With a week to go before the NCAA Indoor Championships, this Saturday will provide the final opportunity for athletes on the UCLA men’s track and field team to qualify for the meet.
A seven-athlete contingent from the No. 21-ranked Bruins will travel to Seattle for the UW Last Chance Qualifier.
“There are several on the bubble and several who haven’t gotten in,” coach Art Venegas said. “Those guys will be competing to improve their mark and get in. The other people aren’t in and they have to improve.”
In the shot put, two throwers have provisionally qualified for Nationals but hope to move higher up the descending order list to guarantee a spot.
Redshirt sophomore Bo Taylor is currently ranked 12th in the nation at 18.68 meters and redshirt sophomore Nick Robinson is 14th at 18.51m.
Sixteen athletes are selected for the NCAA Championships, so another solid throw from each would bode well for their chances to compete next week.
Junior Marlon Patterson is going to have to come up with a huge performance in the mile. His time of 4:02.33 sits at 31st in the nation.
“Marlon needs to go under four minutes to make it but he’s hot right now and running really well,” Venegas said.
Four pole vaulters will be eyeing a place in Nationals. Redshirt sophomore Greg Woepse, redshirt senior Dustin DeLeo, senior Bobby Talley and redshirt sophomore Casey DiCesare are looking to sneak into the top group.
“Woepse is ranked right on the border,” Venegas said. “He probably needs to improve an inch or inch and a half and the other guys need to jump right along with him; 17-6 is what it’s going to take to get into the meet.”
Woepse ranks 15th at 5.31m (17-5) while DeLeo is ranked 30th at 5.21m. Both have provisional marks already. Talley and DiCesare are not ranked at this time but are 1.25 inches short of the provisional qualifier.
The distance medley relay team, redshirt senior Boldizsar Kocsor, senior Kevin Craddock and redshirt sophomore Johnny Quinn will train through the weekend. Venegas feels their qualifying marks will be good enough to make the NCAA Championships.
For those not competing in Seattle, a larger group will get their first glimpse of outdoor competition at the Ben Brown Invitational in Fullerton.
“We have decided to move on with some kids that could have still gone indoor but decided to go outdoor, particularly some of the jumpers because they have multiple events to work on,” Venegas said.
Sophomores Jonathan Clark and Taylor Hobson and freshman Nelson Rosario highlight the jumps squad.
“You already can qualify for Regionals at this meet, so there’s a lot of good things that people can do,” Venegas said.
Another focal point will be the sprint squad. The young group will get a chance to show what they can do as well as put together several relay teams.
Bruin throwers and long distance runners will also be competing at Fullerton.