Jeanette Bolden isn’t satisfied yet.
And she won’t be for two more weeks in fact ““ no
matter how well the UCLA women’s track and field team
performs this weekend at the NCAA West Regionals in Northridge.
Now in her 11th year as UCLA coach, Bolden has set her sights on
finally capturing an outdoor national championship this season.
Nothing short of that will assuage her.
“I’m a pretty hard person to please,” Bolden
said. “Ask me again after nationals what will make me
happy.”
The top-ranked Bruins find themselves precariously perched at
the top of national polls as the track and field season nears its
dramatic conclusion. But that could change after this weekend if
UCLA endures any major qualifying slip-ups.
Twenty-one Bruins will be among the thousands of top collegiate
track and field athletes that will descend on one of four regional
sites, with only the top five finishers in each event qualifying
for Nationals. In addition, six wild-card entrants will be selected
in each event based on their season-long performance.
“That’s for emergency purposes only,” Bolden
said.
UCLA, the defending West Regional champion, will not be
concerned with team scores at all this weekend. The focus,
according to Bolden, will instead be on qualifying as many athletes
as possible for the NCAA Championships.
All of UCLA’s biggest names are expected to compete this
weekend including sophomore high jumper Sheena Gordon, who did not
travel to the Pac-10 Championships with her teammates earlier this
month.
Monique Henderson (400m), Sheena Johnson (100m hurdles, 400m
hurdles), Chelsea Johnson (pole vault), and Candice Baucham (triple
jump) each have the region’s top mark in their respective
event, while a host of other Bruins are also in good position to
qualify.
Among the most interesting storylines this weekend should be the
performance of senior sprinter Sani Roseby, who had a career-best
weekend at Pac-10s two weeks ago.
Roseby, who ran a pair of sub 13-second 100-meter hurdles and
ran on UCLA’s two victorious relay squads, believes she can
improve on those marks.
“I feel very confident,” Roseby said.
“Hopefully I can run even faster this weekend.
But one Bruin who might be more determined to secure first place
is sophomore pole vaulter Chelsea Johnson. The NCAA record-holder
in the event, Johnson has struggled of late and is winless in her
previous four meets.
But both Bolden and UCLA pole vaulting coach Anthony Curran
believe that Johnson will regain her stride in time for nationals
next month.
“Chelsea’s probably a little bit more concerned than
I am,” Curran said. “She could hit a big mark this
weekend, but it’s not our focus. No one remembers who wins
regionals.”
“It’s just growing pains,” Bolden added.
Once a heavy favorite to win the NCAA championship in the pole
vault, Johnson does not appear to be as invincible as she did
earlier in the season.
Her ability to regain her previous form is crucial to
UCLA’s title hopes.
“It would mean the world to me to finally win a national
championship,” Roseby said. “I’d be really happy
for Jeanette because it’s been so long. She really deserves
it.”