When the gunshot rang out in the air and Anthony Golston came
out of the starting blocks for the 110-meter high hurdles Saturday,
his mind was not exactly focused on the race. “After I hit
the second hurdle,” Golston said, “I thought about
going to sleep.” Golston’s lack of focus somehow paid
off. He finished the race in 13.69 seconds, breaking his own
personal record of 14.00 and automatically qualifying himself for
the NCAA West Regional Championships in May. The rest of the
field, composed of athletes from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Cal
State Los Angeles and Cal State Fullerton athletes, all watched as
Golston took first in the race. “Maybe being a little
distracted was a good thing,” Golston added. “When
I’m too ready for a race, I think too much.” By
qualifying for Regionals in the first outdoor meet of the season,
Golston is already far ahead of his pace from last year. In the
men’s outdoor opener last year, Golston posted a time of
14.30, finishing second behind teammate Jonathan Williams. This
year, the order was reversed. While obviously happy with
Golston’s performance, sprints coach Tony Veney said the
focus of this race was not his time but his form. “He has so
much more to do technically, so we’re not going to chase a
time,” Veney said. “We’re going to look to
improve his technique, and the time will come.” Since this
was the the first outdoor meet of the season, Veney viewed it as
more of an exercise than a competition. Consequently, all of his
hurdlers, including Golston, came into the meet exhausted, yet
still performed well. “They worked hard all week, and I
wanted to see how they managed the fatigue,” Veney said.
A CLEAN SWEEP: After finishing second behind
Golston in the 110 hurdles, Jonathan Williams came back to win the
400-meter hurdles in 52.82. Williams, a notoriously slow starter
each season, reclaimed his technical form toward the end of the
race. “After the third hurdle fell,” Williams said,
“I had to recover and go over the next ones clean.”
SHORT SPRINTS: Six Bruins placed first in their
events, contributing to UCLA’s 240.5 point blowout. UCLA
was followed by Cal Poly SLO (180.5), Cal State Fullerton (101) and
Cal State LA (74) … Senior Dan Ames placed first in three field
events: the hammer throw (60.94m), the discus (53.42m) and the shot
put (18.51m). All three marks qualified him for automatic
berths to the regional meet … Sophomore sprinter Matt Bruno
competed in the 100-meter race. He hurt his groin muscle in
practice Wednesday and will be examined by doctors on Monday.
Coaches expect him to compete in the next meet.