & field coach of the Tritons on July 11, 2022. She took over UC San Diego's men's and women's programs after serving as an assistant coach at Sacramento State since 2014, working with relay teams and sprints and hurdles.  During her time in Sacramento, she helped coach the Hornets to six Big Sky Conference titles.
  
A 1993 graduate of Clemson University, she was a decorated athlete for the Tigers. The team captain was a three-time ACC Performer of the Year – the only woman to capture that honor three times. She was inducted into the Clemson Hall of Fame in 1999.
 
After graduating from Clemson, Graham-Miller took part in the 1995 Indoor and Outdoor World Championships, where she was a semifinalist in the 400-meter. Competing for the United States in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, she was a 400-meter semifinalist before capturing a gold medal as part of the 4x400 meter relay team.

ON THE MOVE
After 20 seasons playing as an NCAA Division II team, the entire athletics program is in its third year of a four-year transition to NCAA Division I, culminating in full DI status as a member of The Big West for the 2024-25 academic year. At that time, all sports will be eligible for conference and NCAA postseason play.
 
ROSTER BREAKDOWN
The 2023 track and field squad is composed of seven graduate students, 26 seniors, 12 juniors, 14 sophomores and 16 freshmen. All but four Tritons hail from California.
 
NEW TRITONS ON THE BLOCK
The freshman class consists of 11 women and five men. The women's rookies are Allyson Abandonato (Corona, Calif.), Lauren Delgado(Granada Hills, Calif.), Emma Dunmire (Mill Valley, Calif.), Mannat Gill (Milpitas, Calif.), Emma Jelmeland (San Marcos, Calif.), Leila Kepler(Riverside, Calif.), Lauren McBride (Chino Hills, Calif.), Feyi Olukanni (Clovis, Calif.), Ella Parsley (Manhattan Beach, Calif.), Jenna Satovsky (San Francisco, Calif.), and Lauren Schiele (Arlington Heights, Ill.).
 
The men's freshman class is Bryan Chang (Palm Desert, Calif.), Evan Hild (Corona, Calif.), Michael Julian (Seaside, Calif.), Anish Kasam(Dublin, Calif.) and Luke Stefanou (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.).
 
MAKING THE GRADE
The Tritons have continued to excel in the classroom. The UC San Diego women's team posted a 3.57 team grade point average during fall quarter. The Triton men combined for a 3.30 cumulative GPA in the fall.
 
UP NEXT
UC San Diego will travel to Fullerton, Calif. for the Ben Brown Invite next weekend stretching from Mar. 10-11.
 
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.
 
TRITON TRACK TALK ON UC SAN DIEGO ATHLETICS' 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. New episodes of Tritoncast are available each week on the most popular podcasting apps. In addition, each episode can be heard and downloaded on UCSDTritons.com. For individual show information and listen links, follow Tritoncast on Twitter @Tritoncast.
 
TRACK & FIELD ON TRITONCAST

Episode	Published	Guest(s)	Listen Link
09	8/26/20	Claudia Cox '20, TAC President	Listen
18	10/28/20	Vince Tedjasaputra '09, Nat'l. Science Foundation	Listen
33	2/10/21	Valentine's Day Special	Listen
65	10/19/22	Derek Brajevich '22, Leadership, Mental Agility	Listen
68	11/09/22	Amari Jenkins '24, Black Triton Association	Listen

 
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.
 
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 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 NCAA Division I or II. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.