Throughout the individual competitions at the historic Mt. SAC Relays this weekend, a number of UCLA track and field athletes worked together to achieve success.
Among a field of various seniors and professionals, freshman multievent athlete Steele Wasik said he initially felt overwhelmed by the competition.
“When you have Olympians out in the field, it’s a different attitude. Right from the go, it was a struggle to keep up,” Wasik said.
However, Wasik said his training sessions with redshirt senior multievent athlete Marcus Nilsson helped him acclimate to the competitive environment at the Mt. SAC Relays. Nilsson was a national qualifier in the heptathlon during the indoor season and earned a spot in national outdoors with his fourth-place finish in the decathlon at Mt. SAC.
“Practicing with (Nilsson) is one thing, but competing with him is another. It’s almost as if he flips a switch,” Wasik said.
That “switch” allows Nilsson to score points across a range of events – shot put, pole vault and long jump, among others. As Nilsson worked toward his fourth-place finish in the decathlon Thursday, Wasik almost followed suit, finishing seventh in the competition.
“Marcus is an incredible athlete, he’s so powerful and precise. Training with people like him, it made me realize I had to be here at UCLA in order to get to their level,” Wasik said.
Group effort in the 10K
In addition to the decathletes, senior distance runner Bronte Golick made strides this weekend. In the 10,000 meters, Golick achieved a lifetime best of 34:03.41, putting her at second all-time in UCLA history.
The race did not start off so smoothly, however.
Golick and redshirt senior Kelsey Smith started the race with the game plan of keeping each other in check. The coaches had instructed them to maintain pace together at 82 seconds per lap, and to subsequently make a move once they established a presence. But outside factors prevented that game plan from being executed.
“The race was a bit slower than we thought it would be. Our coaches said to not freak out and wait for it,” Golick said. “Eventually we realized it just wasn’t happening.”
With about 10 laps to go, Golick and Smith made a move to the front of the pack.
“From that point on that’s when the race really started,” Golick said.
Both Golick and Smith finished the race with new personal records and fed off each other’s energy.
“I’ve run 10K’s alone and it’s such a different feeling (when you run with a teammate),” Golick said. “You get strength from each other, and it’s a really great thing to have in a race.”
Heptathlon standout
In what was possibly the biggest surprise of the meet, redshirt senior Tatum Souza achieved a personal best in the heptathlon after not having competed in that event since 2013. Souza tallied 5,771 points, putting her at second on the UCLA all-time list.
“The goal for all the Bruin multis was to get our feet wet on a full heptathlon and decathlon and qualify for nationals,” Souza said.
Having competed prior to many of her teammates, the veteran senior said she was extremely proud of the group this weekend.
“I feel very pleased about the whole meet and I am really proud to be a Bruin right now. Our multis have the potential to score at nationals and Pac-12s.”