Kamaiya Warren came to UCLA with dreams of one day developing
into the next great Bruin thrower. A dearth of strong competitors
in the discus this season has left throws coach Art Venegas with no
choice but to hope that day arrives soon. Senior Lara Saye and
junior Briona Reynolds will redshirt the 2004 outdoor season,
leaving UCLA’s discus goals resting firmly on Warren’s
shoulders. “She needs to step up,” Venegas said.
“In the shot we have both her and Jessica (Cosby), but in the
discus there’s quite a gap between her and everyone
else.” Warren, a redshirt freshman, took first place in both
events Saturday at Drake Stadium but actually looked better in the
shot put. She fell just a few inches shy of a personal record with
a mark of 51 feet, 2 3/4 inches, while throwing just 150-4 in the
discus. Although Warren’s mark was more than 15 feet shy of
her top throw, her teammates say she is developing well,
considering she is coming off of knee surgery that sidelined her
for indoor season “She’s a really talented
thrower,” senior Cari Soong said. “As long as she
realizes she can’t try to replace who we’ve lost,
she’s going to set the world on fire.” Reynolds
probably would have emerged as one of the Pac-10’s top discus
throwers, but an ankle injury from last June will keep her out of
action. Venegas said Saye is healthy but will sit out the season so
she can be in better position to help the team next year.
PREACHING PATIENCE: UCLA jumps coach Robert
Johnson wasn’t too worried when sophomore Sheena Gordon
failed to clear the bar at 5 feet, 10 inches in the high jump
Saturday. Gordon, whose mark of 5 feet, 7 inches was more than
three inches short of her personal record, is still suffering the
effects of an off-season stress fracture in her left foot. Johnson
believes the big marks will come if she focuses on improving her
technique. But does she have the patience? “That’s a
good question,” Johnson said. “In theory, we hope
so.”
SHORT SPRINTS: Candice Baucham and Renee
Williams will compete in both the long jump and triple jump during
outdoor season. “¦ Sani Roseby provisionally qualified for the
NCAA Indoor Championships in the 60-meter hurdles Saturday in a
season-best 8.20 seconds. “¦ UCLA won its outdoor season
opener Saturday, defeating second-place finisher Cal Poly San Luis
Obispo by 111 points.