Although the regular collegiate track and field season ended a
few weeks ago in Sacramento, an elite bunch of past and present
Bruins are still running strong. A select group from both the
men’s and women’s track teams competed at the United
States Track and Field Championships one week ago in Indianapolis,
Ind. The meet featured the nation’s top athletes, all looking
to qualify for the World Championships in Beijing in mid-August. Of
this year’s Bruins who competed, Chelsea Johnson, who
finished off her UCLA career with a second-place finish at the NCAA
Championships three weeks ago, placed highest. Johnson, who now
competes for Nike, cleared 14 feet, 5 1/4 inches to take fifth
place in the pole vault. On the track, UCLA hurdling great Dawn
Harper, also a recent graduate, made the finals of the 100-meter
hurdles and finished seventh (13.02). For the men, freshly
graduated All-American Craig Everhart advanced to the semifinals of
the 400 meters, running a time of 45.76. The most notable
performances, however, came from a trio of former UCLA greats.
Jessica Cosby, a standout for the Bruins in 2005, won the national
title in the hammer throw, tossing for a mark of 232 feet, 3
inches. That season’s 400m NCAA Champion and collegiate
record holder Monique Henderson placed third in her signature race
(50.71). In the 400m hurdles, alumna Sheena Johnson finished second
(53.90). All three now move on to Beijing, representing the United
States.
JUNIOR NATIONALS: The Bruins had a good showing in the Junior
National Championships as well, held at the same site. The best
performance came from freshman Nicole Leach, who easily defended
her title in the 400m hurdles (50.63) to break Sheena
Johnson’s five-year-old meet record. Leach will now represent
the U.S. at the World Junior National Championships, also held in
Beijing.In the high jump, fellow freshman Lauren Correa also moves
on to the Junior World Championships with a second-place finish in
the high jump, clearing 5-8. A number of incoming Bruins also had
impressive outings. Heralded recruit David Klech took third in the
400m hurdles (50.68) despite a slight leg injury. Klech was easily
the top high school competitor. In the high hurdles, recruit Darius
Reed had a banner meet, breaking the meet record in the qualifying
rounds (13.57) while finishing third overall in the finals (13.47).
UCLA’s best recruiting class in years also had a strong
showing in the throws. In the discus, a pair of incoming throwers
swept the top two spots as Bo Taylor and Nicholas Robinson went
one-two with throws of 192.01 and 188.5 respectively and will also
advance. Freshman phenom Kevin Craddock was absent from the meet,
nursing a hamstring injury.