Though the season is still young, many individuals on the
women’s track team look like they are already in midseason
form. Led by senior Chelsea Johnson and junior Kamaiya Warren, the
No. 8 Bruins had another impressive performance over the weekend at
the United Heritage Invitational held at Boise State. Johnson, a
pole vaulter, leaped to the best college mark in the nation at
13-11.25, easily the top collegian in the field. “I was
really confident the whole time,” Johnson said. “There
were some good professional vaulters there too and it was nice to
compete with them at a higher level. I felt that I could have
jumped a higher bar but I didn’t have the poles with
me.” Johnson’s mark is UCLA’s first automatic
NCAA qualifying mark of the young indoor season. “It’s
nice to get that qualifying mark early,” Johnson said.
“Now I don’t have to worry about it for the rest of the
season.” Warren, meanwhile, was the top collegian competing
once again in the shot put as she improved upon her performance
last weekend by over a foot. Her throw of 54-4.50 is the fifth best
among all college shot putters. Redshirt sophomore Renee Williams,
who did not compete in last year’s indoor season, led the
Bruins in the horizontal jumps. In her first action of the season,
Williams won the long jump with a jump of 20-1.50, earning UCLA yet
another provisional qualifier. On the track, senior Leslie Barrie
won the mile run with an indoor lifetime best time of 5:07.37.
MEN’S TRACK: Over the weekend, the
men’s track team also continued its early season success,
landing four more NCAA provisional qualifying marks in Boise,
Idaho. In their first meet of the season, UCLA’s duo of
senior Jeremy Silverman and sophomore John Caulfield were the top
collegian throwers in the shot put. Caulfield throw an indoor
lifetime best of 62-5 while Silverman finished just behind him with
a throw of 60-6.25. Both tosses earned the pair provisional
qualifying marks. UCLA’s two other provisional qualifying
marks came in the pole vault as the Bruins had a slew of jumpers in
the top five with junior Mike Landers placing second behind Oregon
standout Tommy Skipper. Landers and senior David Murphy each jumped
heights of 17-1. The horizontal jumpers also opened up the season
in impressive fashion with sophomore Michael Johnson Jr. winning
the triple jump with a mark of 49-6.50. Johnson was followed by
teammate senior Demetre Howard who jumped an indoor lifetime best
of 48-8. Howard also had a career day in the long jump, improving
his best jump by over two feet as he took third place with a jump
of 23-10.25. On the track, the Bruin’s top two 400 meter
runners starred in the 200 meter race on Saturday with times of
21.47 and 21.64, respectively. The Bruins will take the track again
next weekend in Fayetteville, Ark. at the Tyson Indoor
Invitational, the same site for the NCAA Indoor Championships.