Over the weekend, the men’s track team put in some
impressive early season performances at the Husky Invitational in
Seattle. It was quite a surprise as the Bruins only brought a small
contingent to their season-opening meet. Most notably, the
4×400-meter relay team comprised of Craig Everhart, Brandon
Johnson, Elijah Wells and James Rhoades ran a solid time of 3:08.84
to win the event. “Our relay looked ahead of schedule,”
men’s track coach Art Venegas said. “We weren’t
real sure of how it was going to play out, but everyone ran under
48 seconds. Our younger kids and our veterans really stepped
up.” Johnson, who also placed third in the 60 meters, ran the
fastest split of the four with a 46.4 leg of the relay.
“Brandon will really be a factor for nationals if he
continues to run like he has today,” Venegas said.
“Since there is no 400 meter hurdle race indoors, Brandon has
to run the sprints, and so far he has been very good.” In
all, UCLA picked up three NCAA provisional qualifying marks with
Everhart also winning the 400 meters in 47.04 while senior Erik
Emilsson, who specializes in the 3000 meter steeplechase, placed
sixth in the mile with a time of 4:03.76. “He doesn’t
have a lot of experience in the mile,” distance coach Eric
Peterson said. “But he was really eager to run this event.
He’s just in great shape right now, really the best shape of
his life.”
Women’s Track As with the men, the
women’s team also featured some notable performances despite
carrying a small team. Senior Chelsea Johnson, junior Kamaiya
Warren and the distance medley relay team all picked up NCAA
provisional qualifying marks. Led by junior Ashley Caldwell, the
distance medley finished just behind Oregon to take third place
with a time of 11:23.05 “I’m very pleased with how we
ran,” Caldwell said. “I’m sure we will get even
more comfortable as the season goes on.” Though the distance
medley team ran well, Peterson knows that it will have to improve
if it hopes to qualify for nationals. “We don’t want to
be happy with a provisional time and hope that we will get
in,” Peterson said. “There is a very strong possibility
that we will run the distance medley again so we can improve our
standing.” In the field events, Warren took third in the shot
put with a throw of 53 feet even as former Bruin standout Jessica
Cosby, competing for Nike, took second. In the pole vault, Johnson
easily won with a height of 13 feet, 3.75 inches, beating the field
by over a foot as she took her first jump after all of the other
competitors had already exited. Also, the mile relay team comprised
of Nicole Leach, MacKenzie Hill, Krystin Lacy and Chanelle Curry
took first in their race with a time of 3:43.53. Both Bruin teams
will resume action next weekend at the United Heritage Invitational
in Boise, Idaho.