UCLA’s top shot-putter had one final throw to keep his national indoor championship hopes alive.
Redshirt junior and Daily Bruin writer Nicholas Scarvelis had been dominant all season, placing first in each of UCLA’s indoor meets. But prior to notching another win, this time at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Indoor Championship this past weekend in Seattle, the reigning All-American was feeling a bit off.
“I don’t know what it was,” Scarvelis said. “Everything for me was just kinda wonky. … I felt a little underpowered and not everything was clicking.”
Scarvelis, who said his bodily weakness may have been a result of jet lag, struggled through his first several throws. He notched a long distance of 62 feet, 8.76 inches – which was three quarters of a foot below his best shot put throw at the Don Kirby Elite Invitational just two weeks earlier.
Despite not reaching his full potential, Scarvelis still held the lead for nearly the entire shot put competition. But in the final round of throws, Arizona’s Aaron Castle emerged with a throw that was a half-centimeter longer than Scarvelis’.
That meant Scarvelis, one of UCLA’s top candidates for an individual national title, had one last chance to salvage his top spot in the meet, earn a spot in the national championships and gain 10 critical points for his team.
“It was actually super stressful,” Scarvelis said. “The result flashes up and everyone sees it and he’s placed No. 1 now, and the whole crowd just kind of goes, ‘Whoa, whoa!’”
With the crowd brimming with excitement and energy, Scarvelis decided to use it to his advantage.
“I turned around … (and) I got an extra loud clap going and just tried to kill it,” Scarvelis said.
With the roar of the crowd at his back and a rush of adrenaline within him, Scarvelis exploded out of his sluggishness. He planted, turned and heaved.
The shot sailed farther than it ever had for Scarvelis.
By the time it landed, he had a new indoor personal best: 64-1.25.
“That was probably the most climactic last-second buzzer-beater, bottom-of-the-ninth kind of moment that I’ve had in my athletic career,” Scarvelis said.
With that throw, Scarvelis ensured himself a return to NCAA indoors and capped UCLA’s meet with an exclamatory 10 points, which vaulted the men’s team into fourth place.
“I’d say that Nick Scarvelis was the absolute highlight of the weekend,” said fellow All-American thrower Ida Storm, who had a similar kind of performance for the UCLA women’s team this past weekend.
Seattle stormed
Storm, a redshirt senior, had a lot riding on the MPSF Indoor Championship, just like Scarvelis.
Though she wasn’t suffering from jet lag like her teammate, she still had a bit of a psychological battle to overcome – a third-place finish in last year’s MPSF indoor weight-throw competition.
“I did poorly at MPSFs last year. … I didn’t get a mark that was close to my best,” Storm said. “Definitely there are those feelings about competing at different places. I just have mixed feelings about Seattle.”
As Storm entered the arena of her disappointing performance, she made sure not to let the old memories fester for too long. She dominated the field in the weight throw this time around, winning with a distance of 73-6 – nearly 10 feet farther than the second-place finisher. The mark set the MPSF record and earned Storm a spot in the NCAA indoor championship on March 13.
“It was definitely a big thing for me ’cause it’s important to be able to perform when it really matters,” Storm said.
Compiled by Matthew Joye, Bruin Sports senior staff.