NORTHRIDGE “”mdash; Sani Roseby has had her share of bad breaks
during an injury-plagued career, but the UCLA sprinter’s
latest ailment tops all of them. Fresh off the best meet of her
career at the Pac-10 Championships last month, Roseby appeared
primed for a big weekend at the West Regional Championships until
disaster struck midway through Friday’s 100-meter hurdle
prelims. Roseby, a senior, flung back her right hand as she cleared
the fifth hurdle, and it struck the hurdle, breaking bones in
several places. “It was a very freakish thing,” UCLA
coach Jeanette Bolden said. “I’ve never seen that
happen before.” Somehow Roseby finished the race on
adrenaline before heading to the trainer’s tent for X-rays.
Once the UCLA medical staff had fitted her with a soft cast, she
was back on the track practicing her block starts and preparing for
the 4×400-meter relay. The following day Roseby was back on the
track in near-top form. Though she did not quite duplicate her
marks from the Pac-10 Championships, she still managed to anchor
the Bruins’ third-place 4×100-meter relay team and qualify
for the NCAA Championships in the 100m and the 100m hurdles.
“Sani was the most inspirational part of the team
(Saturday),” Bolden said. “When you have someone that
does four events with a cast on their arm, that has to lift
everyone.”
TAKING PRECAUTIONS: Injuries have ravaged the
UCLA jumps corps all season, so jumps coach Robert Johnson was
particularly cautious with junior Candice Baucham this weekend.
Baucham made a combined three jumps in the long jump and triple
jump, passing on her remaining attempts once she had secured a mark
likely to qualify her for Nationals. The strategy worked. She
stayed healthy, taking fourth in the long jump and second in the
triple jump, paving the way for her to double at the NCAA
championships if she chooses.
HOME SWEET HOME: Competing in front of a large
contingent of friends and family members, Thousands Oaks native
Melissa McBain qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships for the
first time in her career. McBain, a senior, ran a lifetime-best
4:18.08 to take fourth place in the 1500m finals Saturday, earning
her a berth in the event at Nationals. “There are very few
people in this program that I’ve coached that have gone from
as far away as she was when I recruited her to as excellent as she
is at this point in time,” UCLA distance coach Eric Peterson
said. “I’m thrilled for her.”
LIVING AT-LARGE: Freshman Kamaiya Warren, who
failed to automatically qualify for Nationals in either the shot
put or the discus, appears to be a likely candidate for an at-large
bid in the shot. Warren owns the nation’s 13th best throw.
Only Aymara Albury of Alabama has thrown further this season, but
did not earn an automatic berth. Approximately six at-large bids
will be awarded in each event. UCLA has at-large candidates in two
other events. Jackie Nguyen is a long shot for a bid in the pole
vault, while the Bruin 4x400m relay team will almost certainly
receive one.