The past and present faces of UCLA coincided on the track this
past Saturday at the Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Invitational. Jon Rankin, the former Bruin star middle-distance
runner, led the way as freshman Laef Barnes followed behind in the
mile. The duo raced to a first-place and fourth-place finish in a
talented field. Last year Rankin made a splash in the mile by
running 3:57. Not disappointing the home crowd, Rankin finished
with another strong performance, running sub-four once again with a
time of 3:58.28. While Rankin stole the show again, it was Barnes
who was the surprise of the race. Barnes ran a season-best time of
4:06.25, but more importantly the highly touted recruit from
Washington showed he could run in an elite field. “Running
against guys that are national-caliber ““ I realize now I can
run with these guys. It’s a real confidence-booster,”
said Barnes. Even with a new personal best, Barnes hopes to
accomplish more. “Hopefully some day I’ll be running
right up there with (Rankin),” Barnes said.
SPRINTERS SHINE: Despite strong performances by
the freshmen, upperclassmen such as Craig Everhart and Brandon
Johnson still made their presence felt. Johnson competed in his
signature event, the 400-meter hurdles, for the first time this
year. Racing in the same heat was former Bruin All-American
Jonathan Williams, who finished fifth overall. But the race
belonged to Johnson, as he gave no doubt that this was his main
event. The anticipation was worth the wait as he posted a 50.12,
which now stands as No. 2 in the nation. Everhart opened up in the
400-m with a time of 45.92. With this time, Everhart feels he is
indeed back on pace to be on top. Everhart has plans to race in the
nationals and wants to perform to the best of his ability. Content
with his own individual time, Everhart was also pleased with the
overall performance of his team. “I like the progress that we
made, especially with (Kevin) Craddock,” he said of the
team’s precocious freshman hurdler. With the new additions to
the team, Everhart has a new outlook this season. “Focus on
this year,” he said. “Don’t look at the past and
limit ourselves.” As the day concluded, Everhart was already
looking forward to their next home meet. With UCLA hosting USC in
two weeks, Everhart had one thing in mind. “It is time to get
revenge,” he said about his loss to USC’s Lionel Larry
last year at the dual meet. “Running there is like
kryptonite. But it’s a different story running at
home.”
NOTES: Freshman Boldizsar Kocsor threw a new
lifetime best in the hammer with a throw of 201 feet, 3 inches to
take fifth on Thursday. … On Friday, Craddock had his first 110-m
high hurdle race in over a year, finishing first with a time of
14.25, a regional qualifier.