In a season where hurdler Kevin Craddock was supposed to be just
taking baby steps, the freshman has improved by leaps and bounds.
Craddock ran another season-best time over the weekend at the Sun
Angel Invitational at Arizona State, running 14.01 in the 110m
hurdle race to take second place among a group of talented runners.
In only his second elite hurdle race of the year, the former high
school star has shown he is more than capable of running with the
veterans of college track and field. “Kevin is running
against people who have been running seven or eight indoor races
and all season outdoors as well,” UCLA sprints coach Tony
Veney said. “This is only his second race. Kevin has
definitely shown me some flashes of brilliance so far.”
Craddock had been running just the 400m hurdles this season until
last weekend. The coaching staff kept him out of high hurdle
competition until they knew he was ready to make an impact.
“I think the one issue that has been the most important thing
for Kevin is when you’ve been as good as he has been, you
want to continue doing well at all times,” Veney said.
“Being patient has been a real key quality of his. He really
trusts in the system and really buys into the program that we are
trying to do for him.” The patience has paid off very well
for Craddock. He has run regional-qualifying times in both hurdles
and looks primed to make an impact at the Pac-10 level as well as
at the Western Regional meet. Senior Craig Everhart also competed
in Arizona, and came in second in the 400m in 46.10.
MT. SAC INVITATIONAL: Several Bruins competed
at the Mt. SAC relays, though rain on Friday forced the
cancellation of several events. In the throws, freshman Boldizsar
Kocsor threw a lifetime best in the hammer with a mark of 202-5,
which breaks the UCLA freshman record he set last weekend at Drake
Stadium. On the track, sophomore Michael Haddan placed fifth in the
1500m in 3:49.70, beating his previous lifetime-best time by over
four seconds.