With one month remaining in the indoor portion of the UCLA men’s track and field season, the team is gearing up to compete in the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark., today and Saturday.
The Bruins plan to send a small portion of the team to participate in the meet. Competing in Arkansas may prove to be advantageous for the Bruins later in the season since the NCAA Indoor Championships will be held on the same track.
According to UCLA coach Art Venegas, all of the athletes going to Arkansas are currently performing well and trying to get to a higher level. The Bruins with the best marks on the team will be making the trip.
“This is more of a “˜Who can handle the national level (and) pressure?’ That’s the kind of guys we’re taking on this particular trip,” Venegas said.
One of the names on that list is sophomore hurdler Kevin Craddock. Craddock is currently the 12th ranked 60m hurdler in the nation with his best time coming in at 7.84 seconds. In his first season competing indoor for UCLA, Craddock finished first at the Modrall Sperling Invitational last month. Even though Venagas called Craddock’s time “pretty decent,” he said it will still be difficult for him to qualify.
“Most of our guys probably won’t make it with what they have run, and neither will guys at other schools, until they have the automatic,” Venegas said.
At the Tyson Invitational, no one comes into the meet qualified and there are no automatic qualifiers. Whereas in outdoor track, athletes can earn their way into the invitational from previous competitions, in indoor track, athletes earn their spots by putting up a provisional mark.
Other athletes making the trip include junior shot-putter John Caulfield and senior pole vaulter Mike Landers. As the No. 14 shot-putter in the country, Caulfield is currently throwing a distance best of 60-8 feet Venegas estimates that Caulfield will need to reach 62-5 feet to qualify for the invitational.
Meanwhile, Landers is the No. 8 pole vaulter in the country and will use the meet to try to improve on his best height of 17-5 feet. By adding three to five more inches to his pole vault height, Landers will likely qualify for the invitational.
“A few more inches and he’ll pretty much be locked,” Venegas said.
One of the most important aspects of the Tyson Invitational is that it takes place in the same location that the NCAA Indoor Championships will take place on March 9-10. This weekend, the Bruins will get a chance to become familiar with the running surfaces and atmosphere, which will come in handy if they qualify for the championships.
“It’s good for them to run or jump in the exact location they are going to be in for nationals,” Venegas said. “You can’t beat that opportunity.”