In a day filled with extreme weather that included rain, wind and hail, the men’s track and field team did its best to overcome the elements and the Ducks but fell short in a 94-69 loss.
“I thought we had a great meet,” coach Art Venegas said. “We just didn’t have enough bullets in the chamber to beat a team at home like the Ducks.”
One of these “bullets” noticeably missing from Saturday’s meet was 110-meter high hurdler Kevin Craddock.
“I looked at the potential of our team at nationals, and I thought it would be better to keep him healthy going into the big meets,” Venegas said.
Despite the weather and tough competition, the Bruins put in many strong performances, including two from redshirt senior John Caulfield, who brought in eight points for the Bruins. Caulfield finished first in the shot put and second in the discus behind fellow Bruin, redshirt senior Greg Garza.
“I was pretty happy with the shot put,” Caulfield said. “Considering it started raining and hailing in the middle of it and I only had three throws that were pretty good.”
Even with the sometimes treacherous weather, Caulfield tried not to let it affect him and even felt that the experience of the conditions was good for the team.
“I think it’s definitely nice to get a meet in where it was raining,” said Caulfield. “Pac-10, regionals, nationals; they don’t postpone it if it’s raining, so it’s really good to get in a meet where it is raining so we can get a mindset for bigger meets where a lot is going to be on the line.”
Senior Henry Hagenbuch also finished strong in the steeplechase with a time 8:56.31.
“It’s a real honor and privilege to be a part of something so tremendous as an Oregon-UCLA dual,” Hagenbuch said. “There’s a lot of history there.”
Like Caulfield, Hagenbuch did his best to not let the weather affect his performance.
“I think the weather is an equalizing effect,” Hagenbuch said. “It did start hailing a couple of times, and I don’t think any of us were ready to run a steeple in hail, and I don’t think the Ducks were either.”
Hagenbuch trailed in the competition but was able to finish strong in a race that, according to him, “came down to the line.”
“Henry did a great job in the steeple,” Venegas said. “Not a lifetime best, but under the conditions it was great.”
Junior Dustin DeLeo put in a huge performance for the team with his first-place finish in the pole vault with a clearance of 17-3. DeLeo’s mark, which was over a foot higher than any other competitor’s, was not only a lifetime best, but also a regional qualifier.
“DeLeo was just head and shoulders above the competition,” Venegas said.
Also tallying wins for the Bruins were senior Joel Tuosto in the long jump and freshman Jonathan Clark in the triple jump. Clark led a sweep of the triple jump with Tuosto finishing second and freshman Bryson Banks finishing third.
Looking forward, a partial Bruin team will travel to San Diego for the Triton Invitational while the entire team will prepare for the dual meet against USC in two weeks.
“I’m really proud of the team in general,” Venegas said. “It’s painful to lose a meet. We are looking to have a better position against USC.”