Former Vaquero wins weekly conference honor
The following are updates on local athletes at the collegiate level.
Rosa Del Toro (Glendale Community College, 2010) senior, Long Beach State women’s track and field: A third-place finish in the 1,500-meter race at the Aztec Invitational was enough to garner Del Toro Big West Conference Women’s Track Athlete of the Week honors, according to a Long Beach State press release issued on Tuesday.
The former Vaquero battled rainy weather on March 17 at San Diego State to complete the event in 4 minutes 29.36 seconds, a time just .32 seconds off her lifetime best of 4:29.04, which ranks fifth in program history.
Yumi So (Crescenta Valley High, 2009) junior, USC women’s swimming: The Trojans finished third in the 2012 NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships on March 17 at Auburn’s James E. Martin Aquatics Center for the second year in a row and for the third time ever.
So earned All-American marks during the NCAAs for her performances in the 200-yard medley relay and 400-yard medley relay. The 200-medley squad placed eighth in 1:37.96 on March 16 and the 400-medley team also took eighth in 3:33.94 on March 15.
USC, ranked No. 7 in the nation, totaled 325.5 points to finish behind Cal (412.5) and Georgia (366).
Lainey DePompa (Crescenta Valley High, 2008) senior, UC Santa Barbara softball: The Gauchos (12-20) slugged it out with No. 16-ranked UCLA on Saturday and the former Falcons backstop landed one of the biggest blows.
DePompa capped UCSB’s four-run fifth inning with a two-run home run to give the Gauchos a 6-5 lead. It wouldn’t last, though, as the Bruins struck back with five runs in the top of the sixth and won the game, 10-6.
With her two-for-three, three-run-batted-in performance, DePompa upped her season average to .221 with four homers and 12 RBI.
Kassandra Uchida (Burbank High, 2010) freshman, Utah State softball: One day after snapping a nine-game losing streak, the Aggies found themselves unable to start a winning streak when they dropped the opener of a doubleheader against Louisiana Tech, 10-1, on Saturday.
Uchida went 0 for three at the plate out of the leadoff spot, as Utah State got just five hits in the game.
On Friday, the Aggies won their conference opener for only the second time in program history when they defeated Louisiana State, 4-0. Uchida went one for two with a pair of runs scored in the game, including the Aggies’ first when she got aboard with a lead-off walk and crossed the plate on a squeeze bunt.
On the season, Uchida is batting .285 with two home runs, five doubles and eight RBI and leads the team in runs scored with 16. Utah State took a 9-18 mark, with a 1-1 conference record, into Saturday’s nightcap.
Kyle Hart (Burroughs High, 2009) junior, University of Redlands baseball: Hart pitched his second complete game of the season on Friday, but took the loss after allowing five runs on 10 hits and one walk in a 5-3 home loss to Whittier College in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play.
Finishing with six strikeouts, Hart didn’t allow a run over the final four innings, but couldn’t make up for two runs apiece given up in the third and fifth innings after surrendering one in the first.
Hart is 3-2 with a 3.88 earned-run average in 51 innings pitched over eight starts for the Bulldogs, who are 13-11 and 6-8 in conference on the season.