After struggling most of the outdoor season with injuries, long
jumper Juaune Armon successfully defended his Pac-10 title with a
winning jump of 25 feet, 10 inches. For Armon, the simple task of
finishing an event was reason enough to be excited. This was the
first time all season he was able to do so without pulling out from
injury. “It feels so good to get this,” Armon said.
“To be able to finish a full competition and walk away injury
free, it’s great.” This was also just what Armon needed
before the upcoming NCAA regionals and nationals. Until Friday, his
outdoor season-best jump was just 24-1, but now he has restored his
own belief that he can compete at the national level. “I
needed a confidence booster,” Armon said. “With every
meet, I felt my confidence go down more and more.”
MIDDLE DISTANCE DOMINANCE: The middle distance
core continued to impress with a dominating performance in the 800
meters. Even without the conference leader Nick Thornton, who was
sidelined with an injury, UCLA’s Ben Aragon and Jon Rankin
finished one-two, scoring 18 points for the Bruins. Aragon’s
winning time of 1:48.45 was a personal best, as was Rankin’s
1:48.77. In a tough field that included a host of strong Stanford
competitors, Rankin took the lead early in the second lap while
Aragon used his remarkable kick to come from behind for the win.
“Our one-two finish in the 800m is definitely an
upswing,” Aragon said. “It looks good for us as a team.
It is an awesome feeling to win. It is great for our program and
for coach Peterson. It’s nice to show off our talent at a big
meet.” The win was definitely a motivator for a Bruin team
who had suffered setbacks in the 4x100m relay and 110m hurdles
earlier that day. Aragon’s performance vaulted UCLA past
Oregon and into the lead for good. “I told (sprints coach)
Tony Veney as we were getting into the meet that we needed a
spark,” said distance coach Eric Peterson. “I think the
800, then followed by the (win in the) hurdles was enough to get us
going.” Both Aragon and Rankin had already competed in the
1,500m, finishing third and fourth, respectively.
SHORT SPRINTS: UCLA took over the No. 7 spot in
this week’s national rankings after the victory at the Pac-10
Championships … Sophomore thrower Jake Knight finished seventh in
the Saturday’s hammer competition with a personal-best mark
of 191-8 … Junior sprinter Denye Versher also had a personal best
of 46.58 in the 400m.