A year ago, USC’s sprinters dominated the annual
cross-town dual meet sprint events, preventing the Bruin men from
placing first in any of the short races.
Although the UCLA men’s team was able to prevail with a
final score of 82-81 thanks to strong distance performances, the
sprints squad failed to make a large contribution to the team
score.
“Their sprinters are very talented,” said Mario
Bassani, a veteran member of the UCLA sprint squad. “Last
year, we weren’t supposed to win, but we pulled it
off.”
This year, the sprint squad hopes to make a dent in the points
usually gathered by USC’s strong sprint core and contribute
to a comfortable margin of victory for the favored Bruins.
The final tallies of both the 2003 and the 2001 meets found the
triumphant team winning by the smallest margin possible ““ one
point.
In 2003, the Bruins walked away with the bragging rights, but in
2001, the Trojans snapped UCLA’s 22-year winning streak.
If all goes to plan at this year’s meet, the sprinters
will prevent one point from determining the victorious team.
One of the most anticipated matchups will be the competition
between nationally-ranked Bruin sophomore Craig Everhart and
juniors Wes Felix and Marvin Anderson of USC in the 200 meters.
Felix, the 2003 Pac-10 200m champion, took first in both the
100m and 200m last year, while Anderson has given his teammate
competition this year.
“Craig is definitely one of the fastest 200-meter runners
in the country this year,” Felix said. “We have a lot
of respect for Craig, but we aren’t afraid of him.”
“Of course I have a lot of respect for Trojan
runners,” Everhart said, “but when you are running for
Bruin pride, respect doesn’t mean a thing.”
The 200m is not the only race in which Everhart is projected to
score points for UCLA.
The expected match-up between Everhart and Trojan senior Brandon
Matlock in the 400m also favors Everhart on paper.
While Everhart’s time of 45.52 seconds is the fourth
fastest in the nation this year, sprints coach Tony Veney
understands that previous times don’t mean much in the
rivalry meet.
“I can’t imagine a better guy who can handle this
pressure; he loves to compete,” Veney said. “He also
understands he hasn’t won anything yet, which keeps him
grounded.”
Everhart is the featured sprinter in the 400m, but Bassani and
senior Denye Versher will also be looking to contribute points.
USC, however, has a very strong group of competitors in the 100m
field led by Felix and Anderson. That will probably be the hardest
event for the UCLA sprinters to win as only sophomore Matt Bruno
has had any success this year at that distance.
“We have the potential to sweep the 100 and of course that
is our goal,” Felix said. “But (Bruno) is a good
runner, and you never know what’s going to happen.”
Bruno’s fastest 100m mark of the season, 10.43 seconds
last week in San Diego, ranks him behind USC’s Anderson and
junior Phillip Francis and only .02 seconds ahead of Felix’s
fastest season time.
“I have more potential this week than what I have
run,” said Bruno, who has been plagued with minor injuries
this season.
Even though the Trojans have the runners potentially to sweep
the 100m this year, a repeat of USC’s sweep in the relays is
highly unlikely.
While the Trojans will be heavy favorites in the 4x100m relay,
UCLA seems to be in good position in the 4x400m.
The Bruin performance at the Texas Relays in early April gave
the 4x400m team the No. 7 time in the nation, ahead of USC.
But in the 4x100m, Everhart warns against discounting the Bruins
against the favored Trojans.
“As a team, we are bound and determined to do our best
against USC,” Everhart said.