Monday, 6/2/97 Bruins to vie for individual titles at NCAA
Outdoor Championships M. TRACK: Johnson, Keflezighi to compete this
Wednesday in javelin, 10,000-meter run
By Emmanuelle Ejercito Daily Bruin Staff The UCLA men’s track
and field team will travel this week to Bloomington, Ind., to make
its run for a national title. The NCAA Outdoor Championships begin
on Wednesday and will be contested through Saturday. The Bruins
will have an opportunity to earn a couple of individual national
championships on the first day of competition. The finals for the
javelin and the 10,000 meters will take place Wednesday. This
year’s NCAA Championships will mark the second time that junior
Josh Johnson has competed at nationals. The javelin thrower
participated in his freshman year, finishing 12th with a throw of
220 feet, 3 inches and earning All-American honors. Johnson won the
Pac-10 javelin title two weeks ago in Seattle. He threw a personal
best of 230-1, which placed him among the top 10 in the nation in
the event. At the national championships, the top eight finishers
score. "I think (Johnson) will be in there and (will) score very
well," UCLA head coach Bob Larsen said. Junior Mebrahtom Keflezighi
has already won a national championship this year. In March,
Keflezighi won the 5,000 at the NCAA Indoor Championships. In the
outdoor season thus far, Keflezighi leads the nation in the 5,000
as well as the 10,000. On Wednesday, he will get a chance to add
the 10,000 outdoor championship to his trophy case. Keflezighi’s
best time this year in the 10,000 is 28:26.55. His biggest
challengers will be twins Brent and Brad Hauser from Stanford and
Arkansas’ Ryan Wilson. Hauser is ranked second in the nation, a
full 20 seconds behind Keflezighi. Despite the fact that the finals
of their events will not be contested Wednesday, it will still be a
big day for two other Bruin runners. The qualifying heats of the
400 intermediate hurdles and the 800 are slated for Wednesday. Only
the top eight athletes from the qualifying heats get to compete in
the finals. Brian Fell, who will represent UCLA in the
intermediates, currently ranks 11th in the nation, while Michael
Granville ranks 13th in the 800. "It won’t be easy," Larsen said.
"For some of them, the qualifying race will be the biggest race of
their life." Granville knows the agony of qualifiers. Ranked second
in the conference in the 800 by hundredths of a second and a
contender for the Pac-10 title, Granville missed qualifying for the
finals. "The top eight score; he has work to do to be able to
score," Larsen said. "But he is aggressive, he’s a real good
competitor."