UC San Diego

AS A SOPHOMORE IN 2008: Placed ninth in the High Jump at the CCAA Championship with a height of 1.83M, and placed sixth in the decathlon with 5943 total points...  At the UCSD Triton Invitational placed 19th in the 110M Hurdles with a time of 16.40... Placed sixth in the 100M and seventh in the Pole Vault at the San Diego City Championships... At the All-Cal Challenge Cup finished sixth in the High Jump and Pole Vault ... Placed 16th  in the 100M at the Rossi Relays with a time of 11.90... His point total of 6169 in the Decathlon ranks third in school history.

PRIOR TO ATTENDING UCSD: Spent two seasons at the College of San Mateo before becoming a Triton... member of track and field team under coaches Joe Mangan, Mike Lewis, and Pat Donahue... helped team to California Community College State Championships in 2005 and 2006... finished seventh in state in the decathlon... recorded statistical bests of 6’8” in the high jump event and over 6000 points in the decathlon.

HIGH SCHOOL: A 2004 graduate of Los Altos High School in Los Altos, Calif... named team MVP during 2003 and 2004 seasons.

PERSONAL: Born October 2, 1985... parents are Don and Carol van Straaten... has five older siblings named Dirk, Nick, Jennifer, Kristen, and Amy... an undeclared major in Sixth College... hobbies include snowboarding, skateboarding, music, and rock climbing.