Freshman Renee Williams’ doubts vanished as soon as her
mark appeared. Making her collegiate debut Saturday at the United
Heritage Invitational in Boise, Idaho, Williams won the long jump
competition with a personal record mark of 20 feet, 6.5 inches.
That performance provisionally qualified her for the NCAA Indoor
Championships and completely erased her fears that she might not
measure up at UCLA. “Once I saw the mark, I was like,
“˜I still got it,'” Williams said. “I like
that I’m still where I was when I came out of high school. I
was worried that I wouldn’t be.” A prep All-American at
Skyline High School in Oakland, Calif., Williams said she was not
nervous at all in her first meet as a Bruin. Already one of
UCLA’s most heralded recruits in this season’s
recruiting class, she has added a whole foot to her personal record
in the past year and is hoping to reach a mark of 21 feet, 6 inches
by the season’s end. “I’ve improved a whole lot
since last year,” Williams said. “I’ve gotten
stronger so I can hold my technique better and get down the runway
faster. I’m pretty happy with where I am.” Williams,
who also competed in the triple jump and the sprints in high
school, said she plans to focus mostly on the long jump this
season. If she improves at the rate she hopes to, Williams should
be among the favorites to capture the Pac-10 title in the long
jump.
BAUCHAM SOARS: Defending West Regional Champion
Candice Baucham finished second in the triple jump competition
Saturday, establishing a new personal best mark of 42 feet, 9
inches. Baucham, who topped her previous career high by a quarter
inch, provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships. Other
first-time provisional qualifiers included Sani Roseby, who placed
third in the 60-meter hurdles in 8.40 seconds.
BOLDEN HONORED: UCLA coach Jeanette Bolden will
receive the U. S. Sports Academy’s 2004 C. Vivian Stringer
Coaching Award Friday at a ceremony in the Athletics Hall of Fame.
Now in her 11th year as coach, Bolden has helped to establish UCLA
as a perennial national power. The United States Sports Academy is
an independent, non-profit special mission graduate school of
sport. This award is its highest honor.