2019 Track & Field Roster
Roster
Nate Esparza
- Position:
- Throws
- Height:
- 6-1
- Class:
- Redshirt Sophomore
- Hometown:
- Pleasanton, Calif.
- High School:
- Amador Valley
2020
Indoor: Finished his season at the Seattle Pacific Final Qualifier, where he took the shot put victory with a mark of 17.85m (58-06.75) โฆ Competed at USA Indoor Nationals against professional throwers, finishing 16th overall with a toss of 18.59m (61-00.00) โฆ Finished second in the shot put at the New Mexico Team Open with a season-best throw of 19.40m (63-07.75) โฆ Opened his season with a runner-up showing in the shot put (19.22m, 63-00.75) at the UW Preview.
2019
Competed in 13 meets โฆ Part of UCLAโs top shot put department in the NCAA according to the USTFCCCA #EventSquad Rankings โฆ Indoor: Finished fourth or higher in the shot put in all but one indoor meet โฆ Finished second both at the New Mexico Classic and Don Kirby Invitational โฆ Posted a season-best indoor throw of 18.97m (62-3) at the New Mexico Classic, finishing second โฆ Earned ninth place at the MPSF Indoor Championships with an effort of 17.87m (58-7.5) ... Outdoor: Won the shot put at the Aztec Invitational with a throw of 19.05m (62-6) โฆ Mustered a huge PR of 19.82m (65-0.5) to place third at the Pac-12 Championships, scoring six points โฆ Placed ninth at the NCAA West Regionals with a toss of 19.21m (63-0.25) โฆ First Team All-American in the shot put โฆ Took seventh at the NCAA Championships in Austin with a mark of 19.65m (64-5.75) โฆ UCLA Top-10 Record Books: Indoor: 7th โ Shot Put (19.49m; 63-11.5; achieved in 2018) โฆ Honors: Outdoor First Team All-American (shot put).
2018
USTFCCCAย Indoor Second Team All-American in the shot put ... Competed in five meets, all indoors and in the shot putย ... Qualified for the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships ... At NCAAs, finished 12th with a throw of 18.79m (61-7.75) ... In his season-debut, won the shot put with a collegiate-best throw of 19.49m (63-11.5) at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Invitational ... Followed up with a second-place finish at the Dr. Sander Invitational, recording a top mark of 19.35m (63-6) ... Eclipsed the 19-meter mark for the third time of the year at the MPSFย Championships, finishing sixth at 19.07m (62-6.75)ย ...ย Named to the 2018 MPSF Indoor Track All-Academic Team.ย
2017
Competed in nine outdoor meets his true freshman season in the throws โฆ NCAA West Prelims qualifier in the shot put, throwing 58-04.50 to finish 18th overall โฆ Doubled in the shot put (58-06.50) and discus (lifetime-best 165-07.00) at the Pac-12 Championships, finishing seventh and tenth in the events, respectively โฆ Posted a college-best mark of 62-05.00 in the shot put at the USC Dual, good for a runner-up showing โฆ Also placed fourth in both the discus (163-02.00) and hammer throw (158-05.00) against the Trojans โฆ Made his UCLA debut at the Long Beach Dual, where he won the shot put competition with a mark of 58-06.00.
High School
Prepped at Amador Valley High School in Pleasanton, Calif. โฆ Placed seventh in the shot put at the 2016 USATF Junior Championships with a throw ofย 61-7. โฆ Was the runner-up in the shot put at the CIF California State Championships with a personal best throw of 69-4.75 (12lb) โฆ Also placed fifth in the state meet with a discus mark of 186-4 โฆ Recorded a discus personal best of 191-5 (1.6kg)ย ย in the state meet prelims โฆ Won 10 titles in the shot put and discus his senior season โฆ ย CIF North Coast champion in both the shot put and discus his senior season โฆ Took home top honors in both the shot put and discus at the EBAL Championships โฆ North Coast Section shot put record holder โฆ Team captain.
Personal
Son of Tony and Jennifer Esparza โฆ Has two brothers named Matt and Scott and one sister named Emily โฆ Enjoys Olympic weightlifting, dogs, naps, is a music enthusiast and long walks on the beach.
