ALISO VIEJO, Calif. - Looking to stay sharp before next week's Triton Invitational, the UC San Diego track and field teams took part in the Soka University Peace Invitational on Saturday and racked up several individual victories against competitors from all over the state of California.
UCSD won a total of 18 events on the day, with the men and women posting top marks in nine events each. In addition, Triton student-athletes set eight stadium records at the six-year old Soka track and field complex.
"This was the perfect meet for us this week and we had some great performances," men's head coach Tony Salerno said. "The track and facility, the location, and the conditions at Soka were beautiful. This sets us up perfectly for what promises to be a very competitive Triton Invitational next week."
Senior Leon Baham had a big day on the men's side, winning both the 110 and 400-meter hurdles with times of 14.62 and 53.10, respectively. Both times were stadium records and his mark in the 400s was a seasonal best and NCAA provisional qualifier.
Fred Cook was also a double winner, placing first in both the shot put and hammer throw. He recorded a mark of 51'3" in the shot and uncorked a toss of 171'7" in the hammer.
Daniel Anderson's performance in the 400 highlighted a strong showing by the Triton distance squad. He won the event with a time of 48.91, which ranks seventh all-time at UCSD and surpassed the old stadium mark of 48.96 set by UC Santa Barbara's Ryan Martin in 2008.
Anthony Heredia broke the tape in the 1500 with a time of 4:05.17, while Jeremy Riley placed first in the 3,000 at 8:45.02.
Other event winners for the Triton men included Ryan Eckert in the discus (145'6") and Andrew Karnaze in the long jump (19'8.75").
UCSD won the long jump on the women's side as well, as Leah Murphy notched a provisional mark with a leap of 19'1.25". Her mark ranks second all-time behind Whitney Johnson's school record of 19'10.75" set in 2008.
Marie Archer and Theresa Richards both set new stadium records with strong efforts for the throws team. Archer won the hammer with a toss of 157'8", while Richards bested the field in the javelin with a mark of 134'9".
Kelly Fogarty also posted a stadium record with a win in the 100-meter dash. She clocked in at 11.75, which surpassed Carmelita Jeter's time of 11.85 back in 2004. Jeter is now the third-fastest female in history and the current world leader in the event.
Senior Christine Merrill was on the top of her game as well, winning the 400 hurdles with a time of 1:05.51. She was also part of the Triton 4x100 and 4x400 relay squads that set new stadium records in each race. The 4x100 unit of Merrill, Kathleen Hitchens, Jacqueline Rose, and Fogarty won with a time of 1:05.51, while Rose, Stephanie LeFever, Anna Lee McGregor, and Merrill teamed for a first place time of 3:48.79 in the 4x400.
Lastly, Linda Rainwater won the high jump with a leap of 5'7" and Donna LeFever placed first in the pole vault at 11'11.75".
The annual UCSD Triton Invitational will be held next Friday and Saturday at the Triton Track and Field Stadium on campus. Entries can be made at directathletics.com through Tuesday at 5:00 p.m.
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