All-American long jumper Renee Williams will miss the remainder
of the outdoor track and field season due to lingering effects from
a deep bone bruise in her right knee.
Williams, who met with UCLA team doctors on Monday, decided to
redshirt the season after MRI results revealed that the injury has
not healed as quickly as expected.
Doctors told the freshman that it could be another month before
she is healthy enough to begin training. Since the risk of
reinjuring the knee would be great if she came back this season,
Williams has little choice but to sit out the remainder of the
year.
“She has been pretty level-headed about the whole
thing,” UCLA jumps coach Robert Johnson said.
“She’s disappointed, but she understands that the
injury could be career-threatening if she came back too
soon.”
Williams, who sustained the injury when she slipped warming up
at last month’s Texas Relays, originally had hoped to return
to action in time for the USC dual meet on May 1.
Once doctors determined that would be impossible, Johnson said
the idea of redshirting Williams first entered his mind.
Since her last chance to qualify for the NCAA meet in the long
jump would have been at this weekend’s Pac-10 Championships,
there was pressure to determine her status immediately. Upon
receiving the results of the MRI exam, Johnson said he had no doubt
what the correct decision was.
“The healing has not progressed,” Johnson said.
“I’m pretty bummed.”
A healthy Williams could have been a big boost to the top-ranked
Bruins as they prepare for the stretch run.
UCLA’s top long jumper, Williams jumped 21 feet, 1 1/2
inches indoors in February, and would have been a legitimate threat
to score at the NCAA Championships next month.
Her indoor mark still stands as the best jump in the Pac-10 this
season.
“Renee, when healthy, is a big-time player,” Johnson
said. “She could have helped put us over the top.”
The loss of Williams leaves Candice Baucham as the Bruins’
lone threat in the horizontal jumps at a national level. The junior
has enjoyed a breakout season, posting the Pac-10’s top mark
in the triple jump and the third-best mark in the long jump.
Williams had not been practicing or lifting weights at all since
she sustained the injury, so she may not have been in top shape,
had she been healthy enough to return.
But even a limited Williams would have been a welcome sight on
the long jump runway for the UCLA coaching staff.
“It’s too bad,” Johnson said. “She could
have had a big impact on the team.”