Even though it took home six event titles, placed in the top
five in 17 events and holds a couple No. 1 positions in the NCAA, UCLA track and field does not have complacency on its agenda.
Since only a select few athletes had competed in the Northern Arizona University Invitational prior to this weekend’s events in Seattle and Albuquerque, this was the first competition of the season for many of the participants from the Bruins.
The team split into two – some members of the distance squad competed at the University of Washington Invitational, while the majority of the Bruins were contenders at the New Mexico Team Invitational.
“Up in Seattle we had some great results, but they were really capped by (redshirt junior distance runner) Kelsey Smith’s 3K. She ran what is the fastest time right now in the NCAA in the 3K – 9:04,” said director of track and field Mike Maynard. “It’s just short of the school record, but we think it looks like she has a good chance to knock down that record.”
Smith was competing in the last race of the meet and closed out with a near-record time.
“It’s still really early in the season, so I’m just looking forward to improving on that and put UCLA back on the map,” Smith said.
Also a highlight from the weekend for UCLA was the performance by junior sprinter/jumper Kylie Price, as she leaped 21 feet 2 inches in the long jump, which marks the top jump in the country..
Regardless of her performance, Price refuses to carry a complacent mentality.
“As far as my jumps go, I still need to work more on my take-off, jump, landing and transferring my speed. As for the team as a whole, since we just got on the track, we need to work more on sprinting and speed-work to get ready and get better,” Price said.
Price also explained that the team has been trailing behind others in the league in regards to training due to the construction and renovation of the track at Drake Stadium, and the fact that they have only been on it for two weeks means that they have a lot more preparation and practice to work toward.
The Bruins said they are excited with their results and how the season has started, but the numbers do not result in complacency for them. They rank themselves relative to their personal performances and look to keep practicing in order to do better than they did the time before, as opposed to doing better than the opposition.
“One thing I don’t do is look at standings. It psyches me out. If I jump well, then I’m in a good standing. That’s how I look at it,” Price said.