Competing in its first championship meet of the season, the UCLA
track and field team was able to convert individual achievements
into team success at the 2003 MPSF Track and Field Indoor
Championships this weekend at Boise State.
The men’s team easily defended its title, capturing first
place, while the women finished a close second, only 10 points
behind No. 7 Stanford.
The men were once again led by their throwers; senior Scott
Wiegand won the shot put with a throw of 65-3 1/4 feet, setting a
personal best as well qualifying for the NCAA national indoor
championships. Junior Dan Ames finished second to Wiegand in the
shot put and won the 35 lb. weight throw.
“The field athletes were in a whole new league last
weekend,” men’s track and field coach Art Venegas said.
“Scott had been struggling lately, but when he figured it out
it was like, “˜Boom!’ And it just clicked for
him.”
The sprinters also made large contributions to the team score,
given their one-two punch in two events. Freshman sprinter Craig
Everhart won the 400 meters in 47.68 seconds, barely beating
sophomore teammate Denye Versher, who came in at 47.68, while
sophomore Nick Thornton won the 800m with sophomore Martell Munguia
following in second.
While the men’s team was successful on paper, they had
another overall goal: giving the younger athletes experience at a
high profile meet.
“We were aiming for younger kids to get championship
experience,” Venegas said. “It is a learning process
because sometimes athletes may fall apart with the stricter
setting, so its important that they got to see how it
is.”
In the women’s division, the team was led by sophomore
Candice Baucham who won both the long and triple jumps. Junior Lena
Nilsson, the defending NCAA Outdoor 1500m champion, won the 800m
with a NCAA-qualifying time of 2:05.15. The women also had strong
wins in the 200m by sophomore Monique Henderson and by junior
Sheena Johnson in the 60m hurdles.
Even though the team didn’t come home with a title, there
were no negative feelings about its performance as the Bruins look
toward the future.
“We wanted to concentrate on individual performances to
see where we’re at nationally,” head coach Jeanette
Bolden said. “We’ve definitely increased our chances
and I think we could be in the top three this year.”