Chelsea Johnson capped off her indoor track career at UCLA in
grand fashion.
The senior came into last weekend’s NCAA Indoor National
Championships as the favorite to take home the indoor pole vault
title, and she did not disappoint.
In a tight competition between Johnson and Florida State’s
Lacy Jansen, Johnson pulled out the win, clearing an impressive
height of 14 feet, 9 inches.
“I am very happy to bring back the title to UCLA,”
said Johnson, who finished second in the same event last year.
“I’m happy with how everything went today. I feel like
I made everyone proud.”
Johnson was UCLA’s top point-scorer, as the Bruins
finished the meet in 15th place. Though both Johnson and Jansen
cleared 14-9, Johnson was awarded the title based on having fewer
misses at that height. Going into the meet, Johnson, who owns the
outdoor collegiate record at 15-0, had hoped to break the indoor
record of 14-10 as well, but ended up missing all three of her
attempts at 15-1.
“I’m a little disappointed because I had some close
attempts,” Johnson said. “I would have definitely liked
to break the record, but this will give me a lot of motivation for
outdoors because I really like jumping outdoors better
anyway.”
The individual title is Johnson’s second, as she captured
the outdoor pole vaulting crown in 2004 as well. With the win,
Johnson also picks up the third All-American accolade of her
career.
The Bruins also received an outstanding performance from senior
Dawn Harper in the 60-meter hurdles. Harper, who came into the meet
with the ninth best mark in the country, placed fifth in the
prelims, crossing the finish line in 8.03 seconds. In the finals,
the senior did even better, finishing in third place with a
lifetime best time of 7.98 seconds.
Harper, who earned her third indoor All-American honor and sixth
overall, finished behind only USC’s Virginia Powell and
Nebraska’s Priscilla Lopes, both of whom broke the NCAA
record in the 60-meter hurdles during the finals.
In the shot put, junior Kamaiya Warren, who came into the NCAA
Championships with the ninth-best mark in the nation, placed a
disappointing 14th with a throw of 50 feet 8 inches, well below her
personal best of 54-8. Texas’s Michelle Carter won the event,
finishing with an impressive toss of 60-10.75.