Of the 32 UCLA track and field athletes who qualified to compete in this week’s NCAA Regional meet, Steele Wasik is one of the few freshmen in that group.
Wasik, who has stepped up for the team all season long as a decathlete competing in multiple events, said he is looking forward to competing in the meet for the first time in his young collegiate career.
Though inexperienced, the true freshman will rely on the experience he has gained over the past four months during the indoor and outdoor track season.
“It’s interesting. There’s not much that you can really do at this point in the season,” Wasik said. “You have to really rely on all the training that you’ve done over the fall and over the winter, so its really fine-tuning what you’ve been doing.”
Wasik enters this week’s meet fresh off his contributions in the Pac-12 championship earlier this month.
During that meet, it was hard to miss the 6-foot-5-inch freshman, who was seen warming up along the side of the track throughout the two days. But Wasik said he wasn’t alone when he competed in the 110-meter hurdles race moments later. He said he worked his way to a regional-qualifying finish with the help of freshman hurdler Misana Viltz.
“As a decathlete, I don’t really practice the hurdles too much, and everything’s kind of toned down because you have to do so much,” he said. “But when I do practice with Misana, he’s a really great hurdler. He’s got so much knowledge, and competing with him is very intense. He’s definitely a helpful training partner.”
Wasik says he has a tendency to start slow coming off the block during his hurdle races. In the final day of the Pac-12 meet, however, Wasik did not let this prevent him from doing well in the event.
The freshman stepped into his lane, warmed up and prepared himself for the short, intense race that would follow. He took his position, and with the firing of the starting pistol, he emerged off his block, gaining momentum as he sped his way across the track, neck and neck with his competitors.
Wasik crossed the finish line 14.26 seconds later, finishing in fifth place and beating out his teammate Viltz, who finished sixth right behind him with a 14.32-second mark.
Though Wasik is used to competing in multiple events in most meets, this week will be the first time since the Pac-12 championship that he has the chance to hone his skills in the event that got him to the NCAA Regional: the 110-meter hurdles.
“For me, being a decathlete in an open event is really exciting because you don’t get to do that often,” Wasik said. “The hurdles is my best event, and I really want to push it.”
Wasik will go into regionals with not nearly as much experience as the other competitors there, but he said he is excited for the competition.
“Being a freshman is really fun because you’re kind of like that new kid again. No one knows you well, and you have to work your way to the top,” Wasik said. “There’s definitely a lack of experience for (me) going in, but I think that’s what makes it fun.”
Compiled by David Wong, Bruin Sports contributor.