One of the lowest points of Nastassja Hall’s collegiate
career was the UCLA women’s track and field program’s
greatest triumph.
Because she didn’t qualify for the NCAA Championships last
June, Hall, a heptathlete, had to sit alone in Westwood while her
teammates were in Texas winning the program’s first national
title in more than two decades.
The memory of that disappointment was all the motivation Hall
needed this weekend as she competed in the Pac-10 multi-event
championships at Drake Stadium. And this time Hall, a junior, may
have earned herself a spot in next month’s NCAA Championships
in Sacramento, taking fifth place in the heptathlon with a personal
best and provisional mark of 5,224 points.
A score of 5,500 or higher would have automatically sent Hall to
Sacramento, but she is confident that her mark will stand up over
the next few weeks.
The NCAA awards up to 29 heptathletes with bids, and
Hall’s mark currently places her in the 21st spot on the
national collegiate chart.
“We were one of the first conference meets, so I’m
going to have to sit back and watch,” she said.
“Hopefully all the good people have already gone, so nobody
from behind will come and snatch me up.”
A berth in the NCAA Championships would help Hall erase the
memory of several disappointing seasons at UCLA.
Two years ago she narrowly missed qualifying for Regionals in
the 400-meter hurdles. And last year she fell short of a
provisional mark in the heptathlon by 25 points.
“I would have given my left lung to help the team this
year,” Hall said. “So when they won, I was at home
knowing I should been there. That’s what has motivated me to
work so hard this season. I don’t want to be left behind
again.”
Hall has certainly put in the extra effort. She ran cross
country to improve her stamina this fall for the first time in her
career and has trained every day this spring with UCLA’s
second-year multi-events coach Casey Thom.
The result has been a breakthrough outdoor season culminating
with personal bests in four of the seven events this weekend at
Drake Stadium.
Hall, who also finished fifth at the Pac-10 Championships last
year, endured a shaky long jump on Sunday morning before rebounding
with lifetime bests in the javelin (108 feet) and the 800 meters (2
minutes, 16.76 seconds).
While it was not enough for her to challenge eventual champion
Julie Pickler of Washington State, Thom believes it will be enough
to get her to Sacramento.
“Most of the people that I would be afraid of have already
passed her,” he said. “She still has a little bit of
leeway.”