It’s hard to believe, but the UCLA women’s track and
field team could be even stronger by the time it heads to Arizona
for the Pac-10 Championships in two weeks. A trio of All-Americans
each should be healthy enough to rejoin a second-ranked Bruin squad
that might overtake No. 1 LSU in this week’s Trackwire
Magazine poll after Saturday’s dual meet victory over USC.
Three-time NCAA champion senior Lena Nilsson, jumper Renee Williams
and senior sprinter Adia McKinnon, each of whom hoped to compete
against the Trojans on Saturday, now have targeted the conference
championships as their return date. Williams’ return is
probably the most dicey. The freshman, who injured her right knee
when she slipped warming up in the rain at the Texas Relays last
month, will undergo an MRI exam later this week and then return to
practice, assuming there is no further damage. “She feels
great, but right now they’re kind of holding her back,”
jumps coach Robert Johnson said. “It’s always tough
when it’s that way.” The pressure to perform well at
the conference meet will be intense for Williams, McKinnon and
Nilsson, who still wore a walking boot on her injured foot
Saturday. Since none of the three have competed outdoors, each of
them will have just that one chance to achieve a
regional-qualifying mark. When healthy, Nilsson and Williams are
each national-caliber athletes, so the coaching staff is confident
they will come through. McKinnon is also capable of qualifying in
either the 200m or the 400m, but will likely provide depth on the
4x400m relay regardless. Another boost for the Bruins could come
from hurdler Dawn Harper, who has been slowed by pain in both her
knees. The sophomore is feeling stronger and showed signs of
recapturing her form of a year ago Saturday despite an arduous week
of training leading up to the meet. Harper ran a
regional-qualifying 13.50-second 100m hurdles, but followed it up
with a sluggish fourth-place finish in the 400m hurdles.
“Dawn trained through this meet, and her body is a little
sore,” coach Jeanette Bolden said. “She does better
when she gets some rest. I can’t afford to do that now, but I
can rest her later.”
NO DOUBLE DUTY: Running Monique Henderson in
both the 200m and 400m at the NCAA Outdoor Championships has
crossed Bolden’s mind, but the coach says she will resist the
temptation. Henderson, who ran the nation’s second-fastest
200m on Saturday, will only run the 400m at nationals, although she
may run both races at the West Regionals later this month.