LA JOLLA, Calif. – The UC San Diego track and field team heads back to Azusa, Calif. for the APU Franson Last Chance. The event, hosted by Azusa Pacific, will take place at Cougar Athletics Stadium this upcoming Friday, May 12 through Saturday, May 13.

Keep up with the Tritons all season long on social media through Twitter and Instagram. The team's handle is @ucsdtrackfield.

DETAILS
at APU Franson Last Chance
Friday, May 12 through Saturday, May 13
Cougar Athletics Stadium | Azusa, Calif. 
Meet Schedule (PDF)
 
LAST TIME OUT 
The UC San Diego track and field team concluded the day-long Oxy Invitational with 12 top-three finishes.
 
The men's team saw several standout performances including Sebastian Garcia's first-place finish in the Discus Throw with a distance of 46.72m. Jack Wiseman also impressed coming in at second in the High Jump clearing 2.09m. Nathan Yoder had a strong performance in both the Long Jump and Triple Jump, finishing 10th and 3rd overall. Additionally, the 1600-meter Relay team consisting of Saliou Ndiaye, Kyle McCray, Nicco Pompili, and Jake Heinlein placed third with a time of 3:20.40.
 
On the women's side, Katie Cuneo won the Javelin Throw with a distance of 43.92m while Feyi Olukanni placed second in the Discus Throw with a distance of 43.55m and third in the Shot Put with a distance of 12.90m. The 1600-meter Relay team of Gloria Kalt, Kate MacNaughton, Lauren Schiele, and Maxine Schultz took home the gold with a time of 3:54.47. Lizzie Coley had a strong showing in the 100-meter Hurdles, finishing second overall with a time of 14.36 while Naomi Chin finished second overall in the Pole Vault with a height of 3.81m.
 
FEYI OLUKANNI EARNS UCU ATHLETE OF THE WEEK HONORS (5/8)
UC San Diego thrower, Feyi Olukanni, placed in both Discus and Shot Put at the Oxy Invitational. The freshman tossed the discus for a distance of 43.55m to place second for the gold and blue. In her second event, she recorded a distance of 12.9m to take third and snag a spot on the top 10 all-time list for the Tritons. Olukanni was the only Triton to place in multiple events as an individual at the invite.

MARCOS MILLA SHATTERS 23 Y/O RECORD, EARNS UCU ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
On the second day of the Bryan Clay Invitational hosted by Azusa Pacific, senior Milla shattered a 23-year-old program record in the 10000-meter run. Originally set in 2000 by James Nielsen's record of 29:52.9, Milla passed the time by a full 11 seconds to put up a time of 29:41.57. The senior originally made the top 10 all-time list in the same event last year, but now holds the UC San Diego program record.
 
TRITONCAST HOSTS HEAD COACH KIM GRAHAM-MILLER
Tritoncast, the official podcast for UC San Diego Athletics, brought on Triton head coach Kim Graham-Miller to talk leading a program and her experience winning a gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games.
 
Kim also discusses what it will be like to compete at home in this week's Triton Invitational. You can listen to the podcast at https://ucsdtritons.com/podcasts.

JULIA DI SILVESTRI NAMED UCU ATHLETE OF THE WEEK (3/27)
UC San Diego sophomore Julia Di Silvestri had a standout performance at the 44th annual Aztec Invitational. Di Silvestri was the Triton standout performer, clearing 3.87m in the pole vault. That height landed her in a second place tie on UC San Diego's all-time list and was good for sixth overall in the meet.
 
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.

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
78	04/05/2023	Kim Graham-Miller, Head Coach	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.