LA JOLLA, Calif. - The UC San Diego track and field teams had another strong showing at the annual San Diego City Collegiate Championships on Saturday, sweeping both the men's and women's competitions at the Triton Track and Field Stadium.
UCSD's men won eight events and finished with 156 points to post their second victory of 2010, while Point Loma Nazarene finished second with 133, Cal State San Marcos took third with 67, and the University of San Diego scored 10 points to place fourth. The Triton women also won their second straight meet, claiming nine events and racking up 207 points to defeat Point Loma (157.5), San Diego State (135.5), San Marcos (81), and USD (40).
UC San Diego has dominated the City Championships recently, winning both the men's and women's competitions each of the last three years.
Casey Ryan and Nick Howe led the way for the Tritons on the men's side, setting school records in the high jump and javelin, respectively. Ryan beat this own record of 7'.25" with a jump of 7'1", while Howe's toss of 206'3" eclipsed his own program standard of 201'3". Both were good enough for NCAA provisional qualifiers.
Fred Cook picked up a provisional qualifier with a victory in the hammer throw at 179' and also won the shot put with a toss of 52'. Dane Sandifer had a good day for the throws team as well, winning the discus with a mark of 143'6".
Bryan Dieffenbach recorded an individual victory with a time of 23.42 in the 200, while Leon Baham (15.58) and Tobias Haswell (53.98) were winners in the 110 and 400 hurdles, respectively.
The Triton women registered four individual qualifiers on the day, with Christine Merrill leading the way with victories in both the 100 (14.59) and 400 (59.82) hurdles. Merrill, who's qualifier came in the 400 event, also teamed with Kathleen Hitchens, Jacqueline Rose, and Kelly Fogarty to post a qualifying time of 46.98 in the 4x100 relay.
Leah Murphy recorded a provisional qualifying mark with a win in the triple jump at 38'9.5", as did Marie Archer and Theresa Richards for their performances in the hammer throw and javelin, respectively. Archer won the hammer with a toss of 167'10", while Richards' mark of 139'6" beat out the rest of the javelin field.
Also winning events on the women's side was Fogarty in the 100 (12.14), Linda Rainwater in the high jump (5'8"), Stephanie LeFever in the long jump (19'4.75").
The Tritons return to action on Friday with the Aztec Invitational beginning at 8:00 a.m. on the campus of San Diego State. The UCSD distance teams will travel to Los Angeles to compete in the Occidental Distance Invite on the same day.
