This weekend the No. 17 UCLA men’s track and field team is competing in one of the most popular track events in the country. The Bruins will participate in the 80th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in Austin, Texas, which brings together the best high school and collegiate athletes for four days of competition and social events.
While several Bruins are ready to compete, two members are especially poised to earn points for UCLA. Redshirt junior discus thrower Greg Garza and redshirt senior pole vaulter Mike Landers are both nationally ranked.
They both won their respective events at the Cal/Nevada Championships last weekend to help UCLA win the team title.
“Garza and Landers are right now extremely well-positioned in their events,” coach Art Venegas said. “They both had really good meets this past weekend and they are both looking forward to butting heads with some of the better athletes in the nation in their respective events.”
Garza will face stiff competition from several discus throwers from the Pac-10, as well as schools from conferences all over the country. One of his main opponents is Arizona senior Adam Kuehl, who currently holds the second-best throw this season at 62.29 meters. After throwing a personal best of 60.29 meters (197 feet 10 inches) Saturday, Garza is looking to improve on his distance.
“I just broke my PR in the high 90s and there are a lot of people up there with me. So to do well at this meet I have to perform at that high level again,” Garza said.
Landers is familiar with many of his pole vaulting opponents, as he competed against them in the indoor season earlier this year. Impressively, he has won his last five meets and has continued to improve his marks.
“As far as jumping-wise, it’s going pretty well. I have been consistent with 17-5, 17-6, which is good,” Landers said. “Last year, I wasn’t near that height at this time. I’m really excited about this meet and about the meets ahead of us. I feel like I should be jumping really high.”
UCLA is sending over 20 athletes to the Texas Relays, and both Garza and Landers agree having a large team at competitions becomes an advantage. During events, members of the track team will often support their teammates, and when the competition is over they hang out as a team and get a chance to relax.
“It’s nice just having all the guys there to support you, and just get you all fired up and do 8-claps. You are bound to step up the level of competition,” Landers said.
Garza attributes the Bruins’ success to the camaraderie of the team and the competitive attitudes within the team.
“The reason why we are doing so well is just because of how much of a team we are becoming,” Garza said. “We compete daily and we try to beat each other and push each other. We have so much talent in just the freshman class; they push the upperclassmen to be better. We owe a lot to these guys.”