While both Bruin squads have seen impressive performances from
their athletes competing in indoors, there are still some
exceptional athletes who have yet to make their season debuts.
Several key Bruins have been held out of the indoor season as some
coaches have opted for their athletes to focus all of their
attention on the outdoor season, where UCLA excels. “Indoors
is a nice preparation for outdoors, that’s all it is,”
men’s coach Art Venegas said. “If we have the right mix
some years, we may make an all-out attempt to try and do big things
in indoor, but our team is better suited for outdoors.”
Probably the most notable absence is prized freshman Kevin
Craddock, who Venegas describes as UCLA’s biggest recruit in
years. Craddock, coming off of a hamstring injury which ended his
senior year of high school track prematurely, was a two-time
California state champion in the 110-meter hurdles. Despite
Craddock’s potential to excel in the 60-meter hurdle race
indoors, the Bruins can ill afford an injury to their freshman
phenom. “Kevin is too great an athlete to destroy just for a
couple of indoor meets,” Venegas said. “We have a
pretty good outdoor team, but without Kevin, it is not as
good.” The women are also working at less than full strength
indoors as redshirt junior Jackie Nguyen will make her debut in the
pole vault in the outdoor season. Nguyen, an All-American in 2004,
underwent knee surgery last year and will skip the indoor season as
a precaution. Since discus and javelin events are only held in
outdoor competition, those athletes have been absent from the
indoor scene as well but are likely to have an impact in outdoors.
Senior Martell Munguia, the Bruins’ top 800-meter runner,
will also make his debut once the outdoor season begins.
SILVERMAN QUESTIONABLE: Redshirt senior thrower
Jeremy Silverman, who sprained his ankle last week in training, is
still questionable for next week’s Mountain Pacific Sports
Federation’s League Championships in Seattle. The injury kept
Silverman, who has already thrown an NCAA provisional qualifying
mark of 60-6 1/2 in the shot put, from competing at Iowa State last
weekend.
MOVING UP: Both the men’s and
women’s teams moved up in the college indoor rankings as the
women moved to No. 13 while the men jumped to No. 18. The
men’s 4×400 relay team is now also ranked third in the nation
behind LSU and Baylor after their exceptional performance at the
Iowa State Classic. UCLA’s top individual is senior Chelsea
Johnson, who ranks second in the pole vault.