Photos by Lucas Keenan.
A Poem by Dan Nguyen:

Tritons line up at the start

In the water we jostle and dart

To find the perfect position to draft

Off fast guys like Nick, Frank, and Ali Karbassi

With the screech of the horn and a rush of adrenaline

We swim out with a rush of norepinephrin

But before I unfold the rest of the race

I will take you back to first base

For many months the Tritons have toiled

Under hot sun, rain, and muddy soil

Countless hour and many miles

We pushed our body through the trials

Of the swim bike and run

All the while, still having fun

On a gloomy and rainy Saturday we drive

Under the beautiful rain-soaked California skies

To a place between the ocean and green pasture fields

Our destination is a stunning lake surrounded by hills

I rode with Daniel and Ian

It was a good ride, we mostly be chillin’

And while they were discussing organic chemistry

I listened to the sound of rain and reveled in its drip drop ecstasy

The three of us arrived at a small inn

Where the rest of team had been

The Tritons separate in to different rooms

And afterwards we go to consume

Some bomb-tastic grub

Where we see a bunch of USC schlubs

Back at the inn we prepare our rigs

While a few team members dye their wigs

Blue, purple and pink was our hair

We probably looked like we repped the University of double-rainbow-fairy-unicorn college, I swear…

Race day skies were not too atrocious

A few clouds here and there, not too ferocious

Let me take you back to the story where I abruptly stopped

Where was I… ah yes... in the water we were since the horn went off

First out of the water was our very own Bill

Fast through T1 and out to tackle those hills

Not far back was the rest of our gang

Fighting hard to make some gains

The bike course was hilly and had many false flats

But we Tritons were prepared and that’s that

As the day progressed the sun came out

Perfect day for a race no doubt

Although the run was muddy and tough

We all finished well enough

Bill got 5^th overall for the men

While our very own Gina got 12^th for the women

True, not all of us had the perfect race day

Like how Joanna was crippled with back pain

And Sante’s shoes had terrible red blood stains

But no matter the difficulties, we all finished

Our trying spirit could not be diminished

Although this team is mostly of the new and the young

We still got 4th place among

The West Coast Collegiate conference where we raced

UCSD still making headways

Congratulations to all those who did their first Olympic distance race

It was a tough and brutal course that you faced