UCLA is not going to win an NCAA championship this weekend
““ they won’t even come close ““ and they know
that. But still, the Bruins are striving to accomplish a feat that
hasn’t been done in the past six years ““ finish in the
top five. For the UCLA men’s track and field team, this
weekend’s national championship won’t be a matter of
bringing home the team title, but instead continuing the slow
process of building an elite program during the four-day meet in
Austin, Texas. “I would be very disappointed if we
don’t finish at least in the top-10,” coach Art Venegas
said. If the Bruins can finish behind power-packed Southeastern
Conference teams such as Arkansas, LSU, Auburn and Florida, it
could be that step the Bruins need in order to prove the program is
on its way to becoming a true national contender. UCLA is still
haunted by the ghosts of last season’s championship debacle.
A year ago, the Bruins fell to a disappointing 19th place after
several of their top athletes failed to make it out of the
qualifying rounds and several others fell below their best marks.
If that can be characterized as a low point for the UCLA program,
this season they have managed to make significant strides back to
an elite team and would need a solid showing at nationals to prove
so. But to do this, the UCLA team will have to be all but perfect
this weekend. The Bruins will be looking to thrower Dan Ames to
make significant contributions to the team score in at least the
shot put, but also possibly the discus and hammer, where he will
also be competing. “We evaluated the schedule, and saw it was
feasible to do all three (throwing events),” said Venegas,
who also coaches the throwers. “He said he wanted to do it,
and I said OK.” But the team will also need to see
improvements from team leaders Yoo Kim, in the pole vault, and
Juaune Armon, in the long jump. Both have only shown glimpses of
their potential this season. On the track, freshman Brandon Johnson
will return to his home state with hopes of stealing a title in the
400-meter hurdles away from Florida’s Kerron Clement. Also,
sprinter Craig Everhart is expected to challenge the nation’s
top 400m runners, especially after his performance last weekend at
the NCAA West Regionals, where he ran the race in 44.89 seconds.
But both Johnson and Everhart have little if any championship
experience, and will likely have to match their personal records in
order to stay competitive and score needed points for the Bruins.
The good news for UCLA is that all 16 athletes ““ the largest
contingent the program has ever taken ““Â left for Austin
healthy, especially since each will have to face several qualifying
rounds for each event. Still, the realist Venegas understands the
nature of the meet and what can happen. “We don’t
expect the perfect meet,” he said. “Maybe there will be
some unexpected upside in some events, while maybe not. But
everyone is ready to battle.”
RACE SUSPENDED: Tropical rainstorms in Austin
have hampered the preliminary rounds that started Wednesday,
causing all but the women’s 4x100m and several heptathalon
events to be postponed. Weather conditions are expected to improve
by today.