TUCSON, Ariz. “”mdash; Ashley Caldwell is not Lena Nilsson.
Neither is Alejandra Barrientos, Melissa McBain or Jenna
Timinsky.
But together, the inexperienced UCLA middle-distance quartet is
doing its best to make up for the absence of the three-time NCAA
champion. Highlighted by Caldwell’s surprising victory in the
800 meters at this past weekend’s Pac-10 Championships, the
Bruins displayed glimpses of both their promise and youth in
amassing 29 points in the middle-distance events.
“The coaches have been saying since Lena got hurt that the
baton has been passed,” Caldwell said. “I think this
weekend showed how much the Bruins can do.”
Caldwell’s performance in the 800m certainly was the most
noteworthy of the weekend. Languishing in fourth place with less
than one-half lap remaining, the sophomore delivered a devastating
kick.
Caldwell, who had already run the 1500-meter final on Saturday
afternoon, jetted past teammate Timinsky and nipped
Stanford’s Ashley Freeman and Chinny Offor at the finish line
to take first place in a personal record 2:06.88.
“I knew when she came off the final turn that it was a
great opportunity for her,” distance coach Eric Peterson
said. “She’s strong, and she showed that today. Now
she’s the Pac-10 champ.”
Caldwell’s upset victory erased some of the Bruins’
frustration from a disappointing 1500m. Caldwell, McBain and
Barrientos misjudged when Stanford’s Arianna Lambie and
USC’s Iryna Vashchuk would attempt to break away from the
pack, and it cost them.
Barrientos said she relaxed midway through the third lap, and
the leaders left her behind.
“A lot of that is inexperience,” Peterson said.
“It caught them by surprise how quickly the move came and how
fast the race got away from them.”
“You should never let your guard down. That was definitely
a big mistake,” Barrientos said.
Barrientos did redeem herself with her finishing kick. She
chased down former high school rival Sara Bei of Stanford to take
third place and secure six valuable points for the Bruins.
“In her mind, that’s going to be important heading
into nationals,” Peterson said.
Caldwell and McBain finished fifth and sixth, respectively, in
the 1500m, and sophomore Allison Hall finished eighth.
Finding one person to replace Nilsson, who will miss the rest of
the season with a stress fracture in her left foot, will be
impossible. Even Peterson admits that.
But he remains hopeful that Caldwell, Barrientos and the rest of
the Bruin middle-distance squad can help pick up the slack as the
team begins the stretch run.
“We did it by committee (this past weekend),”
Peterson said. “That’s how we’ll have to do it
from here on out.”