For the men’s track and field team, the indoor season begins this Saturday with two different meets. While this is a much earlier start than in previous years, optimism and the hope for improvement are pushing the team onward.
“It’s a chance for everyone to compete,” redshirt senior Boldizsar Kocsor said. “If anything it just gives us more time to get ready for nationals.”
While there will be 11 distance runners at the University of Washington Preview in Seattle, the vast majority of the team will be traveling to Northern Arizona for the Lumberjack Invitational in Flagstaff.
Coach Art Venegas explains that the aim of this weekend is to evaluate the entire team, not just the elite athletes. He will be sending some distance runners to Seattle due to the high altitude in Northern Arizona which makes it harder for them to run.
Leading the team this year will be a host of returners looking to step up their game and better the 14th-place team finish from last season.
“So much depends on five or six areas,” Venegas said. “You aren’t going to score across the board, so you need a few elite athletes that’ll be going at the end.”
One of these athletes will be the returning All-American Kocsor, who will lead the throws team. He returns as the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation’s weight throw champion and says he wants at least a top three national finish, if not to be contending for the top spot.
The throws team, always one of UCLA’s deepest, however will be missing All-American Darius Savage for the indoor season. Savage is out with a torn ligament in his ankle sustained during football, but will hopefully return for the outdoor season.
UCLA will be looking for redshirt sophomores Nick Robinson and Bo Taylor to fill the shoes of the graduated seniors and of Savage while he is out.
Leading the sprint group will be senior Kevin Craddock. After struggling with injuries in the past, Craddock is the “healthiest we’ve ever had him since he’s been here,” according to Venegas.
The two-time Pac-10 champion made it to the semifinals in the Olympic Trials before he had to pull out due to injury. The hurdler will open his season up at the University of Washington Preview.
This weekend will afford the Bruins a chance to see where they stand and how UCLA athletes are measuring up.
“Preseason Oregon is ranked No. 1 already; they won the cross country title,” Venegas said. “Arizona State is the defending national champ so we don’t have to look too far to be challenged on the highest levels; just on the West Coast we have plenty of competition.”