SACRAMENTO “”mdash; Seated in front of her computer on Wednesday
afternoon, Sheena Johnson unearthed an article on the NCAA Web site
that proclaimed Texas hurdler Raasin McIntosh
“invincible.”
Over the next two days, the UCLA junior proved you can’t
believe everything you read.
Carrying a Texas-sized chip on her shoulders, Johnson outran
McIntosh head-to-head in the 400-meter hurdle semifinals Thursday
before scorching her again in the finals Friday evening. Her
winning mark of 54.24 seconds was an NCAA meet record and the No. 2
all-time mark in collegiate history.
“I didn’t believe the time would be this
fast,” said Johnson, who topped her previous personal best by
nearly a second and a half. “I was just hoping to set a
personal record. To actually run this well was really
great.”
Although Johnson owned the second-fastest qualifying time in the
nation coming into the NCAA meet this year, her season best mark
(55.88) was more than a full second behind that of McIntosh
(54.60).
Nonetheless she maintained a slight lead over her rival
throughout the majority of the race before a devastating kick in
the final 50-meters put the race out of reach.
“Coming in as a freshman, a lot was expected of me,”
Johnson said. “To finally win this year means a lot to me and
my coaches because it’s something we’ve all been
waiting for a while now.”
For two long years in fact.
After arriving in Westwood as the most decorated prep hurdler in
the nation in 2000, Johnson posted the top qualifying time in the
nation her freshman year, but a sluggish time in the prelims at the
NCAA meet cost her a spot in the finals. Even a fourth-place finish
last June in Baton Rouge wasn’t enough to exercise the memory
of the previous setback.
“Not making the finals her freshman year was such a big
disappointment,” UCLA head coach Jeanette Bolden said.
“The cries, the tears, the talks ““ she’s
basically carried that with her for two years. For her to turn
around and win this year made her very happy.”
All in all, Johnson ran in five races in Sacramento ““
three in the long hurdles and two in the short. She culminated her
stay in the capital city with an eighth-place finish in the 100m
hurdles Saturday night, establishing a new personal record mark of
13.09 seconds, the No. 4 time in school history.
McIntosh finished third, but that was merely a consolation prize
after the disappointment of the previous night.
Meanwhile an exhausted Johnson reclined in a chair after the
race, still basking in the afterglow of her unexpected victory the
night before.
“I’m just really happy,” Johnson said.
“I was pretty tired, and my legs were a little dead, but I
got another personal record. It was a great week for me.”