Monday, 4/14/97
UCLA dominates through team effort
Team gets off to strong start, prepares for upcoming
championships
By Donald Morrison
Daily Bruin Contributor
The UCLA women’s track team continued its dominance in dual-meet
competition as it easily defeated the University of Houston, UC
Irvine and Cal St. Northridge on Saturday afternoon at Drake
Stadium.
UCLA won the quadrangular meet with 81 points, 24 points ahead
of second-place Cal St. Northridge.
The Bruins are now 8-0 in dual-meets this season and are 33-0 in
dual-meet competition under fourth-year head coach Jeanette
Bolden.
"I think we did extremely well today," Bolden said. "I’m
happy."
The Bruins managed to win 12 of the 18 events in which they
competed and received strong individual performances from Rachelle
Noble, Bisa Grant and Joanna Hayes who each won two individual
events.
Noble won the javelin and hammer throws with marks of 156′-7"
and 188′-10", respectively.
Grant won the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 13.26 seconds and
the 200 meter dash with a time of 24.46, edging out second-place
Cherice Ellison of Cal St. Northridge for the win. Grant also
anchored the victorious 400 meter relay team to a time of
46.21.
Hayes, normally a hurdler, was also on the 400 meter relay team.
Her second-leg run put UCLA in the lead for good during the race.
Hayes pulled off individual victories in the 100 meter dash with an
impressive time of 11.66 and in the 400 meter hurdles with a time
of 58.36.
"I wanted to work on (Hayes’) speed so it was good for her to
run," Bolden said. "It was good for her to work on her speed. That
was the main thing. That’s why she ran second leg in the relays,
and her running the 100 meters was for her to work on her speed.
She’ll need that for the hurdles."
UCLA also fared well in the distance events. Christina Bowen and
Kara Bernard finished in first and second places, respectively, in
the 3000 meter race. Melinda George was able to finish in second
place in the 1500 meters with a time of 4:40.05, and Zalika Davis
finished in third place in the 800 meters. Davis was followed by
fourth-place finisher Katherina Kechris in the 800 meters.
"They’re making progress," women’s distance coach Eric Peterson
said. "That’s what March and early April is all about for us. We’ve
got big meets ahead with the Mt. SAC Relays and the Cal-Nevada
Championships in two weeks up in Northridge, and then, of course,
for my area on the team, USC and BYU is going to be a huge meet.
That’s really what we’re preparing for, and I think we took a big
step."
Amy Acuff, a five-time NCAA champion in the high jump, did not
compete on Saturday, due to soreness in her ankle. However, the
injury is only minor, and she is expected to return next weekend
for the Mt. SAC Relays.Photos by PATRICK LAM/Daily Bruin
Joanna Hayes earned individual victories in the 100 meter dash
and the 400 meter hurdles. Rachelle Noble and Bisa Grant also gave
strong performances, each winning in two individual events.