Both the past and the present were on display in the shot put
ring on Saturday. UCLA alumna and throwing icon Jessica Cosby
returned to Drake Stadium over the weekend to take part in the
Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner-Kersee Invitational. The heralded Cosby
ran into some stiff competition, though, from former teammate and
current Bruin junior Kamaiya Warren. The two had a seesaw battle,
trading throws upward of 50 feet. Warren took the lead on her fifth
attempt when she uncorked a throw of 55 feet, 3 inches ““ a
new lifetime best. “I am really happy with that throw. I
really surprised my self,” Warren said. “Today my goal
was to maybe get to 53 feet, and then try for the 55 maybe next
week, but now I have to rearrange my goals.” While Warren had
a breakout performance, Cosby ended up getting the best of Warren
on her final throw as she edged her fellow All-American out by 4.5
inches. “I love Kamaiya to death, and I love to see her do
well, but there is always a pride factor involved,” said
Cosby, who made her first appearance at Drake Stadium since last
year’s Pac-10 Championships. “I always want to win,
even if my mark is not exactly where I want it to be.” Even
though Warren had the lead, she knew her former mentor was not
going to be upstaged. “I knew in the back of my mind that she
was going to break out a big throw,” Warren said. “I
expected her to throw a lot farther than me the whole day.”
Warren also took third in the discus, throwing 162-11, and was
followed by teammate Briona Reynolds in fourth with a mark of
155-10, her season best.
JOHNSON WINS POLE VAULT: Chelsea Johnson
continued her torrid run in the pole vault, picking up another
victory Saturday. The senior equaled her best mark of the season,
jumping 14-5.25, the top collegiate mark in the nation. Johnson
nearly cleared 14-9, though the weather conditions worked against
her. “I really would have liked to get over 14-9, and I feel
like I had three really good attempts at it,” Johnson said.
“The winds were kind of swirling, so in the conditions I
think I did well, but I am a little disappointed because it feels
like every weekend I get close, but I always have to wait until
next weekend.” In second place was redshirt junior Jackie
Nguyen, who tied her career-best jump at 13-5.25.
NOTES: The 4×100-meter relay team, anchored by
senior hurdler Dawn Harper, won easily, breaking the meet record
with a time of 44.90 seconds. … Senior Leslie Barrie placed third
overall in the 3,000-m steeplechase on Friday as she ran the
second-fastest time in school history at 10:33.48. … Freshman
Rhonda Watkins won the high jump with a season-best mark of
5-10.75. The jump was equaled by senior Caroline Sommers, which is
a lifetime best for her, though Watkins won on misses.