PALO ALTO “”mdash; A decision rests on the shoulders of Lena
Nilsson, and the championship aspirations of her teammates could
hang in the balance.
After capturing the 800- and 1500-meter titles Saturday at the
NCAA West Regional qualifying meet, the UCLA junior must now decide
whether or not to attempt the double again next week at national
championships in Sacramento.
“There’s a lot of factors, like weather in
Sacramento,” said Nilsson, who has until today to declare
which events she will enter. “I really don’t know what
I want to do.”
Nilsson’s double capped a remarkably smooth day for the
No. 3 Bruins in which the team automatically qualified 13 athletes
for the NCAA meet and also ran away with the team title. Those
results guarantee that UCLA coach Jeanette Bolden will have a full
arsenal at her disposal when gunning for her first outdoor national
title.
“In order to have a good team at nationals, we need to
have our top individuals there,” Bolden said. “We were
focused on getting them qualified. The team title was icing on the
cake.”
The team title will mean a whole lot more in Sacramento, which
is why Nilsson’s choice will be so critical. She is among the
top contenders in the 800m and would be the heavy favorite to
defend her national title in the 1500m ““ particularly after
the ease with which she dispatched her opponents Saturday at
Regionals.
Nilsson lurked toward the back of the pack in the 1500m before
making her move on the final lap. The diminutive Swede surged to
the front of the pack, leaving the rest of the field ““
including heralded countrywoman Johanna Nilsson of Northern Arizona
““ to battle for second place.
Barely an hour later she repeated the feat in the 800m, taking
first place in a very respectable 2:04.13.
“I’m really pleased with Lena,” UCLA distance
coach Eric Peterson said. “We’re trying to increase her
workload, yet help her remain successful, and she handled it
beautifully today.”
The question remains, however, whether she can duplicate her
success next week at nationals in the blistering Sacramento weather
against far more stringent competition.
Nilsson would have to withstand five races ““ three in the
800 and two in the 1500 ““ with a mere 40 minutes in between
the finals in the two events. That is a daunting task for anyone,
but it might be necessary to keep the Bruins alive in the team
competition.
Texas and LSU are pre-meet favorites due to their dominance in
the sprints, and UCLA will need to score some big points in other
areas to make up that discrepancy.
“This is a team sport, and Lena came to represent
UCLA,” Peterson said. “I want to sit down with her and
see how her body feels. I’m not going to put her in a
position to fail, but if she’s ready to do it, it will be
fine.”
Ңbull;Ӣbull;Ӣbull;
In addition to Nilsson, the Bruins had five other event-winners
at Regionals.
Sophomore Monique Henderson captured the 400m in a season-best
time of 52.01 seconds, and junior Sheena Johnson won the 400-meter
hurdles in a season best 55.88 seconds. The duo then teamed with
Adia McKinnon and Ysanne Williams to win the 4x400m relay in
3:31.62, the sixth-best time in school history.
Junior Cari Soong (hammer, 216 feet, 3 inches) and sophomore
Candice Baucham (triple jump, 42-0) also captured championships in
field events for the Bruins.