UCLA freshman Renee Williams sustained a knee injury warming up
for the long jump at the Texas Relays on Saturday, and her status
will be evaluated by doctors later this week.
Williams, who placed sixth in the long jump at the NCAA Indoor
Championships last month, is on crutches and will not compete in
this weekend’s Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Invitational.
UCLA coach Jeanette Bolden said she was hopeful that the injury
is not serious, but chose not to speculate until she had heard from
the doctor.
“That’s all we can really do,” Bolden
said.
Bolden said it was raining and Williams slipped on the runway
while warming up for the long jump. Trainers rushed to her side
immediately and determined that she could not compete.
Williams understood the decision, and took it in stride.
“She was just mad about the rain, and mad that it
happened,” Bolden said.
If the injury is serious, it could be quite a blow for a Bruin
squad that was just starting to get healthy. Jumper Sheena Gordon
is as healthy as she’s been all season since sustaining a
stress fracture in her left foot, and sprinter Adia McKinnon is
expected to return to action later this month at the Mt. Sac
Relays.
Williams, who jumped 20 feet, 6.5 inches indoors in February,
should be among the favorites to win the Pac-10 long jump
championship and is certainly a threat at the national level.
Tiffany Burgess, one of the nation’s best middle-distance
runners last season, suffered a season-ending injury this past
April, but Bolden is not even considering that possibility at this
point.
“It’s too soon for us to start thinking about that
right now,” Bolden said.
CLIMBING THE POLLS: UCLA opens the outdoor
season ranked No. 2 in the first Trackwire 25 poll of the year.
Defending national champion LSU tops the poll followed by the
UCLA, Nebraska, Texas and Georgia. Stanford (11), Arizona (15), USC
(17) and Oregon (19) are the only other Pac-10 squads to make the
top 25.
The Trackwire 25 poll, compiled by track and field statistician
Gary Verigin, projects a hypothetical score at the NCAA Outdoor
Championships.