After months of preparation, the UCLA track and field team will
finally break into the much anticipated 2003 outdoor season.
Opening the season at home, the Bruins host three schools
Saturday at Drake Stadium: Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, Cal State
Fullerton and Cal State Los Angeles.
The team has been competing indoors for the last month. This
will be the first test for not only the outdoor teams’ status
but also for athletes who only compete in the outdoor events like
the hammer throw, javelin and steeplechase.
“We will be using this meet to evaluate the outdoor kids
for the first time,” men’s head coach Art Venegas said.
“This will be the first competition for kids in certain
events, and we want to get a feel for where we’re
at.”
After winning the MPSF Indoor Championships last week in Boise,
the previously unranked men’s team jumped all the way to No.
10 in the nation.
This weekend’s competition should be relatively easy for
the men’s team, with threats only coming from Cal
Poly’s three Big West Champions: junior John Takahashi (pole
vault), senior Tyrone Ward (long jump) and senior Ryan James
(javelin). But after coming off last weekend’s big victory
over the likes of Stanford and Arizona, the team is hoping the
momentum will carry over.
The women’s squad is also expected to win easily this
weekend, but the coaching staff is more interested in building a
foundation for the rest of the outdoor season.
“We’re looking for a balance from our
athletes,” women’s head coach Jeanette Bolden said.
UCLA’s No. 3 women’s squad will also face three Big
West Champions, seniors Stephanie Brown (shot put) and Kristin Hall
(400-meter hurdles) and junior Maggie Vessey (800m). But after the
impressive performance last weekend by Bruin junior Lena Nilsson,
who won the 800m, the matchup should favor UCLA.
Events begin at 9 a.m. Saturday, with the women’s hammer
throw, and conclude at 4 p.m. with the men’s 4x400m
relay.