Tuesday, November 26, 1996
CROSS COUNTRY:
Star freshman learns tough lessons in missed NCAAsBy Vytas
Mazeika
Daily Bruin Contributor
Many people don’t know this, but Kim Mortensen did not qualify
for the NCAA Cross Country Championships that took place Monday in
Tucson, Ariz.
UCLA’s freshman sensation, who did not return phone calls and
could not be reached for comment, ran a horrible race by her
standards at the District VIII qualifying meet two weeks ago in
Fresno State.
Her disappointment was obvious to UCLA’s women’s cross country
coach Eric Peterson.
"She was devastated. No question about it," he said. "When she
finished the race, I think the shock and the reality of … not
qualifying for nationals (the NCAA Championship) hit her hard."
Mortensen had been one of the most dominating collegiate runners
in America all season long before her collapse. This may be evident
in the wide gap between Mortensen and Githa Hampson, UCLA’s
second-best runner.
Hampson never finished within 40 seconds of Mortensen in any
meet this season until defeating Mortensen by three seconds in the
District VIII meet. Hampson, accustomed to seeing Mortensen run
away from her in every race, never got into a groove. Her rhythm
was affected by the irregularity in seeing Mortensen running near
her.
"It was really weird for me, because I don’t usually see her,"
Hampson said.
Peterson believes that Mortensen’s disappointing race had a
ripple effect that caused doubt in the remaining Bruin runners.
Both Peterson and Hampson believe that Hampson should have passed
Mortensen much earlier in the race.
Peterson attributes Mortensen’s bad performance to one
factor.
"Her problem is related to her rattled confidence," Peterson
explained. "Her youth … and lack of experience in huge races
affected her in a negative way. As a senior (in high school) she
ran tremendously fast and had a lot of success. (But) prior to her
senior year though, she did not have that same sort of success at a
high level."
Peterson believes the hamstring injury that Mortensen incurred a
month before the race affected not only Mortensen’s practices, but
also her aggressiveness in Fresno.
"(The hamstring) affected (her aggressiveness) and it also
affected her confidence," Petersen said. "Great workouts equal
great races in her mind (and the injury) has interrupted her
ability to string together days of good, high quality training in a
row."
With no more training scheduled for the next couple of weeks,
Mortensen can muse over the lessons to be learned in her
disappointing performance.
"It was very disappointing and she hasn’t had that feeling in a
long time, … (but) I hope that she learns … that it is a rare
occasion that everything is perfect going into any competition,"
Petersen said. "She’s carried the burden for this team all season
long and unfortunately she didn’t have it on that day that she
needed it."
But no matter how many lessons there are to be learned, nothing
is tougher than dealing with disappointment.
"The mark of a true champion is how well you handle pain and
disappointment," Peterson explained. "(Mortensen) will have her day
again. It’s not the end of her career."
It’s also not the last football game that USC played against
UCLA, but that doesn’t make it any easier on them.
SCOTT QUINTARD/ASUCLA
Kim Mortensen