It matters, they protest.
And of course it does ““ to some extent anyway.
But after snaring seven-straight Pac-10 championships without a
national title, the UCLA women’s track and field team is
putting considerably less emphasis than usual on capturing the
conference crown this weekend.
Instead, the focus is where it has been all season: on preparing
themselves for next month’s NCAA Outdoor Championships.
“Pac-10s still matter, but this year it seems the team is
thinking more long-term,” said sophomore pole vaulter Chelsea
Johnson. “We still want to win, but we are much more focused
on NCAAs.”
That presents the second-ranked Bruins with an interesting
scenario at the conference meet this weekend in Tucson, Ariz. The
team says it will do everything it can to take first place ““
as long as it does not jeopardize any future goals.
Some of UCLA’s top sprinters, for example, have trained
harder than usual leading up to this meet in hopes that they can
rest afterwards in time to be at full strength for the NCAA
Regionals.
Meanwhile Johnson, already the NCAA record-holder in the pole
vault, is experimenting with a nine-stride approach in hopes that
she will have perfected the technique in time for the NCAA
meet.
“Chelsea’s still looking to win at Pac-10s,”
UCLA pole vault coach Anthony Curran said, “But we’re
also looking further down the road.”
UCLA can afford to focus on the future because it will still be
a heavy favorite this weekend. With nine healthy event leaders,
including Sheena Johnson in the 100-meter and 400m hurdles and
Monique Henderson in the 200m and 400m, the Bruins seem to have
more than enough firepower to take home their 15th Pac-10
title.
But should they falter, Stanford and USC could be nipping at
their heels. The No. 10 Cardinal features its usual array of
talented distance runners, including sophomore Alicia Craig, while
the No. 14 Trojans have potential event-winners sprinkled
throughout their lineup.
Meanwhile UCLA, probably the deepest team in the conference, has
had its share of setbacks lately. Neither All-American long jumper
Renee Williams nor two-time Pac-10 Women’s Track and Field
Athlete of the Year Lena Nilsson will compete this weekend due to
season-ending injuries.
The loss of Nilsson, a three-time NCAA champion middle distance
runner, would seem costly, but the coaching staff is confident the
Bruins can recover.
“We’ve been prepared for this for a long
time,” distance coach Eric Peterson said. “Sometimes
it’s been a little too easy for the younger kids to hide
behind Lena. This provides them with a clear picture of what they
need to do to step forward.”
Redshirt sophomore Alejandra Barrientos and senior Melissa
McBain will be looking to pick up the slack for Nilsson in the
1500m, while sophomore Ashley Caldwell and redshirt freshman Jenna
Timinsky will represent the Bruins in the 800m.
UCLA scored 155 points to win the Pac-10 championship last year
““ 15 points more than second-place Stanford. It’s
likely that those two squads could be battling again this time
around, especially if the Bruins can find a way to motivate
themselves.
“We look at winning Pac-10s as a badge,” senior
thrower Cari Soong said, “and we’d like to have as many
badges as possible when we go to the NCAAs.”