For someone who has enjoyed an inordinate amount of success at
the NCAA West Regionals the past two years, UCLA women’s
track and field coach Jeanette Bolden is dreading her third
trip.
Changes to the format of the meet have left even the
nation’s strongest teams with no margin for error heading
into the weekend. And Bolden’s third-ranked Bruins are no
exception.
To emerge from this weekend’s regional meet in Oregon with
its championship hopes intact, defending national champion UCLA
knows it cannot afford any miscues.
“If somebody jumps the gun or DQ’s, they’re
out of the competition totally,” Bolden said.
“That’s the scary part. There are so many factors that
can change how your team is composed going into NCAAs.”
The stakes will be even higher at regionals this year for the
third-ranked Bruins because of rule changes the NCAA instituted
during the off-season.
The top athletes in each event during the regular season were
virtually guaranteed of a berth at the NCAA Championships in years
past because at-large bids were awarded based on season-best marks.
But this year, the NCAA has amended its policy.
The top five finishers in each event at regionals will still
earn an automatic berth to NCAAs, but to be eligible for an
at-large bid, athletes must finish in the top eight.
All the tinkering has been met with mixed reaction from the
Bruins. Bolden believes it levels the playing field by forcing all
athletes to compete at regionals rather than intentionally false
start or get disqualified as some did last year.
UCLA’s Chelsea Johnson, the defending NCAA champion in the
pole vault and someone who likely would have been guaranteed a spot
in Sacramento under the old rules, disagrees.
“I don’t think it’s fair at all,”
Johnson said. “NCAAs are supposed to have the best people in
the country, and that’s not what it’s going to be.
I’ve vaulted consistently all season, but if I have one bad
meet, it’s over.”
That’s the situation all of the top Bruin women will be
facing this weekend.
Johnson, sprinter Monique Henderson, jumper Candice Baucham,
hurdler Dawn Harper and throwers Jessica Cosby, Lara Saye and
Kamaiya Warren are projected to score nearly all of UCLA’s
points in Sacramento next month. So if any of them fail to qualify
for NCAAs, Bolden acknowledges it would be a crushing blow to the
Bruin title hopes.
To ensure that doesn’t happen, the Bruins are being
understandably cautious.
Baucham, one of the favorites in the long jump and the triple
jump this weekend, will jump only until she feels confident she has
earned a top-five mark. And UCLA will not enter a team in either
relay, allowing its sprinters to focus on their individual
events.
“Everyone’s going to play it safe,” Baucham
said. “The regional title doesn’t have too much
meaning, so we’re all going to be careful.”
If UCLA does emerge from this weekend unscathed, the team is
confident it can compete with anyone. Top-ranked Texas, and
Southeastern Conference champion South Carolina are ranked ahead of
the Bruins, but UCLA knows it can defend its title.
“We’ve all definitely thought about it for at least
a split second,” Baucham said.
Added Johnson, “I look at this weekend as a stepping
stone. If we make it through regionals, I believe the opportunity
is going to be there for us to defend our title.”