Heading into the main portion of the Pac-10 Track and Field Championships this weekend, both the Bruin men and women will already have points on the board due to the work of two freshmen.
For the women, Ryann Krais finished fourth in the heptathlon at the Pac-10 Multi-Event Championships with a lifetime best 5,606 points.
“I’m very pleased with Ryann,” women’s coach Jeanette Bolden said. “She had a fantastic multi-event and got us off to a great start.”
Not only was Krais able to pick up five points for her team, but she also locked down an NCAA automatic qualifier for nationals. Her performance over the two-day contest ranks in the top five in the NCAA this season and puts her sixth on the all-time UCLA list.
Redshirt junior Hillary Werth, who has been battling foot injuries, also competed for the Bruins but pulled out after not clearing the bar in the high jump.
“She got through the hurdles fine but when she got ready to plant she just couldn’t get enough height in the high jump,” Bolden said. “Her last attempt she got over the bar and kicked it off with her heels, so she was right there.”
On the men’s side, Trent Perez was the lone Bruin competitor, but did not let that fact stop him from representing his team well.
“Trent did not just compete, he super competed,” men’s coach Art Venegas said. “We had sent him there with the idea that he could maybe go 6,450 points and steal a point. 6,600 and 6,700 points were not even in the view of what we thought.”
Perez far exceeded expectations scoring a lifetime best 6,809, which was a dramatic increase from his previous best of 6,461. His performance put him in seventh place, allowing him to pick up two points for his team.
Racking up four lifetime bests he was also the winner in the 1,500 meter by more than five seconds.
“He just really stepped up big,” Venegas said. “Now you have to let the team know that you’re teammate stepped up and really worked hard.”
With the rest of the Pac-10 Championships taking place this upcoming weekend in Eugene, Ore., this past weekend was somewhat lighter than normal.
Both teams participated in the Occidental Invitational. However, with the exception of the pole vaulters on both the men and women’s sides, it was more of a training meet. Athletes competed in off-events and many top athletes were held out of competition altogether.
“One group of guys that never takes a week off is the vaulters,” Venegas said. “They find a way to get in there and it seems not to bother them to keep going like that and helps them keep their energy up.”
This week the group of athletes traveling to the Pac-10 Championships will be solidified and the teams will prepare for the last push into the postseason, knowing they have already started off strong.
“It gives us a lot of momentum heading into the Pac-10s,” Bolden said. “It’s going to give us a nice boost going into this week.”