PALO ALTO “”mdash; For now, the UCLA men’s track and field
team can say it holds a meet record for highest team total
score.
It may not hold a huge significance, considering this was the
inaugural season of the meet, but it’s still a record and a
win.
The 101 points by the Bruins put them ahead of second-place USC
by nine points, allowing them to secure a title at the NCAA West
Regionals Saturday.
“All year, I knew that we had a good team,” track
and field head coach Art Venegas said. “We fell a little
short at the Pac-10 Championships, although I thought that our
point total was excellent. With a good effort here, I knew that we
could be the winning team.”
Though the team win may not hold heavy weight with nationals
right around the corner, for many this was a sweet retribution
after finishing fourth at the Pac-10 Championships behind USC,
Stanford and Oregon ““ all teams that competed this weekend.
More importantly, the Bruins were able to qualify all of their
top athletes and a few more for the NCAA Outdoor Championships
in two weeks in Sacramento.
“I thought the team performed admirably both days,”
Venegas said after the men qualified a total of 10 athletes.
“We did exactly what every coach here wanted to do: advance
our people safely, and try to keep as many from getting injured as
possible.”
With the top five finishers in each event qualifying for the
NCAA finals, UCLA made the most of four individual events.
Junior Dan Ames continued to lead the team, and the west coast,
with dominating wins in both the shot put and the discus. After
winning the same titles in the Pac-10s two weeks ago, he threw
63 feet, 11.50 inches in the shot and 195-4 in the discus.
Also carrying momentum from his win in the Pac-10s, junior Juane
Armon again beat top-seeded Trojan Allen Simms in the long jump
with a season best of 26-2.75, a quarter of an inch of short of his
personal-best last season.
“I thought that I had got my PR when I jumped,” said
Armon, who now has a very good chance of winning the national
title. “But that’s the second time in a row I barely
missed it. … It’s just a matter of everything going right
at that exact moment. I definitely think I can get PR at
Nationals.”
The most impressive of the weekend’s performances may have
been the men’s 400 meter hurdlers, where UCLA Â swept in
a 1-2-3 finish. Senior Kyle Erickson won the event, but it was
sophomore Jonathan Williams and senior John Barbieri who had the
most impact. Both had personal records and finished second and
third, respectively. Barbieri, who entered the meet ranked No. 6,
and Williams No. 8 in the field, are now both preparing for
Sacramento.
All three Bruins also qualified for the U.S. Nationals, held
June 19-22 at Stanford.
“If I had to lose to anyone, it would be those two
guys,” Barbieri said.
The new regional format gave some of the Bruin athletes,
including Barbieri and Williams, a chance to qualify where
previously they wouldn’t have. This also applied to junior
Nick Thornton.
Previously the No. 2 Bruin in the 800m ranked behind the injured
Ben Aragon, Thornton finished second in the race on Saturday. His
time wouldn’t have qualified under the previous system.
“Regionals is good for me,” Thornton said after
being edged out by USC’s Raphael Asafo-Agyei. “Just
going off time, hardly anyone from the West would have gone and so
it’s a good thing for us.”
For now, with the team title in its pocket, the Bruins will
prepare for the top collegiate meet in the nation.