Coming into Saturday’s matchup, senior Dan Ames said he
wanted to make a lasting impression against crosstown rival USC. It
would be his last chance to forever cement his mark on the Trojans
and he wanted to make it count, especially since this one was on
his home turf.
Saturday, Ames made more than just an impression ““ he went
straight for the jugular.
It was the last of his three wins, this one in the discus, that
clinched the meet for the UCLA men’s track and field team
that destroyed the Trojans 111-52. Ames led the Bruins to victory
in the 72nd annual UCLA-USC crosstown dual meet, sweeping all three
throwing events and scoring 15 points for his team.
“It’s weird knowing that I won’t have another
UCLA home meet,” Ames said. “But since I have the rest
of the season to concentrate on, I can’t really think about
it too much.”
In Friday’s hammer throw, Ames’ mark of 212 feet, 2
inches not only won the event but also set a new personal best. It
was the top throw in the Pac-10 this season, and the third all-time
in school history.
Then on the next day in the shot put, Ames threw 64-7.75 and his
182-foot, 3-inch throw in the discus topped the other two Bruins,
Jeremy Silverman (171-1) and Brian Ruziecki (164), who helped sweep
the event.
But besides the personal achievements, Ames’ dominance in
the throws gave him one more chance to continue avenging the
devastating loss the Bruins suffered four years ago, when USC broke
the 22-year UCLA win streak. Now, after three straight Bruin
victories in the dual meet, UCLA appears back on top of the
rivalry.
“(Today) was so one-sided completely,” Ames said of
the Bruins’ supremacy Saturday. “It’s a cool
story though. The one time they beat us was a tough loss,
especially after 22 years. Now it looks like we’re back on
top.”
Part of the Ames’s success stems from a newfound
confidence gained during the indoor championships where he was able
to successfully compete with other national-caliber athletes. Both
him and coach Art Venegas credit the boost of confidence in
elevating his performances.
“Danny has never been super confident,” Venegas
said. “He never believed what others told him because it was
something he had to prove for himself.”
Now, Venegas said, he’s looking for even greater
performances during competition from Ames. Even though he won all
three of his events, according to Venegas, Ames has been even
better during practices and hopes to replicate that during the
upcoming Pac-10 Championships.
Besides Ames, Saturday showcased other great Bruin achievements.
The distance squad was able to parlay last year’s success
into this meet and scored major points for UCLA with the impressive
performances by distance runner Chad Galbreath. He swept the long
distance events, winning both the steeplechase (9-minutes,
46.92-seconds) and the 5000-meters (15:16.94). Also, the Bruins
went one-two in the 1500m with Jon Rankin winning the event in a
personal best time of 3:43.10 and Ben Aragon finishing second, also
with a personal best of 3:43.45.
Then in the sprints, Craig Everhart continued to impress with
his win in the 400m and also helped the 4×100-meter relay team
finish second with a season best 39.72. True freshman Brandon
Johnson, in his first home meet, won the 400-meter intermediate
hurdles in 51.15, a personal best, and then went on to finish the
meet running the anchor leg of the 1600-meter relay, capping the
Bruins victory.