In the first meet of the NCAA indoor season, the UCLA track and field team had several strong performances in Flagstaff, Arizona. While numerous members of the team repeated as individual winners at this meet, such as sophomore Leon Powell in the 60-meter dash and junior Austin Hazel in the long jump, true freshman Rai Benjamin was the highlight of the competition.
One of the most highly touted recruits in the nation, freshman Rai Benjamin of Mt. Vernon, New York, began his collegiate career with the 200-meter dash. Being from upstate New York, the fastest indoor 400-meter sprinter in the nation at 46.59 seconds took time to get adjusted to the altitude conditions of Flagstaff.
“I heard it was 7,000 feet if I’m correct,” Benjamin said. “I’ve never run at that high of an altitude, so it was kind of hard for me adjusting physically in terms of breathing, but besides that I felt really good at the meet – I really wasn’t that nervous.”
Benjamin was close enough – Flagstaff’s elevation reaches just under 6,910. Despite the drastic change in surroundings, the freshman was able to not only run fast, but took first place with a time of 21.28, beating out junior James Fisher of Northern Arizona University and fellow UCLA athlete Powell.
“This weekend I got a good eyeball of Rai and what type of kid he is,” said UCLA sprints coach Darrell Smith. “He just about called his performance before the race. He told the whole squad – I feel like 21.1 today.”
Although Benjamin did not hit 21.1, the rookie was very close and will look to improve his times at the Razorback Invitational on Jan. 29 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
“The Razorback Invitational will definitely be a major, major, major meet for me,” Benjamin said. “There’ll definitely be (Southeastern Conference) competition there, and the SEC is really competitive sprints-wise so I’m looking forward to going down there and showing them, ‘Hey the Pac-12 is here, and we’re not that far behind you.'”
Senior Nicholas Scarvelis opened his season with a personal best in the shot put, throwing 66 feet, 9.75 inches. The reigning Pac-12 champion and last season’s national qualifier moved to fifth all-time on the UCLA records list, surpassing five others, including his own coach, former Bruin John Frazier.
On the women’s side, the Bruins also swept the 200-meter dash. Sophomore Jessie Maduka won the event for the second year in a row and teammates Jelvon Butler and Schuyler Moore followed in second and third. Redshirt junior Torie Owers took first in the shot put with a throw of 54-10.
Continuing a strong tradition of success in the distance and field events, UCLA took places two through six in the mile and the top two spots in high jump, led by junior Cody Crampton and sophomore Sage Stone – clearing 6-10.75 and 6-8.75 respectively.
Only Bruins competing in the heptathlon and pentathlon will travel to next week’s DeLoss Dodds Invitational in Manhattan, Kansas, which is a multi-events-only meet.
Sophomore Steele Wasik will open his decathlon season in Kansas after placing second in the 60-meter hurdles over the weekend. Despite the early success, the team continues to focus on its long-term goals.
“It’s all about progression and continuing it onto the next week,” Powell said. “I’d like to win Pac-12s as a team together – that’s our goal.”