The Bruins carry with them a thrust of energy as they continue this track and field season.Using the NAU Invitational last weekend as a catalyst, the players take their 11 first-place finishes and use them as momentum builders for their next meets.
This weekend, UCLA track and field will participate in two separate competitions. The distance squad will compete at the University of Washington Invitational, while the sprinters, hurdlers, jumpers and throwers will be competing in Albuquerque at the New Mexico Team Invitational.
The New Mexico Team Invitational will be the first meet for many of the sprinters and hurdlers and enable the team to learn about itself, such as where it stands competitively and what it needs to work on.
With the completion of the new track and the addition of some new coaches, the team is still adjusting to having regular practices again after being off for several weeks. The energy and momentum will be needed to carry the Bruins through their current changes.
“We got a state-of-the-art track and I feel very comfortable on it. It’s nice to have a track now and the transition with the coaches has been really good,” said junior sprinter and hurdler Brea Buchanan , who will be participating in the New Mexico Team Invitational as her first meet of the season.
Assistant coach Joanna Hayes mentioned that the distance runners, throwers and jumpers did well, but some of the sprinters did not compete at the NAU Invitational .
“The whole team is just excited and feeling really good about our chances to perform well and we’re just going to try to keep that going the entire season,” Hayes said.
From these invitationals, the team hopes to gain the experience of competing since it has only competed once so far this year. The meets also provide a good opportunity for the team to assess who might qualify for national championships later in the season.
“Our momentum from last meet going into this one is affecting everyone’s mentality – even those who didn’t perform,” said assistant coach Forest Braden. “They’re excited to get going and itching to race. As for those athletes coming back, they’re confident and ready to race.”
Email Esmailian at tesmailian@media.ucla.edu