It was the perfect way to open the outdoor season ““ injury
free, with the crowd at their back and most importantly,
victorious.
That’s how it was for the UCLA track and field team
Saturday, as both the Bruin men and women took first place in a
quadrilateral meet against Cal State Fullerton, Cal Poly San Luis
Obispo and Cal State Los Angeles at Drake Stadium.
The No. 3 women dominated the competition with 253 points, over
100 points more than second-place Cal Poly, while Fullerton and
CSLA finished third and fourth respectively.
“They did a great job,” UCLA women’s head
coach Jeanette Bolden said. “They were sore, tight and tired
from a few weeks of hard practice, but it was still a good day for
the team.”
UCLA triumphed in 14 out of 18 running or field events.
Sophomore Monique Henderson stood out with wins in both the 100-
and 200-meters and ran the third leg of the winning 4×100 relay,
notching NCAA Regional qualifying times in each.
Other key runners included junior Sheena Johnson, who also had
regional qualifying times with wins in the 100m hurdles and as the
anchor in the 4×100 relay. Junior Melissa McBain moved up to No. 3
in UCLA history with a win in the 3000m steeplechase in 10:54:21, a
regional qualifying time.
In the field, sophomore Candice Baucham set a new personal
record and also qualified for NCAA regionals with her win in the
long jump while also winning the triple jump. The throwers also
contributed, as senior Chaniqua Ross demonstrated why she was the
NCAA outdoor discus throw champion, winning easily; junior Cari
Soong won the hammer throw. Both easily qualified for
regionals.
“Since I’m still in indoors right now and I have the
national meet March 14, I just tried to move through this one, set
the tone for the rest of the year,” Soong said. “But
this is probably our easiest meet of the year, and it’s only
going to get harder from here.”
Freshman Chelsea Johnson, who won the pole vault and qualified
for regionals, was excited just to begin the outdoor season.
“It was exciting just to be able to put on the
jersey,” she said. “I’m happy that I won, and I
want that to carry over to the indoor championships.”
While the women dominated their competition, the No. 10
men’s team had a little more trouble. The Bruins tallied 237
points, just 31 more than second-place Cal Poly. Fullerton and CSLA
placed third and fourth, respectively.
In the field, redshirt freshman Jeremy Silverman won both the
shot put and hammer throw with regional qualifying scores in
each.
On the track, the Bruins were led by senior John Barbieri, who
qualified for regionals with a win in the 400m and ran the anchor
on UCLA’s winning 4×400 relay. Sophomore Jon Rankin also
pulled out a victory in the 1500m.
“It was good to get out here at Drake today, but it was
tough during the race,” Rankin said. “I wanted to get
out early and go strong in the 1500. I was tying up pretty bad but
luckily I was strong enough to pull out the win.”
But while the Bruins found early success in the first outdoor
test of the season, the team got a chance to see where it needs
improvement.
Cal Poly was able to win in the javelin with Ryan James, and the
Mustangs also took victories in the discus throw, 100m and 4x100m
relay. UCLA sprinters were hampered by injuries, as freshman Matt
Bruno, who competed with a muscle strain in his leg, placed second
in the 100 and 4x100m relay.
The Bruins return to indoor competition next weekend in a last
chance qualifying indoor meet in Seattle.
With reports from Jeff Eisenberg, Daily Bruin Senior Staff.