Five UC San Diego athletes made the 2020 California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) women’s Track and Field All-Star Team, the conference announced this week.

UC San Diego placed five honorees on the team, trailing only behind Stanislaus State, which had seven.

Seniors Claudia Cox, hurdles, Erikka Linn, jumps, Gabby Eshiet, throws, Chelsea Challacombe, jumps/heptathlon, and freshman Naomi Chin, (pole vault) received the recognition.

A two-time NCAA Championship contender, Cox ranked second in the nation in the 400 hurdles (1:00.94). She also placed first in the country as a member of the 4×400 relay unit (3:52.48). In addition, she earned her seventh CCAA Runner of the Week accolade on Feb. 25.

Linn logged a first-place leap of 39’8.75″ at the Rossi Relays. She became the only female in the country in Division II to achieve such a mark

this year. On Feb. 25, she was named CCAA Field Athlete of the Week for the first time.

Eshiet, a 2019 NCAA Championship qualifier, established a pro-qualifying and conference-best mark in the hammer (172’9″) at the San Diego Collegiate Challenge. The results positioned her second and fourth in the nation, respectively. She was named CCAA Field Athlete of the Week on March 10.

Challacombe won in the high jump at the San Diego Collegiate Challenge (5’5.75″) and Pomona-Pitzer All-Comers (5’6″). Clearing a height of 5’5.75, she ranked first in the CCAA and third in the country at the season’s end.

Chin, a Dublin native, placed second overall (11’11.75″) at the Rossi Relays, garnering the top rank in the CCAA and third in the nation.

UCSD competed in four meets before the coronavirus put a halt to public competitions. UC San Diego will move to Division I and the Big West Conference this July.

– Staff reports

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