Despite gray skies and some drizzle, members of CSE's Team Race Condition turned out in force at this year's Triton 5K race, which coincided with Triton Day on campus, when students accepted to UC San Diego are invited to the campus with their families to learn more about the university as they decide where to attend in the fall among the universities that gave them acceptance letters. Some 2,800 runners were at the starting line, and the CSE team was by far the largest at 226 runners, nearly three times the 82 runners in the second-largest team, which represented the Electrical and Computer Engineering department. Of the five team trophies handed out after the race, CSE walked away with two: for the largest overall team, as well as the top fundraising department (based on the number of runners and their combined registration fees). The Triton 5K benefits undergraduate scholarships, and to date, the race has raised more than $3.4 million since 1996.
"We started in memory of our [late] departed MSO, Don Peters-Coville," noted CSE Chair and runner Rajesh Gupta. "We had the largest department team and definitely the most spirited one (sans pink tutus)." Gupta thanked team organizer and fund manager Cheryl Hile (who came in #5 in her age category). , whose husband Brian Hile placed #1 in his age division, as did staff member Loretta Smith in her cohort.
The fastest runner on the CSE team, however, was CSE alumnus Neal Harder (B.S. '98), who ranked #4 race-wide. Ph.D. student Dustin Richmond, who expects to graduate in computer engineering this year, blew past most of the competition to finish at #10 overall with a time of 17:11 minutes (#3 in his age division). On Richmond's heels, graduating computer-science senior Marcel Aguiar, who is also a member of the UC San Diego Triathlon Team (and its webmaster), placed #11 for the Triton 5K overall, and #5 in his age division.Two runners -- Hile's husband Brian and manager Loretta Smith -- placed #1 in their respective age divisions. Some standouts racing to represent CSE faculty included Mihir Bellare (#6 for his age group), while Ron Graham and Fan Graham, according to Gupta, "smoked their division" at #6 and #5, respectively. Christine Alvarado also came in #5 in her division.